The written Torah concludes with the word ישראל and commences with the word בראשית. We may view the end as firmly connected with the beginning and the beginning as firmly connected with the end. We demonstrate this on שמחת תורה by reading from the beginning of פרשת בראשית as soon as we have concluded the last passage in וזאת הברכה. Our sages have provided an allusion for this when they said: בראשית ברא בראשית, i.e. בשביל התורה וישראל שנקראו ראשית. Israel is the whole purpose of the creation of the universe. It is appropriate therefore that the Torah begin with the word בראשית and end with the word ישראל. The Torah commences with the letter ב, which our sages in the Midrash describe as the letter symbolizing ברכה, blessing. The essence of any blessing is the expansion and the intensification of the prevailing abundance provided by G–d. The purpose of the benediction is to ensure the continuance of these abundant blessings by G–d indefinitely. Torah too is eternal, hence it represents the essence of all blessings. This idea is also alluded to in Psalms 29,11: ה' עוז לעמו יתן ה' יברך את עמו בשלום, "May the Lord grant strength to His people; may He bestow well-being on his people." A question is asked in the Sefer Ha-Bahir as well as in the Ziyoni "Whence do we know that the Torah itself is a blessing?" As an answer the authors cite Moses' blessing in 33,23: "And full of the Lord's blessing the West (sea) and the South, conquer it!" We have a tradition that "West" is a hyperbole for Torah because it is written in Job 11,9: "and broader than the West (sea)." Thus far the Tziyoni.

Blessing is essentially threefold, hence Torah is threefold, i.e. the Pentateuch, the Books of the Prophets and the Hagiographa. It was given to us by a person who was the third child in the family, i.e. Moses. It was given to Israel which comprises priests, Levites and Israelites. All parts of the nation are included in the blessing. The Torah was given to Israel in the third month after their departure from Egypt.

When Moses refers to G–d having "arrived from Sinai" (33,2), he refers to an event which occurred on the third day of the week, i.e. the numerical value of the word בא in this verse is 3. You will now understand why the Torah commences with the letter ב as a symbol of blessing. There is an interesting Aggadah in the Otiyot d'Rabbi Akiva: They asked the letter ב who had created it, whereupon the letter pointed at the letter א with its עוקץ, the "sting" projecting from the right side of the bottom of this letter. It is a fact that when the Torah was actually given to the Jewish people, i.e. when G–d revealed Himself by means of communicating the Ten Commandments, these commandments commenced with the letter א i.e. אנכי ה' אלוקיך. This shows that the letter א is the true root of blessing. This root is אור, light, the original light which was concealed from this earth at the time Adam sinned in Paradise. We quoted the Midrash as saying that the world was created for the sake of Torah which is called ראשית; we may deduce that the letter ב preceding this word is a reference to the two Torahs, i.e. the written and the oral Torah. These two Torahs may also be meant when the Torah reported the creation of the "two great luminaries, the great luminary and the small luminary" (Genesis 1,16). The "great" luminary would be the מעשה מרכבה, the esoterics, as expressed by the written Torah which is a combination of letters of the Holy Name of G–d; the "small" luminary would refer to what the Talmud describes as the הויות של אביי ורבא, the discussions exploring the oral law which were carried on by such Talmudic giants as Abbaye and Rava. The written Torah is symbolized by the letter א, the great light which nowadays is kept hidden and which contains the secrets called "the soul of souls" (Zohar on פרשת בהעלותך). These secrets will remain hidden till such distant future when Man too will be able to wear the garments made of אור, light -as had been the case before the sin- and to benefit from this great light. Nowadays, when we are forced to make do with כתנות עור, garments made of hide, i.e. a corrupt form of "light" spelled with the letter ע, we must be content with "only" seventy facets of the written Torah, i.e. with the letter ע symbolizing the light of the written Torah. Once our world will be filled with knowledge of G–d as envisaged by Isaiah 11,9 this letter ע will be replaced by the mystical dimension of עין, "eye." At that time all the hidden secrets which no human eye has ever beheld will be revealed. Why does the "sting" of the letter ב point at the letter א? Because the oral Torah [being merely based on unwritten tradition. Ed.] is always at pains to demonstrate its validity by establishing a link with the written Torah. The relationship of the oral to the written Torah is similar to the relationship between the first woman and the first man, about which Adam said: כי מאיש לוקחה זאת, "for she has been detached from Man" (Genesis 2,23). The oral Torah is perceived of as having been derived from the written Torah. The relationship of איש to אשה is the same as the relationship of זה וזאת; hence the relationship of the written Torah to the oral Torah is as the relationship of זה to Tת. Oral Torah in fact has its origin in the written Torah. This is the reason why the Talmud keeps raising the question: מנלן, i.e. "where is the source for this teaching in the written Torah?" The word אור appears five times in the story of creation. This alludes to the five books comprising the written Torah.

