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Our ancestors passed the details of the Torah orally from the time of Moses. New circumstances require new interpretations of the laws, which become part of the Oral Law. The laws of the Written Torah are D’raissa from the first writings, and those of the Oral Torah are D’rabbanan from the teachers—the former having precedent over the later.

The Oral Torah is the great gift for it reveals the Truth of the Torah. Humans are by nature flawed and the Written Torah contains their stories while the Oral Torah reveals their flaws. The Oral Torah enables us to understand the Written Torah if and when the simple written words are flawed by the speaker or even out of context. Examples include Isaiah’s vision of God which we know is prohibited by the Torah and hence, an overstatement by this prophet. Other cases included the giving of sins to a goat when we know this is a symbolic ritual transforming physical action into spiritual manifestation. Also we know that God forgives sins without the shedding of blood despite Leviticus’s 17:11 literal statement. The Oral Torah explains the Written Torah’s context and True meaning. It is simply impossible to know the Truth without it.

There are many techniques in expounding the Written Torah with the Oral Torah. Many of the derivations are read into the text in ways that may not be significant. This is a creative manner as it is taught, the law is not in heaven that you should go up and seek it there, but man decrees and G-d fulfills. Truth evolves even absolute truth. This is the nature of Talmud. Right and wrong can change over time with interpretation. Absolute truth changes accordingly.

In observance, we strive to be the best we can be and follow the axiom ‘Less guilt, more joy.’^[374]

The Midrash is a commentary on the Bible and part of the Oral Torah. The Midrash is rich in lessons and reveals the endless depth of meaning in Torah. It consists mostly of aggadah that are the stories surrounding and explaining the written stories in the Torah.

It is important that we not become depressed in daily sufferings. We should always remember the teaching of Akiba. R. Akiba said:

He deals strictly with both, even to the great deep. He deals strictly with the righteous, calling them to account for the few wrongs which they commit in this world, in order to lavish bliss upon and give them a goodly reward in the world to come; He grants ease to the wicked and rewards them for the few good deeds which they have performed in this world in order to punish them in the future world.^[375]

King David wrote similarly in the Psalms:

There is a Midrash that states ones food in heaven is ones Torah learning, ones clothes in heaven are the mitzvot kept, and ones drink in heaven are the prayers uttered.

WHAT BLESSINGS ARE SAID OVER FRUIT? OVER FRUIT OF THE TREE ONE SAYS, WHO CREATEST THE FRUIT OF THE TREE, EXCEPT FOR WINE, OVER WHICH ONE SAYS, WHO CREATEST THE FRUIT OF THE VINE. OVER THAT WHICH GROWS FROM THE GROUND ONE SAYS: WHO CREATEST THE FRUIT OF THE GROUND, EXCEPT OVER BREAD, FOR WHICH ONE SAYS, WHO BRINGEST FORTH BREAD FROM THE EARTH. OVER VEGETABLES ONE SAYS, WHO CREATEST THE FRUIT OF THE GROUND; R. JUDAH, HOWEVER, SAYS: WHO CREATEST DIVERS KINDS OF HERBS.

The mnemonic to remember this Mishnah is to see three pairs.^[376]

The term for tree here is Elon that is Adonai Havayah gematria 91. But the blessing is ‘borei pri ha’etz’ – who creates the fruit of the tree. The exception is wine that has the blessing ‘borei pri ha’gaphen’ – who creates the fruit of the vine. However, the blessing over grapes is ‘borei pri ha’etz’. This is because the vine is a perennial that is a tree in Torah classification. The fruit comes from the tree, hence this is the source of its blessing.

Vegetables have their source in the Earth as they are close to the ground. Tubers like carrots or potatoes grow within the ground. The vegetables are annuals and their blessing is ‘borei pri ha’adamah’ – who creates the fruit of the earth. However, for bread one says, ‘hamotzei lechem m’een ha’aretz’ – who brings bread forth from the land. The Mishnah uses the word ‘pas’ for bread, but in the blessing it is ‘lechem’. What do bread and wine have in common that they have distinguished blessings? They are products^[377] of God and man together. Partnership is the higher purpose for following the commandments.

The third pair refers to the ‘yarakot’ – the greens or vegetables. They are annuals and come out of the earth. Hence, the blessing is ‘borei pri ha’adamah’. But, Rabbi Yehudah has an additional insight and suggests the blessing is ‘borei menai d’sha’eem’ – who creates diverse grasses. Rabbi Yehudah recognized the greater diversity in the healing properties of herbs and grasses versus the tubers and fruits. Hence, he desired to distinguish them. Nevertheless, the majority say ‘borei pri ha’adamah’ which determines the law, so as not to make matters too difficult.

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.

2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.

7 At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.

8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.

9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.

10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.

