Concerning Rosh Chodesh Shevat, the first day of the month of Shevat, it says in Chumash in Parshas Devarim, קפיטל א פסוק ג and later on in פסוק ה, it says, \"ויהי בארבעים שנה בעשתי עשר חודש באחד לחודש\", was in the fortieth year, the eleventh month, the first day of the month, which is Rosh Chodesh Shevat. What happened? \"הואיל משה באר את התורה הזאת לאמר\". Moshe started explaining this Torah saying. Simple peshat, it means that Moshe Rabbeinu started telling them Mishneh Torah. Chumash Devarim is called Mishneh Torah, so Moshe Rabbeinu started telling them Mishneh Torah. But there is another peshat also, that Chazal say in Bereishit Rabbah פרשה מ\"ט ב and also in Tanchuma Devarim ב, brought down in Rashi on the פסוק, that what it means is that בשבעים לשון פירשה להם, that Moshe Rabbeinu explained the Torah to them in 70 languages. The question that comes up here is, why did Moshe Rabbeinu have to explain the Torah to the Yidden in all 70 languages? We know that the Yidden all spoke lashon kodesh, as the Mekhilta says in Bo, that \"לא שינו את לשונם\", that while the Yidden were in Mitzrayim they didn't change their language, so they all spoke lashon hakodesh. So why did Moshe Rabbeinu have to explain the Torah to the Yidden in all 70 languages? The Levush on Rashi says that Moshe Rabbeinu was afraid maybe they don't all know lashon kodesh, because when you have so many people, more than שישים ריבוא, more than 600,000, so definitely you have amongst them people who speak other languages, especially you had the Erev Rav, who was a mixture of many other nations, so he says maybe some of them don't speak lashon kodesh. Therefore, he explained to them the Torah in all other languages, because he didn't know which language the other people spoke, so therefore he couldn't leave any language out, so he explained the Torah in all 70 languages. But lichora, this is still not enough, because if Moshe Rabbeinu was afraid that there are some people don't understand Lashon Kodesh, why did he wait till now, till the end of the 40 years? Why didn't he explain the Torah in other languages before that? Right after Matan Torah, he should have started explaining the Torah in all 70 languages. Plus, it is hard to say that because he was afraid maybe there are some people don't understand Lashon Kodesh, he would be מטריח all the Bnei Yisrael to listen to the whole Torah in all 70 languages because maybe there are some people don't understand. There's another reason given, that Moshe Rabbeinu saw that the Yidden are going to go in galut eventually, and they're going to be amongst the 70 nations, and they will forget Lashon Kodesh, and they will speak the language of that country, so therefore, he explained to them the Torah in all 70 languages so that later on, if they will forget Lashon Kodesh and they will speak other languages, they will be able to learn the Torah. But this answer also needs an explanation, because since it wasn't נוגע till years, years later when the Yidden went to galut, so why did Moshe Rabbeinu have to teach them the Torah now in 70 languages because of something that was going to happen hundreds of years later? Why didn't he rely that when the time will come and Yidden will go to galut, so the חכמים of those generations are going to teach the Torah to the Bnei Yisrael in the language that they will understand? Why did Moshe Rabbeinu have to do it now, something which was not נוגע till many, many hundreds of years later? So we must say that there is something more in why Moshe Rabbeinu explained the Torah to them in all 70 languages.

The Ramban says in פרשת כי תשא, קפיטל ל פסוק יג, and many other sefarim write the same thing concerning Lashon Kodesh, \"שדברי התורה והנבואות וכל דברי קדושה כולם בלשון ההוא נאמרו\", that Divrei Torah and the nevuot and all holy things were said in that language, Lashon Kodesh. And he continues and he says, \"הוא הלשון שהקדוש ברוך הוא מדבר בו\", this is the language Hashem speaks. So according to this, since the ענין of Torah is תורת השם, it is the Torah of Hashem, and as we say in the nusach of the berachah, \"אשר נתן לנו את תורתו\", He gave us His Torah, the Torah is of Hashem, and since Hashem speaks לשון קודש, so to speak, so lichorah learning Torah should only be in לשון קודש. This is the language Hashem speaks, so the Torah should only be spoken in לשון קודש. Certainly concerning Torah shebichtav, Torah shebichtav, the written Torah, the words count. Every word is exact. You can't take off a word, you can't add a word. The words were given by Hashem exactly as they are. So certainly when it comes to learning Torah shebichtav, it would make sense that the only way you're able to learn Torah shebichtav ketav is if you learn it in לשון קודש, in the language the Torah shebichtav was given. Since here, the words are exact, so the language has to be exact. But not only that, even concerning Torah shebe'al peh, the oral Torah, which is the explanation of Torah shebichtav, there is also a sevara to say that the only way you're able to learn Torah is if it's learned in לשון הקודש, in Hebrew. Because even though Torah shebe'al peh the words are not so exact, and the main thing is to understand the concept that you are learning, as the Magen Avraham says in Orach Chaim סימן נ' סעיף קטן ב', but nevertheless we do find that even by Torah shebe'al peh the words are important, because we know the halachah is, as it's paskened in the Tur and in the Shulchan Aruch and in the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch אורח חיים סימן ס״ב, that הרהור לאו כדיבור דמי. Thinking, which means the understanding of it in your mind, is not like speaking. And therefore there are certain dinim which apply to the speaking of Torah. For instance, there's a din that you're not allowed to speak divrei Torah while you are naked. But to think divrei Torah, you are allowed, as it says in Orach Chaim in סימן ע״ה. Also, there's a din that you don't make a berachah when you learn תורה