As I have already mentioned the essence of blessing is the expansion of the abundance G–d has provided in this world and the assurance of its continuing indefinitely. This idea also applies to the light which has been "hidden." Although in our present state this source of light is not visible to us, yet it is the source of all blessing; the blessings we experience originate in that domain. This is the mystical dimension of אצילות, a domain beyond that of the עולם הבריאה, a domain in which the principle of אין סוף operates, in which nothing is finite. When G–d said to Moses (Numbers 11,17): ואצלתי מן הרוח אשר עליך ושמתי עליהם, "and I shall draw upon the spirit which rests on you and put it on them," this was not to be understood as a diminution of Moses' spirit but on the contrary, as an expansion of his spirit which G–d proceeded to allocate to the seventy elders. Onkelos underlines this when he renders these words as "I will provide additional spirit." Nowadays when we are in exile, the only expansion of Torah knowledge we can look forward to is by means of the study of the oral Torah. The hidden secrets i.e. the נשמה לנשמה still remain concealed from us. While it is true that there are in our midst מארי דסתרי תורה, masters of the Kabbalah, their knowledge of Torah secrets can only be classified as נשמות, not the secrets known as נשמה לנשמות. This will only be revealed to the righteous in the future. The whole subject matter may be better appreciated by comparison to the names of G–d. In these our days we limit ourselves to the enunciation of the name of G–d by sounding the letters א-ד-נ-י when mentioning the name of G–d. In the future, however, the Tetragrammaton, i.e. the name י-ה-ו-ה will be articulated by us as a matter of course. This name is known to us from the "written" Torah, but we must not as yet use it orally. Once we may do so the Torah may truly be described as תורת ה' תמימה, as being complete in all its aspects. This is the mystical dimension of the emanation תפארת. The name spelled א-ד-נ-י represents the kingdom of the oral Torah (emanation מלכות) as well as blessing, for it expands in accordance with the 13 acceptable methods of interpreting the Torah. The existence of these rules has given rise to many halachic discussions and therefore results in increased blessing for all those engaged in Torah exegesis. There is a statement in the Tractate Nedarim 38 that originally only Moses had been granted the facility of studying Torah by means of פלפול, dialectics, but that he taught this facility to the whole Jewish people.