11 They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.

12 By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.

13 He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;

15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

17 Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.

18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.

19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.

20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.

21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.

22 The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.

23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.

24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.

26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.

28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.

29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.

31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.

32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.

33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

34 My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.

35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.

This psalm recognizes the beauty of this world.

In Avot 4:15 Rabbi Matya ben Harash said, “Be the first to greet every man; and be a tail amongst lions and be not a head to foxes.”

The Midrash on the Book of Samuel says: “Whereas the lion habitually raises his tail above his head, the fox lowers his head below his tail. And so it is with men: The gentleman respects his inferiors and discerns in them good qualities, whereas the lowbred despises and humiliates his superiors in honor and rank.”^[378] Ultimately the gentleman is distinguished by his temperance and by his absence of anger.

This teaches that G-d has magnified the creation of the world so that the wicked cannot destroy it in a single step. While this increases the punishment of the wicked, it also permits them a “chance” to repent at each step before they reach ten. G-d rewards the righteous with additional opportunities for good, but these bring additional chances to fall.

The first and the eleventh are one and the same as the end is “imbedded in the beginning.”^[380] Correspondingly, Keter is the first and Daat, the eleventh, in the Tree of Life. Keter refers to the crown or first thought of creation. Daat refers to the knowledge between husband and wife.

There were Ten Generations from Adam to Noah, to make known how great is G-d’s patience – aruch apayim – ארך אפים, for all these generations provoked him until he brought upon them the waters of the flood. There were Ten Generations from Noah to Abraham to make known how great is G-d’s patience for all these generations provoked Him until our Father Abraham came and received the reward that would have been theirs.

At the highest level, G-d is Aruch Anpin, long face, which alludes to Aruch Apayim, long breaths. G-d is breathing heavy but withholds his anger. He is long faced in patience for the return of his children. Aruch Anpin corresponds to Keter, the crown, the Will of G-d, and that which is most unknown. What is most unknown?

G-d’s sefirah Hesed manifests kindness and mercy. The sefirah of Tiferet is also Rahamim – mercy, since there is a proper degree of forgiveness in Truth, which Jacob practiced with his children. What is unknown is that above Tiferet at the highest level, Hashem exhibits an infinite level of mercy towards his creation. This is the incomprehensible mercy of the Crown of G-d. It is the Aruch Anpin, a long face withholding anger that we cannot know the thoughts behind. The next Mishnah explains that even when G-d provides us with obstacles, there is only love.

With Ten Trials was our father Abraham tried, and he stood firm through all of them; to make known “how great was the love of our father Abraham” | “how much He loved Abraham, our father”.

There are two possible ways of translating the last stanza of the Mishnah. In the first translation, it is how great Abraham’s love is for G-d, for he maintained it through all trials. Similarly this is the greatness of Abraham’s love for humanity and Israel. In the second translation, we see how great the love of G-d is for Abraham. The trials are a gift for teaching Abraham, and show the concern of a father for training a son.

There is a duality in the ten steps sometimes leading up to G-d, at other times appearing to lead the other way, but in reality providing opportunity for repentance. There is a duality in the reciprocal love of Israel for G-d and G-d for Israel. The names of Hashem with twelve and seventy-two letters have dual forms as well.^[381] As the tefillin of man contain praises of G-d so the tefillin of G-d speak of praises of Israel.

The Bahir discusses the Ten Sayings:

Bahir 179: We learned that there are Ten Spheres and Ten Sayings. Each Sphere has its Saying. It is not surrounded by it, but rather, it surrounds it. This world is like a mustard seed inside a ring. Why? Because of the Spirit that blows upon it, through which it is sustained. If this spirit were to be interrupted for even a moment, the world would be annihilated.

The Ten Sayings sustain our world and creation and also allude to the Ten Sefirot. These are the attributes of G-d manifesting in our world. There is duality, reflection, and partnership here. We beseech G-d, and G-d sustains the world.

The Talmud presents the Ten Sayings of creation in two accounts:^[385]

Rabbi Ishmael listed thirteen principles by which the written Torah is expounded. These are principles of logic for forming Oral Laws from the Written Law:^[387],[388]

Wherever G-d gives us a prohibition, there is something permissible, which is similar enough to satisfy any inclination we may have. There are always permissible foods that have similar flavors to non-kosher foods.^[389]

Here are the last words of Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai while he was with his disciples:^[390]

Last words are spoken with truth. To heed them is everything.

The word for ‘open’ – פתח in Hebrew is a subset of the word for ‘key’ – מפתח. Based on this the Talmud quotes three verses as ‘keys’ that G-d has not given over to the control of an angel.

