“It is Time to Act for the Lord” 87
been misunderstood. The most intriguing of the principles is ef /aasot ladonai heferu toratekha.*®* Roth points out that the meaning of the final phrase of the verse heferu toratekha is clear:“they have violated[voided] Your Torah .” The first phrase ef la-asot ladonai can be understood in two ways:“It is time for the Lord to act” or“it is time to act for the Lord.””’
Roth cites Ber. 63a:“Rava said,“The verse may be explained both forward and backward. Forward:‘It is time for the Lord to act.’ Why?‘Because they have violated Your Torah’. Backward:‘They have violated Your Torah.” Why?‘Because it is time to act for the Lord.” Next Roth cites a text from Sifrei Zuta(ed. H. S. Horovitz) beginning of parashat Pinchat. Tt deals with the story of the request of the daughters of Zelophad to inherit their deceased father’s property, in violation of the laws of inheritance, which stipulate that only sons inherit property.
When did they(i.e., the daughters) stand before Moses ? At the time that
[srael was saying to him,“Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt .”
Moses said to them(i.e., the daughters):“All of Israel is requesting to return
to Egypt and you are seeking an inheritance in the land as it says:‘it is time
for the Lord to act, they have violated his Torah .” Do not read the[verse] thus. Rather: They have violated Your Torah, it is time to act for the Lord.
In this midrash the verse is used in both ways. The first interpretation requires God to act by bringing the people into the land and they want what they believe is justly theirs. The second interpretation justifies violating the law in order to serve God .” The following text permits the writing down of oral Torah , which is a violation of the letter of the law in order to prevent the Torah from being forgotten.
Did not R. Abba the son of R. Hiyya b. Abba report in the name of R.
Johanan: Those who write the traditional teachings[are punished] like those
who bum the Torah , and he who learns from them[the writings] receives no
reward. And R. Judah b. Nahman the Meturgeman of Resh Lakish gave the following[as exposition]: The verse says: Write thou these words and then says: For after the tenor of these words, thus teaching you that matters received as oral traditions you are not permitted to recite from writing and that written things[Biblical passages] you are not permitted to recite from