We find the Torah described as G–d's, i.e. תורת ה'; we also find it described as Moses' Torah, i.e. תורת משה. I have dealt with this apparent anomaly in the introduction to my treatise called תולדות אדם as well as in my treatise מסכת שבועות. G–d gave Moses a number of general rules when He gave him the Torah. This is alluded to in Exodus 31,18: ויתן אל משה ככלתו לדבר אתו הר סיני, "G–d gave to Moses when He finished speaking with him at Mount Sinai, etc." Our sages in Shemot Rabbah 41,6 comment that this gift refers to the principles of Torah exegesis that G–d gave to Moses at that time. Moses realized then that there is an oral Torah also. G–d confirmed to Moses that this was indeed so. This is why the oral Torah is called תורת משה, i.e. Moses' bride. Once Moses had formed this relationship with his spiritual bride he gave up his physical bride, i.e. he no longer lived with his wife as man and wife. This is why the Zohar describes Moses' title as איש האלוקים with the words בעלה דמטרניתא, "husband of this spiritual 'matron'" (who has her root in the emanation תפארת and whose mystical dimension דעת was previously refined by passing through the emanations חכמה and בינה). We find a further allusion to this concept in Job 28,12: והחכמה מאין תמצא ואיזה מקום בינה, "But where can wisdom be found; where is the source of understanding?" The Tziyoni writes that the word מאין is the mystical dimension of the letters in the name משה. The numerical value of the word זנגזגאל, Moses' teacher, is the same as that of the word מאין, i.e. 101. [the angel that called to Moses from the burning bush, cf. Targum Yonathan ben Uzziel Exodus 3,2. Ed.] This number 101 is reminiscent of the statement of our sages that in order to ensure that one understands what one has learned one has to study it 101 times (Chagigah 9b). While it is true that the title איש אלוקים has been accorded by the Bible not only to Moses but to a total of ten personalities namely Elkanah, Samuel, David, Shayah, Iddo, Elijah, Elisha, Michah and Amotz, yet there is a difference between the other nine men and Moses. Whenever Moses is described by this title he is referred to as איש אלוקים. This means that he was the "husband" of the Divine i.e. the emanation מלכות, much as Elimelech is described as the husband of Naomi, i.e. איש נעמי in Ruth 1,3. The same term with the other prophets means "a man of G–d," i.e. someone who has displayed close affinity with G–d. Another difference which marks the description of Moses as איש אלוקים is that whenever Moses' name is mentioned in such a connection Moses' own personal name always precedes his description as איש האלוקים, such as in our portion in 33,1. The same does not hold true with the other men who have been accorded the title איש אלוקים. When our Rabbis stated: אין בעל מת אלא לאשתו, "a husband's death affects primarily his wife" (Sanhedrin 22a), they may well have alluded to the "marriage" between Moses and Matronita. When the period of mourning observed by Israel after Moses' death is described in the Torah (34,8) we find the expression: ויתמו ימי בכל אבל משה, "The days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end." Note that the numerical value of the word בכי, weeping is 32, and the word אבל is 33. Adding these two words you arrive at the numerical value of the current name of G–d א-ד-נ-י=65. Allegorically speaking, this means that Moses was mourned by his "wife" i.e. the (junior) attribute of G–d Matronita with whom he shared the last 40 years of his life on earth.

The author tries to demonstrate at this point that the statement of our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 100,13) that Moses' blessings commenced with the words with which Jacob's blessings concluded, whereas David's blessings commenced with the words with which Moses' blessings ended indicate that David's blessings for the Jewish people were the most comprehensive.

To return to our subject. There is a Torah of G–d and a Torah of Moses. The latter is called תורת האדם. Torah scholars throughout the generations endeavor to find additional meanings by studying this Torah; when our sages describe G–d as "learning" from the mouths of Torah scholars, and when the Talmud quotes G–d as saying: "My son so and so has said the following," these are references to new Torah insights discovered by Torah scholars in our world. The hidden secrets are called תורת ה' and these will be revealed in the future to those righteous whom G–d refers to as His יראיו."

Moses speaks of G–d as וזרח משעיר למו הופיע מהר פארן "He shone upon them from Se'ir, He appeared from Mount Paran" (33,2); Moses alludes to the partial revelation of this hidden light at the time the Torah was given on Mount Sinai. The Zohar on Parshat Balak (Sullam edition pages 54-56) described in detail how G–d first offered the Torah to the nations of the world, and how they not only rejected it but suggested G–d offer it to Israel, even offering bribes so that Israel could be persuaded to accept it and hopefully be found inadequate. [We have quoted all this in Torah Ohr section of Parashat Yitro].

