TB Zevakhim 115 How did revelation unfold?

Beginning with TB Zevakhim 115 the Gemara discusses the history of the sacrificial cult. Originally the firstborn served as a “priest” and offered up the sacrifices on the bamot, family alters in the backyard. At a certain point the kohanim took over this position. The Gemara wants to know when this transition took place. While discussing the different possibilities, there is a tannaitic disagreement on how the revelation unfolded. Was it a one-time event at Mount Sinai or did it happen throughout the Israelites’ journey in the wilderness?

“This is a dispute between the opinions of two tanna’im. As it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yishmael says: The general statements, i.e., the principles of the Torah, were said at Sinai, and the details of the mitzvot that are explicated in Leviticus were said to Moses in the Tent of Meeting. This includes the halakha that the burnt offering must be flayed and cut into pieces. Consequently, it could not have been in effect before the construction of the Tabernacle.

“Rabbi Akiva says: Both general statements and the details of mitzvot were said at Sinai and later taught again in the Tent of Meeting, and taught a third time by Moses to the Jewish people in the plains of Moab, when he taught the Torah to the people (see Deuteronomy 1:1). According to Rabbi Akiva’s opinion, the halakha of flaying and cutting into pieces was in effect when the Torah was given, even before the construction of the Tabernacle.” (Sefaria.org translation)

As a traditionally observant Conservative Jew who still believes that the documentary hypothesis is correct, I highly recommend Benjamin Sommer’s book Revelation and Authority: Sinai in Jewish Scripture and Tradition. At once a study of biblical theology and modern Jewish thought, this volume describes a “participatory theory of revelation” as it addresses the ways biblical authors and contemporary theologians alike understand the process of revelation and hence the authority of the law. Benjamin Sommer maintains that the Pentateuch’s authors intend not only to convey God’s will but to express Israel’s interpretation of and response to that divine will. Thus Sommer’s close readings of biblical texts bolster liberal theologies of modern Judaism, especially those of Abraham Joshua Heschel and Franz Rosenzweig. This bold view of revelation puts a premium on human agency and attests to the grandeur of a God who accomplishes a providential task through the free will of the human subjects under divine authority. Yet, even though the Pentateuch’s authors hold diverse views of revelation, all of them regard the binding authority of the law as sacrosanct. Sommer’s book demonstrates why a law-observant religious Jew can be open to discoveries about the Bible that seem nontraditional or even antireligious.