Have you ever had a conversation with someone that is going nowhere, and you feel frustrated? Now imagine arguing with an angel. You are not even on the same playing field. What can you say? You are in this physical world, and they are in the heavens.
Moses was faced with this exact challenge, and G-d put him up to it.
Here is the backstory: According to the Midrash, when it came time for G-d to give the Torah to the Jewish people, the angels came running to G-d, arguing: Why are you going to give the Torah to creations of flesh and blood? The Torah should remain here in the heavens.
G-d turned to Moses and said: Answer them.
Moses rose to the challenge and asked the angel, “Do you have a father and mother to honor? Do you conduct business dealings? No. Therefore, the Torah belongs to us.”
Great comeback.
However, this conversation needs to be understood.
The angels had a legitimate first-rights claim. That is because there is a law that says that if a property goes on the market, the neighbors have the first rights to purchase. The angels claimed that they should have the first right to the Torah. But arguing that the Torah is more relevant to us than to them does not seem like a legitimate response.
So let’s take a deeper dive into Moses’s response:
If you want to raise a building, you place a lever under the foundation so that you can lift the entire structure. You do not pick it up from the top floors.
The same applies to the world at large. The world, including the higher worlds, the world of angels, can only be elevated when we, human beings living in this physical world, elevate ourselves through performing Mitzvot, such as honoring our parents, dealing honestly in business, and refining everyday life. The Torah gives us the guidelines and laws to do these things.
Moses was not arguing that we deserve the Torah more than the angels. He was saying something much deeper: For the angels themselves to benefit from the Torah, human beings must first do their job here below. By giving the Torah to the physical world, everyone, even the angels, ultimately benefits.
Moses did not merely defeat his adversaries with a clever response; he showed them that their own deeper interest was being served as well.
When we understand the deeper needs of other people, we can resolve arguments in a way where everyone gains.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Shavuot