Moses said next: אתא מרבבות קודש, a veiled reference to the domain where all these holy secrets are stored in the meantime. Our sages report the ministering angels as asking Israel in the future: "what are the works of G–d?" (cf. Yalkut Shimoni on Numbers 23,23) This is proof that Israel will then occupy a position closer to the throne of G–d than that of the ministering angels. Had Israel not sinned with the golden calf and had they not thereby unhitched one of the four supports of G–d's מרכבה (Tanchuma Ki Tissa 21), they would have been granted the garments made of אור, light, that Adam had worn prior to the sin and would thus have benefitted from the part of the Torah symbolized by the letter א. At that time, i.e. at the time Israel accepted the Torah, מימינו אש דת למו, "the fire of His law flashed to His right." [The author understands Israel as being the subject of the word למו i.e. a reference to Israel as opposed to the angels. Ed.]

Verse 3, i.e. the words אף חובב עמים, require analysis. Rashi writes that the two words mean that G–d displayed this additional love for Israel by treating each tribe as a whole nation. He bases this on G–d's blessing of Jacob in Genesis 35,11 where He refers to the as yet unborn Benjamin as a "nation." Rashi's comment on this verse is generally understood to mean that the title "nation" bestowed on a mere tribe indicates special fondness for that tribe. I do not believe that this is what Rashi had in mind. I believe that Rashi referred to the words אף חובב as meaning "a different dimension of fondness." The word אף indicates something additional. We have evidence of this in the statement in Avot 3,14: חביבין ישראל שנקראו בנים למקום, followed by the words: חיבה יתירה נודעת להם שנקראו בנים למקום. "Israel are beloved of G–d for they are called 'children of G–d.' They enjoy an additional degree of fondness (by G–d) for they have been called 'children of G–d.'" The very repetition of the wording in these two statements in the Mishnah makes it plain that the author wanted to tell us that the "fondness," חיבה, described here is not of the ordinary variety. Rashi meant to convey the same idea, i.e. that the fondness displayed by G–d for Israel is not of the ordinary variety. The verse refrains from spelling out the nature of this different dimension of "fondness" G–d displays for the Jewish people. The example Rashi quoted is only an illustration of the fact that Israel the nation is referred to in the plural i.e. as עמים, instead of merely as עם. This is why Rashi quoted the example of the tribe of Benjamin itself as being called a nation. The additional dimension of G–d's fondness for Israel then is that the whole nation is called עמים (pl.), and not that a single tribe of it is called עם. Personally, I feel that these words allude to something else. Since the Torah has many facets I may be allowed to state my own view. I understand the word אף here as hinting to us that the words חובב עמים should be read as if they had been repeated, the message being that the Torah also alludes to the light which has been hidden and will only be revealed to the righteous in the future. Since it is going to be revealed to them exclusively, this represents an additional dimension of G–d's fondness for us because we cleave to G–d.

Let me introduce my thoughts by a quotation from the ספר יצירה. The ten emanations are symbolized in our having ten fingers on our hands. We similarly have ten toes on our feet. The latter may be viewed as the shadow of the ten fingers of our hands, as explained in Pardes Rimonim at the beginning of his book. Man, i.e. אדם, was created in the image of G–d and Israel have been called אדם. This is why he has been equipped with ten fingers to correspond to the ten emanations. These ten fingers are viewed as man's "beginning," for when one extends one's arms over one's head these fingers are found to be the "highest" part of man, higher even than his head. When he lets his hands hang down, his fingers extend to below his torso so that symbolically speaking the torso is sanctified by being "enclosed" by the fingers. When man stands on his ten toes, this alludes to the fact that he is in the shadow of G–d, i.e. under His protection.

