Appreciating The Gift Of Torah

What is the Torah, really? Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai says in the Zohar that all of the wisdoms and schools of thought are contained in the Torah. To understand this, take Genetics as an example. Each cell in the human body contains DNA. This DNA strand contains the genetic coding for every other cell in the body as well, all of roughly 37 trillion of them! Interestingly, these instructions are ‘condensed’ so that each set of instruction is interpreted on many levels and within the context of many different combinations so that the general and detailed structure of every part of the body takes shape and form.

Today, science has developed to the point where scientists synthesize human bone tissue from fatty tissue. Of course, this involves a complex procedure including reversing the fatty tissue into stem cells, but it is amazing to see the once-fat tissue become bone tissue after reprograming it to read its DNA differently. The benefits here are that the person who gets this new bone placed into his body does not need to worry about his body rejecting the new tissue, because the new tissue shares the same DNA as every other cell in his body.

With this reference point in mind, we can now better understand the Zohar’s claim that the Torah’s minutiae contain the tenets of all reality. There is another Sefer (book) written by Rav Shimon Bar Yochai which actually demonstrates this idea to us. The name of this Sefer is Tikkunei HaZohar. This Sefer is huge and yet deals exclusively with the derivatives of the very first word in the Torah, “Bereshit”. This Sefer actually describes how the entire Torah itself is contained in its own first word! The Vilna Gaon reveals more to us about this phenomenon. He explains that it’s not only passive information and data that is included in the Torah, but rather, all the details of every person’s life as well. In other words, every stage of every person’s life, from the first day of creation to the end of time, is recorded in detail in the Torah! This means that all of this information, too, is included in the very first word of the Torah, because, as we said above, the first word encapsulates the entire Torah!

To get some sense of this, take the following teaching: Chazal (our wise Rabbis) teach us that each word in the Torah has six ways to be read. For example, the ‘ATBASH’ method interchanges each letter in a word with the opposite letter on the alphabetic scale (Aleph is switched with Taf, Bet is switched with Shin, and so on). There are five other similar letter manipulations contained in the Torah. We once made a calculation to discover that there are actually 30,000 combinations for the word “Bereshit” alone.

This being said, it is important to highlight that these manipulations only change the ‘surface’ reading of the words; but there are actually many other traditional modes of interpretation as well which reveal deeper depths to the meanings of each word. These modes include interpreting words within specific sequences; sequences of words in relation to use of any one of those words in other contexts etc. Of course, syntax is only one aspect of understanding. There is symbolism, numerology, metaphor ... Actually; making use of the Torah’s methodologies for interpretation yields an infinite bounty of knowledge.

We can also see another example for how the Torah is a repository for all the wisdom in the world, including the natural sciences as well. Today, World-class scientists are debating and searching for life on other planets. A close look at our Torah reveals that it may have provided the answer thousands of years ago. Sefer Shoftim records a battle between the Jewish people and their enemies, when Israel’s leader Devorah sings a song upon their miraculous victory. Her song mentions the inhabitants of Meroz which our sages in the Gemarah identify as a star (Megilah 18a). The Sefer Habris states that if the Gemarah identifies Meroz as a star than the Pasuk in Shoftim must refer to those who live on that star!

Knowing all this, we can begin to appreciate the greatness of our Torah. It is our direct connection to Hashem, who transcends the limitations of finitude. He gave us this wonderful Creation called Torah and commanded us to study it so that we can penetrate the depths of reality and wisdom. May we all have the merit to grow in our knowledge of the Torah, and may we be sated with its infinite delights, Amen.

 By Adam Suionov