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“You caused sentence to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was silent”(Psalms 76:9)? If the earth feared, why was it silent, and if it was silent, why did it fear?One who is afraid does not stay silent, and one who remains silent thereby demonstrates that he is not afraid.
Rather, this is the meaning of the verse: At first, when God came to give the Torah to the Jewish people, the earth feared that they might not accept it, and it would be destroyed. This is alluded to by the phrase “You caused sentence to be heard.”
But ultimately, when the Jews accepted the Torah, the earth was silent. Consequently, heaven and earth are interested parties and cannot testify about the Jewish people’s commitment to the Torah.
The Talmudic interpretation of Psalms 76:9 in Tractate Avodah Zarah presents a remarkable theological paradox: the earth both fears and remains silent, creating what appears to be a logical contradiction.
The rabbis resolve this through a temporal narrative—the earth first feared Israel might reject the Torah, then fell silent upon their acceptance. This exegesis reveals profound philosophical implications about the nature of reality, divine-cosmic relationships, and the ontological status of the natural world within Jewish thought.
The anthropomorphic portrayal of earth as an interested party disqualified from testimony against Israel opens pathways into understanding how Talmudic theology conceives of nature not as inert matter, but as a conscious participant in the cosmic drama of revelation.