Even if the impure nations of the world i.e. man in the image of אדם בליעל, were to refine themselves, (the ones who have achieved a degree of piety or the ones who converted to Judaism), the highest spiritual plateau they could attain would be תחת כנפי השכינה, "under the protective cover of the wings of G–d's Presence;" this is because in the higher regions, the region represented by the "hand," i.e. the ten fingers, there is only Israel. Any converts to Judaism can only occupy the region allocated to the "feet." This is what our verse tells us here. אף חובב עמים, "even when the Gentiles have achieved a level where they are beloved by G–d, only the Jewish people כל קדושיו, 'His holy ones,’ achieve the level described a בידך, 'Your hands,’ whereas הם תכו לרגלך, 'they, i.e. the converts from the faiths of the Gentiles are crouched at Your feet.'"

Another way of explaining this additional dimension of fondness is that it refers to the two "lights," the light of the written Torah, the hidden light, as well as the light of the oral Torah, i.e. the Talmud. The words מימינו אש דת למו, would refer to the dialectics, the sometimes fiery debate employed by the sages in clarifying halachic points in the Talmud. It is interesting to note that the letters in the words דת למו spell תלמוד when re-arranged. The arguments between scholars reported in the Talmud are quarrels for the sake of Heaven, i.e. the "fire" generated by these debates is holy, not destructive. Concerning such arguments David says in Psalms 29,11: "May the Lord give strength to His people, may he bless His nation with harmony." I have written earlier on the meaning of the word שלום. Our sages have explained Numbers 21,14: את והב בסופה as an allusion to the harmony which eventually results from quarrels which are carried on by people who harbor pure motives (Kidushin 30b). Our verse may contain a similar hint; though concerning the subject matter under discussion the Rabbis engaged in the debate were at opposite sides, this had no bearing on their personal relations with one another which remain harmonious. In fact they made a point of emphasizing this at the end of such discussions. This is why they are described as "beloved by G–d. The words אשדת למו also are a hint at what is related in Taanit 4a: Constant apparent anger in certain young scholars has its root in Torah (discussions); this is referred to in Jeremiah 23,29: "Behold! My word is like fire, says the Lord." The fire alluded to in our verse is the fire of anger. It is caused by debate of points of Torah. The young scholars become angry when they observe people making all kinds of excuses for themselves while observing the strict letter of Torah law. Their anger is comparable to the anger and jealousy Pinchas felt on behalf of G–d when he slew Zimri. Most people who find excuses to ignore certain parts of the Torah object to interpretations of the law as stated in the Talmud.

From all the above we arrive at the rule that there are two blessings represented by the two luminaries. One is the blessing of the Torah which comprises the letters of the Holy name of G–d, the written Torah, the light of which has largely been hidden; the other is the blessing which accrues to us through the expansion of Torah knowledge by means of the study of the oral Torah which has itself been blessed by the written Torah. This thought helps us to understand the two benedictions we recite when reading from the Torah. We read in Baba Metzia 85 that Rabbi Yehudah stated in the name of Rav that the sages had left the following verse (Jeremiah 9,11) unexplained. The prophet asks: "What man is so wise that he understands this? To whom has the Lord's mouth spoken so that he may explain it? Why is the land in ruins, laid waste like a wilderness with none passing through?" The prophets did not explain this verse either until G–d Himself provided the explanation when He said in the verse following: "Because they forsook the Teaching I had set before them." Rabbi Yehudah, quoting Rav, said that the sin the Jewish people were guilty of was their failure to pronounce a benediction before they commenced their Torah studies. Rashi comments that Rav deduced this from the apparently superfluous words: "which I set before them." The benediction that this Rabbi refers to is: אשר נתן לנו תורת אמת, "who has given us a true Teaching," which is part of the benediction everyone recites when he is called up to the Torah. The failure to introduce Torah study by a benediction is tantamount to declaring that the gift of Torah is not of much value. Thus far the Rashi on the subject.