בהרהור, if you only think words of Torah, as is paskant by the Alter Rebbe in אורח חיים סימן מ״ז סעיף ב' and in many other poskim. So we see that the words of Torah, even of תורה שבעל פה, are also important. Now, since תורה שבעל פה is also תורת השם, as the Rambam uses the lashon in Hilchot Teshuvah פרק ג' הלכה ח', that it is מעם השם, it's from Hashem, and the Kesef Mishneh explains that this goes on the peirush of תורה שבכתב, which means it goes on תורה שבעל פה, that this is also the Torah of Hashem. So we would think there would be a place to say that when does it have a din of divrei Torah, when is it in the category the גדר of divrei Torah, only if the words are spoken in the same language that Hashem speaks, which is Lashon Hakodesh. But if a person speaks divrei Torah in other languages, he is not really learning Torah, not by תורה שבכתב, and even not by תורה שבעל פה. And this is what Moshe accomplished by teaching the Yidden the Torah in all 70 languages. By doing that, Moshe Rabbeinu brought out that even in other languages you have the חלות שם תורה, the name Torah, the concept of divrei Torah applies even if you learn it in other languages. That even though this is not the language that Hashem speaks, nevertheless, if you speak the Torah even in other languages, it has the din of divrei Torah. And when a person says words of Torah in other languages, he is learning divrei Torah. And therefore you can't speak these words before you make Birkat HaTorah, and all the dinim that apply to speaking words of Torah apply also if you speak in other languages. And not only if you do it in לשון ארמי, because we know Arami is special. Arami was given מסיני, as the Rema says in Even HaEzer in the beginning of סימן קכ״ו, and also it says in Rashi in Kiddushin דף מ״ט עמוד א', and in many other places. So there, certainly, if you speak words of Torah in לשון ארמי, you're learning Divrei Torah. But what was accomplished here was that the same applies to all other languages. That if you learn Torah in any other language, you're fulfilling the mitzvah of learning Torah.

And this had to be done through Moshe Rabbeinu, because we know that all the inyanim of Torah were given to the Bnei Yisrael through Moshe Rabbeinu. As it says in Pirkei Avot, משה קיבל תורה מסיני, Moshe was the one that received the Torah, ומסרה and he gave it over. And Chazal say that כל מה שתלמיד ותיק עתיד לחדש הכל נאמר למשה מסיני. Whatever a תלמיד ותיק is going to be mechadesh in all generations later, was all given to Moshe מסיני. So we see that all inyanim of Torah have to go through Moshe. So therefore, this ענין also, that there should be a חלות שם תורה, there should be a concept of Torah, a category, a גדר of Torah on all languages, if you speak words of Torah in other languages, also had to be done through Moshe. And therefore, Moshe Rabbeinu did this towards the end of the 40 years before he passed away. Before this, there was no reason to do it, because all the Yidden spoke לשון הקודש, so there was no reason to do it because there was no reason to bring the גדר of Torah on other languages when they wouldn't wouldn't speak the other languages anyway. But now that Moshe is passing away, and he knew that in the future the time will come when the Yidden will speak other languages and they will learn Torah in other languages, so now Moshe Rabbeinu had to do something that would bring the חלות שם תורה, the concept, the name Torah on other languages if you speak words of Torah, so therefore here Moshe Rabbeinu explained the Torah to the Bnei Yisrael in other languages. And this is similar to what Tosafot says in Berakhot דף י״ג עמוד א', concerning those פרשיות that you must read mid'oraita, for instance פרשת זכור, מדאורייתא you must read פרשת זכור, or when you bring ביכורים there's a certain פרשה you must say. So Tosafot explains that the reason of the one that holds that you could say it in any language, 'cause there is an argument, one opinion says it must be said in לשון הקודש, there's another opinion says that you could read it in any other language, so Tosafot explains the reason of the opinion that says it could be said in any other language, so Tosafot says because בכל לשון נאמרו בסיני, because by Har Sinai the Torah was said in every language. Because שכל דיבור ודיבור שיצא מפי הקדוש ברוך הוא היה מתחלק לשבעים לשון, because every word that came out from Hashem was divided in all 70 languages. And the Gemara says in Shabbat דף פ\"ח עמוד ב', and in Shemot Rabbah the end of פרשה כ\"ח. So because Hashem said that in all 70 languages, that's why you are allowed to say these פרשיות in other languages too. So we see from Tosafot already this concept, that in order to be able to say these פרשיות in other languages, it had to be said by Hashem in other languages too. And after Hashem said it in the 70 languages, that's why later on it could be said in other languages. So we see that in order for the kedusha to be chal even if you say it in other languages, it has to first be said by Hashem in all 70 languages. But then one might ask, so if Hashem already said עשרת הדיברות in all 70 languages, and that already brought the kedusha that even if you learn Torah in other languages it has the din of Torah, why did Moshe Rabbeinu have to do it again? But that's simple, because when we say Hashem's words were divided into all 70 languages, that's only the words of עשרת הדיברות. What Moshe Rabbeinu did was, he explained the whole Torah in all 70 languages. So this brought the din of Torah to the whole Torah if you say it in other languages. And the second thing is, as we said before, since all ענינים of Torah have to go to the Bnei Yisrael through Moshe Rabbeinu, so also this inyan had to be done through Moshe Rabbeinu. So even though Hashem said it already in 70 languages, that was the first step, but later on it had to be passed down through Moshe Rabbeinu, so therefore Moshe Rabbeinu also said, he taught the whole Torah in all 70 languages.

