Derasha 1 on Behar 25:01

Parashas Behar · Aliyah 1 · Passuk 25:01

The Complete Passuk

וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה בְּהַ֥ר סִינַ֖י לֵאמֹֽר׃

Chabad.org — English translation + Rashi

Source Citation

Torah Temimah cites Sifra (Torat Kohanim) Behar, Section 1.

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text — Sifra Behar
בְּהַר סִינַי. מַה עִנְיַן שְׁמִטָּה אֵצֶל הַר סִינַי, וַהֲלֹא כָּל הַמִּצְווֹת נֶאֶמְרוּ מִסִּינַי? אֶלָּא מַה שְּׁמִטָּה נֶאֶמְרוּ כְּלָלוֹתֶיהָ וּפְרָטוֹתֶיהָ מִסִּינַי, אַף כָּל הַמִּצְווֹת נֶאֶמְרוּ כְּלָלוֹתֵיהֶם וּפְרָטוֹתֵיהֶם מִסִּינַי.

English: “At Mount Sinai.” What is the connection of Shemittah to Mount Sinai? Were not all the mitzvos stated at Sinai? Rather: just as Shemittah was stated with its general principles and its details at Sinai, so too all the mitzvos were stated with their general principles and their details at Sinai.

Type of Learning

Classical derasha (Sifra) — from the apparently superfluous location “at Mount Sinai” applied to the laws of Shemittah.

What Is Learned

Every mitzvah of the Torah was given at Sinai together with both its general principles and its detailed laws. The mention of Shemittah at Sinai teaches the pattern for the entire Torah.