In Love with the Law What is the purpose of the Law? To enable civilized arbitration of disputes? To apply justice? To create predictability that will ensure investment and commerce? Conventional wisdom would assert that the purpose of the law is to allow for a functioning society. Indeed, in the ethics of our fathers, our sages teach: By three things is the world sustained: law, truth and peace. (Avot 1:18) The commentaries explain that this statement does not refer to the purpose of creation, for that is explained earlier in the ethics: “The world stands on three things: Torah, the service of G‑d, and deeds of kindness.” (Avot 1:2) Rather, justice (as well as truth and peace) sustains the world, meaning it allows the world to function and exist in an orderly manner. And yet, the Midrash offers a deeper perspective. The Midrash refers to the law as the something that G-d loves more than anything else, and as a result, He gives the law to the Jewish people, His beloved young child: Rabbi Levi said: To what is this matter comparable? To a king who had many children, and he loved the youngest more than them all. He had a certain orchard, and he liked it more than all his possessions. The king said: ‘I will give this orchard that I like more than all my possessions, to my youngest son, whom I love more than all my children.’ So, too, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘From all the nations that I created, I love only Israel, as it is stated: “When Israel was a lad, I loved him” (Hosea 11:1). From everything that I created, I love only justice, as it is stated: “For I am the Lord, who loves justice”’ (Isaiah 61:8). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I am giving what I love to the people that I love.’ That is, “judges and officers.” (Devarim Raba, 5:7) The Midrash refers to the law as an “orchard”. Unlike a field which produces wheat, a staple of sustenance, an orchard produces luxurious fruit. The Midrash chooses the metaphor of an orchard to alert us to the deeper dimension of the law given to the Jewish people. It is not merely a necessity to allow society to function; it is a luxury expressing G-d’s love. The Torah’s commandment in this week’s Parsha, “You shall set up judges and law enforcement officials for yourself in all your cities”, is not merely to arbitrate between litigants. The Torah proceeds to describe that when there is a question as to what the law is, unlike during the time of Moses, when we could count on receiving Divine communication directly through Moses, we were later required to go up to Jerusalem to consult with the Judges who had the authority to explain and apply the Divine law. The law is G-d’s invitation to engage with Him in a partnership between the written Torah, given to us by G-d, and the oral Torah, its human interpretation and application. The study of the law, then, is not only for the practical benefit of knowing what to do, but it is an act of love; a walk in the orchard, with our beloved, where our perspectives combine to create a marriage and partnership between G-d, and His beloved people Israel. Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Likutei Sichos 29 Shoftim 1
Blog - Torah Insights
In Love with the Law - שופטים
What is the Hebrew Word for “I”? - ראה
What is the Hebrew Word for “I”? Biblical Hebrew has far fewer words than English; the scarcity of words can be seen as a limitation to expressing precise ideas, but it also has powerful advantages. In Hebrew, many words share similar roots, which invites us to find connections between concepts and phenomena that seem unrelated, giving us a glimpse into deeper dimensions of reality. One interesting exception, where Hebrew is perhaps more descriptive than English, is the word “I”, where Hebrew has two ways of saying “I”: the common word in the Torah is “Ani”, yet occasionally the Torah uses the word “Anochi”; for example, the opening statement of the ten commandments, “I am the Lord your G-d” is “Anochi” for “I”. The word “I” written on paper is silent; it does not tell us the tone in which the word is spoken. When someone asks: “Who did this?” and the response is “I”, what is the meaning of the answer? Was it said with an apologetic tone, or an assertive one? Same word, completely different meaning. That is why the Hebrew has two words: “Ani” is the humble “I”, Anochi is the assertive one. Throughout the Torah, the shift between these two words reveals a progressive three-step unfolding of the Divine presence. When the Jewish people were in Egypt, the Torah uses the word “Ani”, the humble I, because G-d “lowered” himself and expressed himself within the space of Egypt. By contrast, at Sinai, G-d revealed himself with all his glory; He therefore says, “Anochi”, asserting his full essence. [Assertiveness and self-containment, in Chasidic thought, are synonymous: the deeper the self, the less it needs to answer to anything outside it]. And then, at the bank of the Jordan River, we read the opening statement of the portion of Re’eh: “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse”. This time, again, the word Anochi is used for “I”. Chasidism explains that the Anochi at the Jordan River represents an even greater level than the Anochi of Sinai. For at Sinai, the “Anochi” is followed by other names: “Anochi Hashem Elohecha”, “I am the Lord your G-d”, representing the essence as it is expressed and channeled through a description and limitation. At the Jordan River, we read of the unqualified “Anochi”, the true essence of G-d. At Sinai, which refers to the Torah, we encounter the essence of G-d as it is expressed through the ideas and teachings of the Torah. What could possibly be a greater way to connect to the unqualified essential “Anochi” than Torah - the Divine will and wisdom? The Talmud teaches that the ceremony of accepting the blessing and the curses on Mount Gerizim and Mount Eibal described at the beginning of our Parsha, Re’eh, is when the Jewish people entered into a collective covenant with G-d. At Sinai, G-d spoke to every Jew in the singular, and each person accepted the covenant for themselves; only once we entered the land of Israel did we accept the covenant that makes us responsible, and “guarantors”, for one another. The unity between the Jewish people touches the true core of who we are. Externally, there can be profound differences between us, various opinions, personalities, and perspectives. Yet, at the core essence we are one. When we look beyond our differences and recognize our core, ”Anochi”, the deepest essence of our Jewish souls, we connect to the ultimate “Anochi”, the deepest essence of G-d. Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Re’eh Anochi 5765