Blog - Torah Insights

The Voice Rising From the Earth

Up to this point, the voice of God descended from heaven, from this point on, the Divine voice emerges from the earth.

At Sinai, the Jewish people stood at the bottom of the mountain and heard the words of the ten commandments descending from the top of the mountain, yet, in the land of Israel, the reverse was to take place. The Jewish people would stand atop the two mountains of Gerizimi and Ebal, listening to the words of the Torah spoken to them by the Levites, who stood in the valley between the mountains.  

At the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, we read: 

And it will be, when the Lord, your God, will bring you to the land to which you come, to possess it, that you shall place the blessing upon Mount Gerizim, and the curse upon Mount Ebal.

Later in Deuteronomy, where the Torah elaborates on the ceremony, Rashi elaborates: 

As it is found in Tractate Sotah (32a): Six tribes ascended to the top of Mount Gerizim and [the other] six to the top of Mount Ebal; the Kohanim, the Levites and the [holy] ark stood below in the middle. The Levites turned their faces towards Mount Gerizim and began with the blessing: “Blessed be the man who does not make a graven or molten image…,” and these [the tribes on Mount Gerizim] and these [the tribes on Mount Ebal] answered “Amen!”. 

At Sinai, the words of the Torah were spoken from above, superimposed by the Divine will. The land of Israel, however, represents the internalization of the Torah's values to the extent that the Torah emerges from the earth. Entering the land of Israel begins a new era, where the created reality can be refined to the point where creation itself beckons and calls us to appreciate the value of the Torah.  

The theme of this entire portion is the refinement of creation, which depicts at great length the spiritual heights that the Jewish people would experience in Jerusalem. There, in Jerusalem, the celebration is not exclusively spiritual, but rather it includes celebrating with food and drink: 

And there you shall eat before the Lord, your G-d, and you shall rejoice in all your endeavors you and your households, as the Lord, your G-d, has blessed you. (Deuteronomy 12:5-7)

In Israel, physical pleasure is not in conflict with spiritual connection. Instead, we discover the harmony between body and soul, where the eating and celebrating lead to an increase in the awe of G-d: 

And you shall eat before the Lord, your God, in the place He chooses to establish His Name therein, the tithes of your grain, your wine, and your oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and of your sheep, so that you may learn to fear the Lord, your God, all the days. (Deuteronomy 14:23)

Tefillin - The Essence of Judaism 

The Talmud states that the mitzvah of Tefillin is so central that it is equated to the entire Torah.

The verse states with regard to Tefilin: "And it shall be a sign for you on your arm and for a memorial between your eyes, that the Torah of the Lord may be in your mouth" (Exodus 13:9). In this manner, the entire Torah is juxtaposed to Tefilin.

The Tefillin are equated to the entire Torah, not only because they contain parchment inscribed with the Shema, the declaration of the unity of G-d which is the essence of Judaism, but because Tefillin represent the goal of Judaism. Inscribing the words of the Torah on parchment transforms the parchment from its material state into a holy object. This captures the essence of Judaism, not merely to inspire and direct people on how to move closer to the spiritual, but rather to sanctify the physical matter of the world. 

Seen through this lens, the commandment of Tefillin as it appears in this week's portion, in what we call the second paragraph of the Shema, is superior to the commandment of the Tefillin as it appears in last week's portion, in what we refer to as the first paragraph of the Shema.

The first paragraph of the Shema describes a Jew who is in a heightened level of spiritual awareness. It describes the Jew as a person commanded to love G-d not only "with all your heart and with all your soul", but also with “all your might". In the first paragraph of the Shema, the Jew is motivated exclusively by love of G-d. In the second paragraph of the Shema, by contrast, we read about reward and punishment. If we obeys the commandment, G-d promises: "I will give rain for your land at the proper time… and you will gather in your grain, your wine and your oil”. There is also a warning, lest one turns away from G-d, in that case: "He will close the heavens so that there will be no rain… and you will swiftly perish from the good land which the L-rd gives you".

While the first paragraph of the Shema describes a Jew whose connection to G-d fills all of his essence, it is specifically the second paragraph of the Shema where the purpose of Judaism is played out. For only in the second paragraph do we address a Jew while he is grappling with the challenges of earning a living; gathering his grain, wine, and oil. In the second paragraph, a Jew is involved in the material world that is important to him, he is motivated by a physical reward, yet even while he is  in this state he is called upon to bring the awareness of G-d within that very space. The tefillin, as described in the second paragraph, represent imbuing the oneness of G-d within the world, transforming the physical from mundane to sacred object which expresses the Divine presence. 

Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Eikev 5729

Torah - City of Refuge

The City of Refuge, mentioned in this week’s Torah portion, was the place where the inadvertent killer would run to find protection and atonement. As the Torah states: 

Then Moses decided to separate three cities on the side of the Jordan towards the sunrise, so that a murderer might flee there, he who murders his fellow man unintentionally, but did not hate him in time past, that he may flee to one of these cities, so that he might live. (Deuteronomy 4:41-42)

The Rebbe explains that what provided the atonement was not merely the pain of exile, the agony of being dislodged from their family and friends. Instead, atonement was achieved because the person fleeing to the City of Refuge ceased to be an individual who was indifferent to human life; rather, by being disconnected from family and loved ones, the person becomes part of a collective, elevated, and atoned for by becoming part of a larger community, a his community is now the collective the city of refuge that he would now reside in.

The Talmud teaches that “the words of Torah offer refuge and protection”. When one is pursued by negativity, pulled by the lure of the evil inclination, one can and should turn to Torah study and find protection in its holiness. 

Perhaps we can suggest that the protective power of Torah is not only that it is a sacred place that shields us from negativity. Instead, when we open a volume of Torah, we lose our sense of being an isolated individual, burdened by the challenges of our own personal circumstances. When we study Torah we become part of something larger than ourselves. We become part of a lglobal community of people, connected to 3,300 years of Jewish history. From Rashi to Rambam, from Rabbi Akiva to Rabbi Yishamel, from Abaya to Rava; From Israel to Babylonia to Western Europe to Spain, to Eastern Europe, back to Israel and the United States. The conversations are alive, the discussions are relevant and timely.

The study of Torah invites us to become part of a community that offers protection and solace, a community that elevates us, bringing out the best version of ourselves.   

Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Lekutie Sichos 29 Devarim