One may ask what the Talmud meant when Rabbi Yehudah said that neither the sages nor the prophets provided an explanation for the verse in question. Why did the Talmud repeat that Rabbi Yehudah was the author of this comment? Since it is clear from the beginning of the quotation that Rabbi Yehudah did intend to reveal the meaning of the verse, why did he first stress that the Rabbis had not provided an explanation? Mentioning his name once more was clearly superfluous then!

We have another statement regarding the failure of the scholars of that time to recite a benediction before commencing Torah study. Ravina states in Nedarim 81a that Torah scholars frequently have sons who do not become scholars because their fathers failed to recite a benediction before studying the Torah. He cites Rabbi Yehudah's saying in Baba Metzia as his source, adding the end of verse 12 of Jeremiah, i.e. "they did not listen to My voice nor follow it." We are struck by the difference between the version of this saying in Baba Metzia and the parallel saying in Nedarim. In the former the Rabbis and prophets are reported as mentioning the verse in Jeremiah without explaining it. In the latter the Rabbis or prophets are not mentioned as having quoted scripture on the subject. The former does not quote the end of the verse in Jeremiah which spells out the sin; the latter does. This forced Rashi in Baba Metzia to quote the words "which I have set before them," as the source of Rabbi Yehudah's interpretation. The version in Nedarim also seems to repeat the words: "Rabbi Yehudah said in the name of Rav" needlessly.

It is a duty to recite a benediction when setting out to study or to read the written Torah as well as to recite a benediction when setting out to study the oral Torah. The two benedictions are different, however, in their mystical dimensions. The benediction recited over the written Torah focuses on the awakening of the hidden light, imploring G–d to expand some of it so we may be enlightened by it. It is an example of the fact that any blessing is by definition an expansion of an already existing measure of blessing granted by G–d. The fact that we recite this blessing "awakens" the blessing, so to speak. The same will happen in the future when we can access this light completely. The benediction recited before studying oral Torah is an acknowledgement that this Torah has already developed like a fountain that keeps on gushing forth water, constantly adding new water. Similarly, our preoccupation with the oral Torah constantly affords us new insights, some of them never before articulated. It is these new insights which our Rabbis referred to when they said that G–d Himself quotes such insights taught by the scholars. The discussion in the Talmud as to why the earth was destroyed revolves around this concept. The purpose of creating the earth was that the earth should be "good," i.e. the world should be refined and that man should be clothed in garments of light, and that the light which is now hidden should pervade the whole universe. G–d hid this light upon observing the deeds of man. As a result the whole material the earth was constructed of coarsened, and man was forced to wear garments made of hide, etc. In spite of this coarsening process there was a small part of the earth which retained its original holiness, i.e. ארץ ישראל. Even this small corner of the earth which had retained its original holiness lost it, however, due to our sins, i.e. at the time of the destruction of the Holy Temple. At that time darkness descended even on this part of the earth, as the prophet Jeremiah tells us in Lamentations 3,6. Just as the light was removed immediately Adam had sinned, so in the case of Jerusalem. We read in Jeremiah 32,31: "This city has aroused My anger and My wrath from the day it was built until this day; hence it must be removed from My sight." This condition will continue until the land laid waste will be restored to be like גן עדן. I have repeatedly explained that terrestrial ארץ ישראל is "opposite" Celestial ארץ ישראל which is the mystical dimension of the oral Torah.

Keeping this in mind you will understand that the loss of refined "Man" is the reason that until this day we cannot regain this hidden light as it was בתחלה, "in the beginning." This then is the meaning of the saying "על שלא ברכו בתורה תחלה." This explains Rashi's meaning when he referred to the words "אשר נתתי לפניהם" i.e. the previous, or original condition when G–d had made Torah available to man at the time of creation as a source of absolute enlightenment. There is yet a deeper meaning of the whole episode. We could have asked: If G–d knew He was going to have to conceal this light almost immediately, why did He bother to create and provide it in the first place? The answer to this is that the Celestial Spheres respond to stimulants originating in our spheres. G–d is only waiting until we provide the necessary stimulus by our conduct to once more place this light at our disposal. In order for this to happen this light first had to exist. Without such a stimulus forthcoming from the terrestrial regions the hidden light will remain forever hidden. It is this fact which the sages and prophets had been unaware of. They did not expound on this aspect though they were all perfectly aware of the existence of the hidden light, and many prophets had prophesied concerning its eventual restoration. Our sages have based the text of many prayers on the assumption that this light will be restored. They had not known that this development would depend on the benediction of the Torah.

