Sh'lah on the Torah

Shlah Archives

Parshat V'zot Ha-Bracha The following translation by Mr. Eliyahu Munk is an excerpt from the book Shney Luchot HaBrit -- the Sh'lah 1) Torah L'Shma (Torah for it's own sake) Nowadays, when we all recite the appropriate benedictions, our Torah study can be classified as l'shma. In the final analysis, of course, only G-d knows if our Torah study is truly motivated by the proper thought; the matter is left to our hearts, it can never demonstrated. The Torah frequently writes: V'yareta M'Eelokecha, "you shall fear the L-rd"; such instructions refer to matters that cannot be proved except to G-d, for no man can look into our hearts. Neither do the ministering angels know what goes on in our hearts. They are only able to see what G-d has revealed to them. We know this from the Zohar's comment on Genesis 18,9 (Sullam edition Vayera 33) where the angels asked Abraham about Sara's whereabouts. (Sarah's laughter which she did not articulate was something that G-d had revealed to these angels specifically then. Ed.) The commentary, Tosafos, on tractate Shabbos page 12 questions how it is possible that the angels do not understand Aramaic seeing they can even see what goes on in our hearts. I have dealt with this apparent contradiction elsewhere; the overwhelming consensus amongst all our sages is that (normally) the ministering angels do not know what goes on in our hearts. Hence we have one version in which the explanation of Jeremiah 9,11 was sought from the prophets, the sages, and the ministering angels. They could not provide an answer since they did not know our thoughts and therefore were unable to know if we study Torah L' Shma or for ulterior motives. The Talmud therefore says that the meaning had to be explained by G-d Himself, since only He knows what goes on in our hearts. 2) Urim V' Tumim There is an anomaly in verse 8 of our portion where the normal sequence of describing the Urim V'Tumim has been reversed. The normal version seems more logical: When the High Priest consulted G-d individual letters would protrude on the breastplate; only after they had already protruded would theses letters combine to form the answer in the shape of words. Let me preface the answer by reminding you that the yardsticks used by G-d are not necessarily those employed by man. G-d proceeds from the hidden to the revealed when it pleases Him. When man wants to find the answer to a problem he proceeds from the elements he knows, the ones that are revealed, to those which are still unknown to him. This is alluded to (Psalms 16,8) in the slogan 'Shiviti Hashem L'negdi Tamid' "I am ever mindful of G-d's presence." (In the author's view: "I try to be constantly 'opposite' G-d." Ed.) When someone stands opposite his friend, his own "right" is opposite his friend's "left", and vice versa. Imagine that you introduce some object into a funnel which is closed at the other end. Whatever you insert first can only be retrieved after you have retrieved everything that you inserted subsequently. You must also appreciate that the eventual level of spiritual heights achieved by the Tumim exceeds the spiritual level achieved by the Urim, since letters are only part of a whole but words are the whole. The spirituality represented by the words is therefore closer to the source of holiness. The "source" is, of course, in the highest, most hidden domain. From that domain the words and letters spread a degree of holiness into our domain by stages, the letters being akin to the branches of a tree, the words being the tree. This is the holiness represented by the Tumim V'Urim when viewed from G-d's vantage point. From our vantage point, however, i.e. when the High Priest consults G-d via his breastplate, he first receives an answer from the Urim. This answer becomes clearer when the Urim form themselves into words. i.e. Tumim. In our verse the words Tumicha V'Uricha, are to be understood as addressed to the Schechina. I believe that this is what Rashi had in mind when he commented: "he is speaking vis-à-vis the Schechina." G-d's holy spirit must have hovered over Rashi when he wrote these words, how else could he have succeeded in revealing such a profound thought in so few words! 3) Kindness for G-d Ein Ke'el Yeshuron Rochev Shamayim B'Ezrecha U'b'ga-avoto Shechakim; - "There is none like G-d. Yeshuron. Your helper is He who controls the Heavens and has His Majesty in the Skies" -- Ashrecha Yisroel Mi Chamocha Am Nosha B' Hashem "Happy are you Israel who is like you? You are a Nation Delivered by G-d" We find a daring statement in the Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya Hakaneh to the effect that if someone studies Torah L'Shma he is Gomel Chesed, i.e. he performs an act of kindness for the Almighty. He quotes the above verse "Rochev Shamayim B'Ezrecha Ub-ga-avoto Shchakim" as his source, explaining that the Torah says that as a result of such study G-d helps us and enables us to ride the heavens; this in turn leads to G-d's majesty expressing pride in the skies. Thus far the Midrash. This G-d's majesty expressing pride in the skies. Thus far the Midrash. This Midrash provides us with knowledge of an additional dimension of the importance of serving the L-rd in a proper manner. It is an illustration of the concept we have described previously that we can initiate activities in our world that trigger positive responses in the Celestial Spheres. With the help of the Midrash we can also better understand why G-d told Moses that he should have assisted Him when he entered the Celestial Regions and found G-d busy with fashioning crowns for the letters of the Torah (Shabbos 89). I have written on this at length previously and only want to stress what impact our actions have on the higher Worlds. On the other hand, if we fail to observe the Torah and are exiled, G-d's Presence accompanies us, i.e. is also demoted, so to speak. When we return from exile the Divine Presence also returns to its proper site i.e. Am Nosha B'Shem, the people and G-d will be saved simultaneously. In other words: G-d's throne and His name are not whole until Israel is whole.

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