Ki Tavo: A Beautiful Midrash about Kinas Sofrim

A commenter asks about a beautiful midrash brought down by Rashi:

This Rashi is very strange to me

עד היום הזה - שמעתי שאותו היום שנתן משה ספר התורה לבני לוי כמ"ש בפ' וילך ויתנה אל הכהנים בני לוי באו כל ישראל לפני משה ואמרו לו משה רבינו אף אנו עמדנו בסיני וקבלנו את התורה וניתנה לנו ומה אתה משליט את בני שבטך עליה ויאמרו לנו יום מחר לא לכם ניתנה לנו ניתנה ושמח משה על הדבר ועל זאת אמר להם היום הזה נהיית לעם וגו' היום הזה הבנתי שאתם דבקים וחפצים במקום

First of all "I heard"? Second the reason Moshe was Happy is Because the Jews Where Jealous of the Levim, so essentially now you have become a Nation because of in fighting and bickering and I thought it was supposed to be "Kish Echad Blev Echad" apparently the Warring Chassidim have it right?

I think this a beautiful derash. The pesukim in question, at the end of Ki Savo, read:

א וַיִּקְרָא מֹשֶׁה אֶל-כָּל-יִשְׂרָאֵל, וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם: אַתֶּם רְאִיתֶם, אֵת כָּל-אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְהוָה לְעֵינֵיכֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, לְפַרְעֹה וּלְכָל-עֲבָדָיו, וּלְכָל-אַרְצוֹ.	1 And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them: Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;
ב הַמַּסּוֹת, הַגְּדֹלֹת, אֲשֶׁר רָאוּ, עֵינֶיךָ--הָאֹתֹת וְהַמֹּפְתִים הַגְּדֹלִים, הָהֵם.	2 the great trials which thine eyes saw, the signs and those great wonders;
ג וְלֹא-נָתַן יְהוָה לָכֶם לֵב לָדַעַת, וְעֵינַיִם לִרְאוֹת וְאָזְנַיִם לִשְׁמֹעַ, עַד, הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה.	3 but the LORD hath not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

On a peshat level, what in the world are these pesukim stating? They saw the miracles, but Hashem did not give them the ability to know, see, or hear, until this day that Moshe was speaking to them.

On this peshat level, Shadal answers:

ולא נתן ה ': ואתם התנהגתם כאילו לא ראיתם וע"כ יראתם מיושבי כנען , ולפיכך ואולך אתכם מ' שנה .

that they conducted themselves as if they did not see. And he connects it to the next pasuk, of having to travel in the desert for 40 years.

And see Seforno, who says that Hashem tried to give them this heart, etc., but it was not successful, because of their rebellion.

But on a midrashic level, we can focus on עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה and claim that finally, on that day, something happened such that Moshe was able to say that they had attained that level.

I would guess that in terms of "I heard" that this was some midrash contemporary to Rashi, which was circulating and which he liked enough to incorporate into his commentary. But since he heard it, he could not refer to the explicit source in a text. Nor could it he leave attribution out, for then that would be claiming credit for innovating it.

In terms of the actual midrash,

שמעתי שאותו היום שנתן משה ספר התורה לבני לוי כמ"ש בפ' וילך ויתנה אל הכהנים בני לוי באו כל ישראל לפני משה ואמרו לו משה רבינו אף אנו עמדנו בסיני וקבלנו את התורה וניתנה לנו ומה אתה משליט את בני שבטך עליה ויאמרו לנו יום מחר לא לכם ניתנה לנו ניתנה ושמח משה על הדבר ועל זאת אמר להם היום הזה נהיית לעם וגו' היום הזה הבנתי שאתם דבקים וחפצים במקום

I am not going to look in depth into how it comes out of pesukim here. However, just off the cuff -- perhaps it was the contrast of אֵלֶּה דִבְרֵי הַבְּרִית אֲשֶׁר-צִוָּה יְהוָה אֶת-מֹשֶׁה לִכְרֹת אֶת-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל in the previous pasuk, to the pesukim in Vayelech stressing the role of the kohanim. Indeed, the full pasuk here is:

סט אֵלֶּה דִבְרֵי הַבְּרִית אֲשֶׁר-צִוָּה יְהוָה אֶת-מֹשֶׁה, לִכְרֹת אֶת-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל--בְּאֶרֶץ מוֹאָב: מִלְּבַד הַבְּרִית, אֲשֶׁר-כָּרַת אִתָּם בְּחֹרֵב. {פ}

69 These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.

so there is a definite link to the covenant made with them in Chorev, which is what this midrash Rashi mentions is stating in אף אנו עמדנו בסיני וקבלנו את התורה וניתנה לנו. So the Chorev covenant is the causative of this present covenant with all of Israel.

