Some Thoughts
About Shavout
by
Senior Rabbi, Alan Green (00-Present)
Published in the Shaarey Zedek Shofar in May
2008
The rabbis of old
make two astonishing statements about the nature of Torah. One
comment says that far from being a scroll with physical black
letters written on physical white parchment, the Torah is, in
reality, "black fire written on white fire." The other comment is
that before God uttered the words, "Let there be light!" he looked
into the Torah, like an architect who contemplates a blueprint
before putting up a building.
What are the
implications of these teachings? Basically, that the Torah is far
more than we generally imagine it to be. As the Zohar pointedly
says, "If someone looks at the Torah merely as a book presenting
narratives and everyday matters, alas for them! Such a torah—one
treating of everyday concerns—and indeed, a more excellent one
we--even we, could compile. More than that, in the possession of the
rulers of the world are books of even greater merit, and these we
could emulate, if we wished to compile some such torah. But our
Torah, in all of its words, holds within it supernal truths, and
sublime secrets."
By describing it as
"black fire written on white fire," the rabbis wish to convey that
the Torah is essentially an energy—the energy of life, with the
power to confer life upon those who attune themselves to it. The
decorative crowns on the letters of the Torah scroll actually make
the letters appear to dance, in much the same way that flames dance.
The fiery letters, words, and sentences of the Torah are not
intended to stay attached to the parchment. Rather is this "fire
from heaven" meant to enter our eyes and ears, penetrate our hearts
and souls, and melt down the inner barriers that prevent us from
perceiving the truth about our lives and ourselves.
By describing it as
the blueprint of creation, the rabbis wish to convey that the Torah
contains all knowledge. This may seem like a bit of a stretch. But
consider this: all of Jewish law, philosophy, theology, and
practice—the whole of Jewish tradition—is contained in the compact
documents of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
It’s only one small step beyond to discover the seed forms of
astronomy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology contained in
the Torah as well.
For example, after
the procedure of setting the calendar according to the sighting the
new moon fell by the wayside, the rabbis made extensive use of
mathematics and astronomy to precisely calculate the appearance of
the new moon, accurate to within a few seconds. If these
calculations didn’t come straight from the Torah, they were
certainly inspired by the Torah.
Similarly, the
Torah’s concern with physical health both contained and nourished
the roots of medical science, as well as the related fields of
chemistry and biology. Also, the mechanics of creation, embodied in
God’s great words, "Let there be light!" seem to run parallel to the
latest theories of cosmogony and the Big Bang Theory of creation.
The Zohar
continues: "The most visible part of a person is the clothes that
they wear. Those who lack understanding, when they look at the
person, are apt not to see in them more than these clothes. In
reality however, it is the person’s body that constitutes the pride
of the clothes, and the soul that constitutes the pride of the body.
"So it is with the
Torah. Its narrations, which relate to things of the world,
constitute the garments which clothe the body of the Torah…People
without understanding see only the narratives—the garment; those
somewhat more penetrating also see the body. But the truly
wise—those who serve the Most High King, and who stood at Mt. Sinai,
pierce all the way through to the soul—to the true Torah, which is
the root principle of all…"Woe to the sinners who look upon the
Torah simply as tales pertaining to things of this world, seeing
only the outer garment. But the righteous ones, whose gaze
penetrates to the very Torah—happy are they! Just as wine must be in
a jar to keep, so the Torah must be contained in an outer garment.
That garment is composed of tales and stories. But we—we are bound
to penetrate beyond."
This Shavuot,
choose to be in the company of those "who are bound to penetrate
beyond" the usual, superficial understandings of the Torah. I invite
you to join us for Shaarey Zedek’s Tikkun Leil Shavuot (All Night
Shavuot Torah Study)--a transformative experience which will take
place at the synagogue on Sunday, June 8 beginning at 8:00 PM and
which will feature some of the leading Jewish teachers, as well as
some of the best food in the city. I look forward to seeing you
there. Chag Sameach! |