[The עין יעקב edition of the passage in Nedarim 81, as distinct from the regular editions of the Talmud, includes the ministering angels as also unable to explain the meaning of the verse in Jeremiah under discussion. The parallel passage in Baba Metzia does not mention the ministering angels. The author now explains why only the passage in Nedarim mentions these angels. Ed.] The hidden light will be revealed in the future only to the righteous who will occupy a position closer to the throne of G–d than that of the angels. In fact, as we have mentioned, the angels at that time will inquire from the righteous about G–d's activities. It is easy to comprehend therefore that the Talmud in Nedarim did not mention the righteous as inquiring about this state of affairs from the angels. They were privy to greater secrets than had been revealed to the angels. The situation is similar to the Talmud asking: "If Rabbi Yehudah did not know the source of a certain law, how could one expect his nephew Rabbi Chiyah to know the answer to such a problem?" If the prophets and sages did not know how to explain the meaning of the verse in question there was no point in even inquiring from the ministering angels.

Rabbi Yehudah is mentioned twice in the same passage (saying) because he addressed two separate aspects of the same problem. He first spoke about the loss or destruction of "the earth," i.e. the loss of the refined matter the earth consisted of prior to G–d having removed the original light. He then spoke about the loss of the "earth," referring to the Holy Land, a land which used to belong to us, in which we resided, and from which we have been exiled. The version in Baba Metzia has Rabbi Yehudah first speak about the state of the earth as a whole, whereas at the end of his statement he made it plain that there was another aspect to this problem of the destruction of the earth, namely the loss of ארץ ישראל as a Holy Land, i.e. the statement attributed to him in Nedarim. The version reported by the Talmud in Nedarim may be understood as following the reverse sequence of the one in Baba Metzia.

Let me quote a few lines from the Bet Yosef on Tur Shulchan Aruch Or Hachayim section 47, before explaining the passage in Nedarim 81. "One needs to be extremely careful about reciting the benedictions before Torah study because of Ravina's statement in Nedarim 81 that failure to do so may result in Torah scholars not having sons who become scholars. Ravina meant that one has to recite these benedictions at the very beginning of the day, on a daily basis, not only when one sets out to study a certain portion. Failure of these scholars -whose major preoccupation is Torah study- to recite these benedictions in the morning immediately may result in their forfeiting the blessing associated with Torah study, i.e. that their children and children's children will become לומדי תורה, as we say in our daily morning prayer immediately following the benediction לעסוק בדברי תורה. Our great and revered teacher Rabbi Yitzchak Abravanel writes that the reason scholars fail to produce children who grow into Torah scholars is that the father's failure to recite these benedictions is proof that he does not study Torah לשמה, for its own sake, but rather treats Torah as one does any other profession or skill." Thus far the Bet Yosef.

Let me expand on this a little further: I have already outlined that a blessing is the expansion of something G–d has already granted us. We also know that the world was created for the sake of Torah and for the sake of Israel who are to study its commandments. The object of such study is to perform the commandments one has studied. Study is great only because it leads to practice. We recite the desired sequence of our relationship to Torah study in the morning prayer אהבה רבה before קריאת שמע. Anyone who relates to Torah by observing the sequence listed in that prayer, i.e. ללמוד וללמד לשמור ולעשות ולקיים is someone of whom it can be said that he studies לשמה. The expression: "for its own sake" means: "in order to observe what is written in it." A student therefore is perceived as if he were someone reading the decree of a king in order to obey it.