This explains another thing concerning the translation of the Torah in the 70 languages. After Moshe Rabbeinu explained the Torah in the 70 languages, it says in Parashat Ki Tavo קפיטל כ\"ז, that Moshe Rabbeinu and the זקני ישראל commanded the people that ביום אשר תעברו את הירדן, when you cross the ירדן, והקמת לך אבנים גדולות, you should put up big stones, וכתבת על האבנים את כל דברי התורה הזאת באר היטב, means write on the, on the stones all these words of תורה באר היטב, explaining it very well. And the חז\"ל say in Sotah דף ל\"ב עמוד א', and brought down in Rashi, that what he meant was he should write the Torah in שבעים לשון, 70 languages. Which means that in addition that Moshe Rabbeinu himself explained the Torah orally to the Yidden in the 70 languages, he told them to write down the Torah also on the stones in the 70 languages. Why is this? Why did he have to later on write down the Torah in the 70 languages when he already explained to them in the 70 languages? So based on what we said before, this is understood. When Moshe Rabbeinu told them to write down the Torah in all 70 languages, the Rambam in Perush HaMishnayot in Sotah there explains that he meant that they should write it in the letters of the other languages, not only the words of the other languages, but in Hebrew, in lashon kodesh, in the לשון קודש'דיקע אותיות, in לשון קודש'דיקע letters, which means in the aleph beit, just the words would be in other languages, but what he meant was you should actually have the writing of the other languages, it should be with their alphabet. And this is what was accomplished then, that if you learn Torah in another language, not only in the words, but if the ketav, it is written in another language, it also has a din of Torah. And these are two separate inyanim. If Moshe Rabbeinu would have just explained to them the Torah in 70 languages, so from, what would come out from there, that if you learn Torah in another language, it is also Torah. But if it's written in the book in another language, we still wouldn't have the source for this becoming Torah. But by them later on writing down on the stones the Torah in the writing of the other languages, this accomplished that even if the Torah is written in another language, it also has a דין of Torah. Therefore, if we have a book that's written in English, but it's a book of Torah, this has a דין of Torah. Now we don't mean it has a דין, the same דין as the Torah, נביאים, וכתובים, but it has a kedushah of Torah, not the kedushah of the כ\"ד ספרי קודש, but it has a דין of Torah. There is even the יש אומרים in the Shita Mekubetzet in Berachot, explaining the דעת of Rashi, where he says that if we hold that בכל לשון נאמרה, that it was given, it was said in all other languages, אם כתובה בכל לשון היא קדושה כמו בלשון הקודש, that if it's written in another language, it is as holy as if it would have been written בלשון הקודש. And he says there שתהא ראויה לקרותה בבית הכנסת, that you could even read it in the shul if it's written in another language. But that's just the יש אומרים. But the concept we're trying to bring out here is that if it was written in another langu- which it has the דין of divrei Torah. And all this was accomplished through Moshe Rabbeinu commanding them to write the Torah in all seventy languages. And this, too, was done through Moshe. Even though it wasn't Moshe who wrote it, but Moshe was the one that commanded them to write it. So this, too, that if it's a book that's written in another language, but it's a book of Torah, it has a דין of Torah, also came to us through Moshe Rabbeinu like every other part of the Torah. So now we see that what took place on ראש חודש שבט wasn't just a detailed thing in Torah, that Moshe Rabbeinu explained them certain things, but a very essential inyan in Torah took place, that that day Moshe Rabbeinu accomplished this inyan, that when we learn Torah in other languages, it should have the kedushah of Torah. But as we said in the beginning, there's another peshat in this pasuk that on ראש חודש שבט, הואיל משה באר את התורה הזאת לאמר, that Moshe Rabbeinu explained the Torah. And it doesn't mean davka that he explained in seventy languages, but it means that he said to them, he started saying to them, Mishneh Torah, the Chumash Devarim. Now, being that there are two peshatim in the same pasuk, there must be a connection between the two. And that we're going to explain, im yirtzeh Hashem, in the next shiur.