Nor is this a matter of infighting, and specifically begrudging the power given to the tribe of Levi. Rather, the idea is that the Torah is a gift from Hashem, and should not be the monopoly of one group. The chareidim don't have a monopoly on Torah. It belongs to the Modern Orthodox as well! But if deciding law is given to a specific group, they might turn around and say that it is only their yerushah, and that others did not receive it. Also, perhaps, the Torah does not belong only to an elite class of scholars, but rather it is accessible to anyone who wishes to devote himself to learning God's Law.

Their motivation was not begrudging others their power, but as stating towards the end of the midrash, that they feared that others would claim the Torah only for themselves. They thus loved Torah, and this marked a change in attitude towards Torah and Hashem. And this is what Moshe meant when he stated וְלֹא-נָתַן יְהוָה לָכֶם לֵב לָדַעַת, וְעֵינַיִם לִרְאוֹת וְאָזְנַיִם לִשְׁמֹעַ, עַד, הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה. Now they finally have the correct attitude.

It reminds me of the narrative towards the end of sefer Yehoshua (perek 22), where the residents across the Jordan built a mizbeach. Perhaps this narrative inspired the midrash:

יא וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, לֵאמֹר: הִנֵּה בָנוּ בְנֵי-רְאוּבֵן וּבְנֵי-גָד וַחֲצִי שֵׁבֶט הַמְנַשֶּׁה אֶת-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, אֶל-מוּל אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן--אֶל-גְּלִילוֹת הַיַּרְדֵּן, אֶל-עֵבֶר בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.	11 And the children of Israel heard say: 'Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar in the forefront of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that pertaineth to the children of Israel.'
יב וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ, בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל; וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, שִׁלֹה, לַעֲלוֹת עֲלֵיהֶם, לַצָּבָא. {פ}	12 And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up against them to war. {P}
יג וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל-בְּנֵי-רְאוּבֵן וְאֶל-בְּנֵי-גָד, וְאֶל-חֲצִי שֵׁבֶט-מְנַשֶּׁה--אֶל-אֶרֶץ הַגִּלְעָד: אֶת-פִּינְחָס, בֶּן-אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן.	13 And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest;
יד וַעֲשָׂרָה נְשִׂאִים, עִמּוֹ--נָשִׂיא אֶחָד נָשִׂיא אֶחָד לְבֵית אָב, לְכֹל מַטּוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל; וְאִישׁ רֹאשׁ בֵּית-אֲבוֹתָם הֵמָּה, לְאַלְפֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.	14 and with him ten princes, one prince of a fathers' house for each of the tribes of Israel; and they were every one of them head of their fathers' houses among the thousands of Israel.
טו וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל-בְּנֵי-רְאוּבֵן וְאֶל-בְּנֵי-גָד, וְאֶל-חֲצִי שֵׁבֶט-מְנַשֶּׁה--אֶל-אֶרֶץ הַגִּלְעָד; וַיְדַבְּרוּ אִתָּם, לֵאמֹר.	15 And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying:
טז כֹּה אָמְרוּ כֹּל עֲדַת יְהוָה, מָה-הַמַּעַל הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר מְעַלְתֶּם בֵּאלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, לָשׁוּב הַיּוֹם, מֵאַחֲרֵי יְהוָה--בִּבְנוֹתְכֶם לָכֶם מִזְבֵּחַ, לִמְרָדְכֶם הַיּוֹם בַּיהוָה.	16 'Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD: What treachery is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, to rebel this day against the LORD?
יז הַמְעַט-לָנוּ, אֶת-עֲו‍ֹן פְּעוֹר, אֲשֶׁר לֹא-הִטַּהַרְנוּ מִמֶּנּוּ, עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה; וַיְהִי הַנֶּגֶף, בַּעֲדַת יְהוָה.	17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves unto this day, although there came a plague upon the congregation of the LORD,
יח וְאַתֶּם תָּשֻׁבוּ הַיּוֹם, מֵאַחֲרֵי יְהוָה; וְהָיָה, אַתֶּם תִּמְרְדוּ הַיּוֹם בַּיהוָה, וּמָחָר, אֶל-כָּל-עֲדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל יִקְצֹף.	18 that ye must turn away this day from following the LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to-day against the LORD, that to-morrow He will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.