R. Johanan said: Three keys the Holy One blessed be He has retained in His own hands and not entrusted to the hand of any messenger, namely, the Key of Rain, the Key of Childbirth, and the Key of the Revival of the Dead. The Key of Rain, for It is written, The Lord will open unto thee His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain of thy land in its season,^[391] The Key of Childbirth, for it is written, And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. The Key of the Revival of the Dead, for it is written, And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves.^[392] In Palestine they said: Also the Key of Sustenance, for it is said, Thou openest thy hand etc. Why does not R. Johanan include also this [key]? — Because in his view sustenance is [included in] Rain.^[393]

The passage from Ezekiel is symbolic of the Israelites. The Key of the Revival of the Dead is to know that this applies to us today who have lost hope. Whenever we see these words in our prayers we must think about reviving our selves back to G-d.

The Torah protects a person at the time he is studying from both physical and spiritual dangers. The Mitzvah protects a person from physical harm, but not from the yetzer hara, or the Satan. Women share equally in the reward of Torah learning. By providing time for their husbands to learn or by seeing that their children learn Torah gives them the same reward. Women divide equally the reward of the Garden of Eden with their husbands.

The Gemara gives the example of the difference between mitzvah and Torah. A person is walking along on a dark way. The person fears four things: thieves. These correspond to the four levels of creation, domem – inorganic, tzomach – vegetation, chai – animal life, human life.

One of the worst evils is atzmut – sadness. The origin of this comes from domem – the pit. The lusts come from vegetation. Evil words, lies, slander comes from chai, the animal level, for this is an act of an animal. The forth, haughtiness or conceit, gaivah, comes from human life.

When tragedy or suffering occurs it is also good. This is because of G-d’s name, “Hashem Echad and Shemo Echad”.^[394] The name Elohim is for judgment. Hashem’s name is for mercy. Together, they are still one, that is the gematria thirteen, which is ahavah, love. There are two types of suffering of a love. One is when a person makes known his religious identity in the work place and must deal with any prejudices. His example as a proper Jew is a holiness to G-d. The other is the loss of wealth that happens to a religious Jew who spends all his money for the sake of Torah.^[395]

When a person commits a sin, has vshalom, any kind of sin, he goes against G-d’s word. The act he does carves into his bones, also into his neshamah, soul. When a person has this sin carved out in his bones, is repentance enough? Tshuvah says only that he will not be punished for it. Rabbi Nachman says the way to rid one of the carvings in the bones is to confess the sins before a Tzaddik, a Talmud Hocham. When he speaks these words, the words come out of his bones. This confession is the final solution. There are four types of evil than emanate from the four types of creation. Say a person has the Atzmut – sadness, he also has the Taavot – evil desires, Lashon Harah – slander, and the Ga’avah – pride. These come from the inorganic, the vegetation life, the animal, and the human. How does the person get rid of them? He comes before a Tzaddik and sees him. When the person in the example came to the lantern, he was no longer afraid of the pits – domem or the thorns – tzomach. When a person sees the Tzaddik, it is like seeing his mother, the mother of the Jews. When he sees the Tzaddik he will drop all his evil ways, drop his sadness, and come to rejoice with the Tzaddik. The second way is to give tzedakah to a Tzaddik. This saves the person from evil words – his fear of wild animals, haughtiness – human ways. This causes the light of day to shine forth and saves the person from the evil tongue and haughtiness.

^[374] Judaism is a communal and family oriented religion. A single Jewish person who is alone should follow this axiom always since s/he does not have the support of a group for encouragement.
^[375] Midrash Rabbah Genesis, Ch. 33. Noach .
^[376] Rabbi Psachyah Lichtenstein, Chabad Salt Lake City, August 7, 2005
^[377] The English word ‘product’ is from the Hebrew word ‘P’ri’ – fruit.
^[378] Mishnah Avot, Pinchas Kehati, Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora, Jerusalem, Page 130.
^[379] Yaakov Neuman, Salt Lake City, UT, alternatively “the wicked have ten chances for repayment.”
^[380] Bahir, Kaplan, Part 2:118, p. 169.
^[381] see Names of G-d [TABLES]
^[382] Shoresh means root. The Shin all physically looks like a root extending into branches.
^[383] Hochmah, the second sefirah
^[384] Righteousness leads to fruitfulness either physically or spiritually.
^[385] Chagigah 12a
^[386] Perkei Avos 5:6
^[387] For forming realities from truth, World of Prayer, Elie Munk, Vol. 1, pp. 54-56
^[388] Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts, Philip Birnbaum, pp 331-334.
^[389] Rabbi Raphael Lapin ‘Chulin Gemara Class’, San Jose, CA.
^[390] Berachot 28B
^[391] Deuteronomy 28:12
^[392] Ezekiel 37:13
^[393] Ta’anit 2A-2B
^[394] From the prayer Shema Israel.
^[395] Breslov, Counting the Omer Tape from Los Angeles in 1986.

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