The Torah's greatest command is to see to it that its teachings expand to as many Jews as possible, certainly including one's own children, in order to perpetuate the chain of Torah knowledge in one's family. The latter is clearly stated in Deut. 11,19 and numerous other places. It is this the sages had in mind when they said (Rashi Genesis 6,9) that the principal descendants of the righteous are their good deeds. This means that it is the fondest hope of the righteous that they become fruitful and multiply in order that their children may perform good deeds such as the study of Torah for its own sake and all that results therefrom. Concerning such an attitude Solomon has said in Kohelet 12,11: "The words of the scholars are like goads and like well driven nails i.e. נטועים." Our sages understand the word נטועים here as referring to offspring. Just as a plant is called permanent when securely planted, so one's children assure one of a degree of permanence and continuity on earth by their very existence. Words of Torah have a similar characteristic. They are fruitful and multiply like an unending fountain whose waters never cease The important thing is that preoccupation with Torah should not become a sterile intellectual exercise but something dynamic, creative. This is the reason that the Rabbis said that when one teaches one's neighbor's child Torah it is as if one had begotten him, i.e. performed a dynamic life-giving act. The same applies in even greater degree to when one teaches Torah to one's own children. The earth was given to man on condition that he live according to these principles, and the atmosphere of the land of Israel is particularly suited to further Torah study. We find an allusion to this in the positioning of the verse (11,19) instructing us to teach our children Torah immediately before the verse: "so that you will enjoy long years on the land the Lord your G–d has sworn to your forefathers to give to them, etc." (11,21). This is why this dimension is mentioned in the above quoted prayer והערב נא which we recite every morning immediately following the benediction לעסוק בדברי תורה. Our sages have formulated this prayer/blessing to include both our own offspring, וצאצאינו, as well as that of others, i.e. וצאצאי עמך בית ישראל. Anyone failing to recite this benediction may find that his children themselves will not develop to be Torah scholars. If such failure occurs on a broad basis even the atmosphere of the land of Israel, which is so suited to the spread of Torah knowledge, will become "lost," i.e. it will no longer be a built-in assist to the spread of Torah. The land's characteristic is closely bound up with the scholars residing in it practicing the virtues associated with their Torah knowledge.

This is why Ravina said in the passage quoted from Nedarim that the reason some Torah scholars do not have children who follow in their footsteps is the failure of these children's fathers to have recited the appropriate benediction every morning before they commenced to busy themselves with the Torah. He quoted the statement of Rabbi Yehudah in the name of Rav although the latter had only spoken about the "loss of the earth," i.e. the "Land of Israel." Since the continued existence of ארץ ישראל as a Holy Land is tied closely to the people who learn תורה לשמה in that land, the two statements are conceptually closely linked to one another.

Nowadays, when we all recite the appropriate benedictions, our Torah study can be classified as לשמה. In the final analysis, of course, only G–d knows if our Torah study is truly motivated by the proper thoughts; the matter is left to our hearts, it can never be demonstrated. The Torah frequently writes: ויראת מאלוקיך, "you shall fear the Lord;" such instructions refer to matters which 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 Sarah's whereabouts. [Sarah's laughter which she did not articulate was something that G–d had revealed to these angels specifically then. Ed.] Tosafot in Shabbat 12 question 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 among 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 and therefore were unable to know if we study Torah לשמה 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. It follows that the passage in Nedarim mentioning that "the earth was lost" refers to the land of Israel.

There is an anomaly in verse 8 of our portion where the normal sequence of describing the אורים ותומים 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 these 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 שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד, "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 תומים exceeds the spiritual level achieved by the אורים, seeing that 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 תומים ואורים 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 אורים. This answer becomes clearer when the אורים form themselves into words, i.e. תומים.

In our verse the words תומיך ואוריך, are to be understood as addressed to the שכינה. I believe that this is what Rashi had in mind when he commented: "he is speaking vis-a-vis the שכינה." 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!