יט וְאַךְ אִם-טְמֵאָה אֶרֶץ אֲחֻזַּתְכֶם, עִבְרוּ לָכֶם אֶל-אֶרֶץ אֲחֻזַּת יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר שָׁכַן-שָׁם מִשְׁכַּן יְהוָה, וְהֵאָחֲזוּ, בְּתוֹכֵנוּ; וּבַיהוָה אַל-תִּמְרֹדוּ, וְאֹתָנוּ אַל-תִּמְרֹדוּ, בִּבְנֹתְכֶם לָכֶם מִזְבֵּחַ, מִבַּלְעֲדֵי מִזְבַּח יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ.	19 Howbeit, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, wherein the LORD'S tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us; but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar besides the altar of the LORD our God.
כ הֲלוֹא עָכָן בֶּן-זֶרַח, מָעַל מַעַל בַּחֵרֶם, וְעַל-כָּל-עֲדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, הָיָה קָצֶף: וְהוּא אִישׁ אֶחָד, לֹא גָוַע בַּעֲו‍ֹנוֹ. {ס}	20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass concerning the devoted thing, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.' {S}
כא וַיַּעֲנוּ בְּנֵי-רְאוּבֵן וּבְנֵי-גָד, וַחֲצִי שֵׁבֶט הַמְנַשֶּׁה; וַיְדַבְּרוּ, אֶת-רָאשֵׁי אַלְפֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.	21 Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and spoke unto the heads of the thousands of Israel:
כב אֵל אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה אֵל אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה, הוּא יֹדֵעַ, וְיִשְׂרָאֵל, הוּא יֵדָע: אִם-בְּמֶרֶד וְאִם-בְּמַעַל בַּיהוָה, אַל-תּוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה.	22 'God, God, the LORD, God, God, the LORD, He knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in treachery against the LORD--save Thou us not this day--
כג לִבְנוֹת לָנוּ מִזְבֵּחַ, לָשׁוּב מֵאַחֲרֵי יְהוָה; וְאִם-לְהַעֲלוֹת עָלָיו עוֹלָה וּמִנְחָה, וְאִם-לַעֲשׂוֹת עָלָיו זִבְחֵי שְׁלָמִים--יְהוָה, הוּא יְבַקֵּשׁ.	23 that we have built us an altar to turn away from following the LORD; or if to offer thereon burnt-offering or meal-offering, or if to offer sacrifices of peace-offerings thereon, let the LORD Himself require it;
כד וְאִם-לֹא מִדְּאָגָה מִדָּבָר, עָשִׂינוּ אֶת-זֹאת לֵאמֹר: מָחָר, יֹאמְרוּ בְנֵיכֶם לְבָנֵינוּ לֵאמֹר, מַה-לָּכֶם, וְלַיהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.	24 and if we have not rather out of anxiety about a matter done this, saying: In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying: What have ye to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?
כה וּגְבוּל נָתַן-יְהוָה בֵּינֵנוּ וּבֵינֵיכֶם בְּנֵי-רְאוּבֵן וּבְנֵי-גָד, אֶת-הַיַּרְדֵּן--אֵין-לָכֶם חֵלֶק, בַּיהוָה; וְהִשְׁבִּיתוּ בְנֵיכֶם אֶת-בָּנֵינוּ, לְבִלְתִּי יְרֹא אֶת-יְהוָה.	25 for the LORD hath made the Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no portion in the LORD; so might your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD.
כו וַנֹּאמֶר--נַעֲשֶׂה-נָּא לָנוּ, לִבְנוֹת אֶת-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ: לֹא לְעוֹלָה, וְלֹא לְזָבַח.	26 Therefore we said: Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice;
כז כִּי עֵד הוּא בֵּינֵינוּ וּבֵינֵיכֶם, וּבֵין דֹּרוֹתֵינוּ אַחֲרֵינוּ, לַעֲבֹד אֶת-עֲבֹדַת יְהוָה לְפָנָיו, בְּעֹלוֹתֵינוּ וּבִזְבָחֵינוּ וּבִשְׁלָמֵינוּ: וְלֹא-יֹאמְרוּ בְנֵיכֶם מָחָר לְבָנֵינוּ, אֵין-לָכֶם חֵלֶק בַּיהוָה.	27 but it shall be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we may do the service of the LORD before Him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come: Ye have no portion in the LORD.
כח וַנֹּאמֶר--וְהָיָה כִּי-יֹאמְרוּ אֵלֵינוּ וְאֶל-דֹּרֹתֵינוּ, מָחָר; וְאָמַרְנוּ רְאוּ אֶת-תַּבְנִית מִזְבַּח יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר-עָשׂוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, לֹא לְעוֹלָה וְלֹא לְזֶבַח--כִּי-עֵד הוּא, בֵּינֵינוּ וּבֵינֵיכֶם.	28 Therefore said we: It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say: Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
כט חָלִילָה לָּנוּ מִמֶּנּוּ לִמְרֹד בַּיהוָה, וְלָשׁוּב הַיּוֹם מֵאַחֲרֵי יְהוָה, לִבְנוֹת מִזְבֵּחַ, לְעֹלָה לְמִנְחָה וּלְזָבַח--מִלְּבַד, מִזְבַּח יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ, אֲשֶׁר, לִפְנֵי מִשְׁכָּנוֹ. {פ}	29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn away this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt-offering, for meal-offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the LORD our God that is before His tabernacle.' {P}

Once again, we have this concern that descendants will be written out of Judaism. In a Temple-oriented world, this could be done with the sacrifice, but in a world which resolves around Torah study and implementation of Torah law, this can be done by having a monopoly within the scholarly class.