Torat HaTikvah
Dalet: A Dwelling Place for God
Journey to the Orchard: The Fourth Way of Understanding Torah - SOD
In our first foray into the worlds of Torah, I introduced the concept of the Pardes (PaRDeS) - the orchard of meanings, the four levels of understanding of the Torah. As I hope you recall, the Peh - the first letter of the word Pardes - stands for P’shat - the simple meaning. In our first shiur, we understood perhaps that the simple meaning is not simple at all… When studying the P’shat, the direct meaning, we are guided by a direct question: What is the Torah saying?
In the second shiur - lesson - I described the second level of understanding: Remez.. This word means “hinted meaning.” It represents a deeper level of understanding of the Torah - where text speaks to text, each illuminating the other, each casting the other into relief, each calling forth meaning from the other. When studying the Remez, the hinted meaning, we are guided by a deeper question: How does juxtaposing two Torah texts together help us understand them in a deeper way? In simpler terms, what is the Torah implying?
In the third lesson, we delved into the third level of Torah study: Drash - the delved - into meaning.
The Drash asks: What is the Torah saying to me, right now?
But now we have arrived at a wider place, a place that transcends the boundaries of self, of time and space, and perhaps even the Torah itself - at least the Torah as we know it.
This is the Sod (pronounced to rhyme with “Road”), the secret meaning of Torah, the widest, most expansive view. It is written that the Torah is the blueprint of the universe, that it pre-existed creation, writ in black fire on white fire, that it is the genetic code of existence, concealing and revealing information that illumines that which is near and that which is far, the destiny of motes of dust, the fate of clusters of galaxies, the innermost thoughts and even the outer darkness. The guiding question, perhaps, of Sod might be described - and I hesitate to express it this way, but it seems the most precise: What is the Torah saying to God?
Who are we to make this inquiry, so far above our stations and needs? Is it not enough that the Torah speaks to us directly, that it instructs us in the ways of justice, truth and love, that it enables us to transform ourselves and the world, to elevate life and fill it with meaning?
The Rabbis sternly warn against delving too deeply. “No one may study the secrets of the Torah unless they are over the age of forty, firm in their faith, moral and upstanding. Even then, they may only study from one teacher, one-on-one. And even then, the teacher may not teach, but only confirm that which the student has discovered on their own.” The Rabbis see great danger to the student and to the community in Sod. There are stories…
So why reveal? Firstly, because there is a time and place for every teaching, even those which were not taught. It is the nature of Torah to be taught and if the needs of this age require that which was hidden to be revealed, if that is what is required to move human spiritual destiny forward, then so be it…
Secondly, because Sod is comprised of endless levels, understandings and interpretations. It is the Ma’ayan HaMitgaber, the mighty spring of inspiration. Ultimately, all of the words of Sod are not the essence - for true Sod, as the Rabbis implied, cannot be taught, but only experienced by the student of Torah.
So…Let us step cautiously into the shallows of this stormy, turbulent ocean. Any deficiencies and failures in explaining and sharing are my own and should not be seen as weaknesses in the subject matter, only in the teacher…
The Megillah: The Scroll of Secrets
Scroll of secrets? That pageant of palace intrigue - the foolish king, the scheming prime minister, the virtuous queen? Where is the mystery in that?
But look closer! The full name of the farcical book we read at Purim is “Megillat Esther”. The very name, “Megillah” has a dual meaning: one is simple - “scroll”. The other meaning of the word is “Reveal” M’galeh.
Esther means “Hidden.” For when the Persian soldiers burst into the homes of Shushan, Hadassah hid from them - and this became her name, the hidden one.
So the name Megillat Esther can mean, “Revealer of the Hidden.”
But what is hidden? Is there more going on in this story?
Of course!
Esther: The Hidden One
What is the essence of humanity? It is our Neshamah, our soul, the creative, divine spark, the image of God in man. The Neshama is hidden away within us, a secret that can never be fully revealed.
Look at Esther - hidden away, triple-masquerading as something that she is not. She seems to be a queen of Persia, but truly, she is Esther, the hidden one but even that is not telling all, because she is really someone else, for her real name is Hadassah, the myrtle, princess of Israel, the green bush that grows in Israel’s northern valleys, remaining lush and vibrant even in the dry, hot summer, not being uprooted, even in the winter’s floods…
So does Esther have three identities, each one more hidden, more essential, more beautiful than the last:
Malkah: Queen - this is the Nephesh, the life-force that binds us to this world of the material. All things that live have this Nephesh.
Esther: this is the Ruach, the aspect of humanity, breathed into Adam, the very form of man, the source of the human powers unique to us.
Hadassah: this is the inner life, the Neshamah, the deepest essence of who we are and who we are becoming. The Neshamah is that aspect of ourselves which we create throughout our lives through the way we live, laugh, cry, celebrate, love, share.
The Palace
And so, there is Esther, held within the palace of this world with all of its entanglements and illusions. Illusions? Yes…everything here is twisted, distorted, other than it seems. Haman, the defiled and corrupt is suddenly raised high while Mordechai, the pure, elevated sits like a beggar at the gates. Is Esther in a palace or a prison? Who is really in charge here? Certainly not the purported king, Achashverosh, son of a stablehand, usurper to the throne. Is it Haman, the voice of the Yetzer HaRah, the evil inclination, casting lots to show the randomness of life and death?
Should the Neshama stand aloof, apart? Or should she engage with the world, enter into the intrigues and schemes? Should she listen to Mordechai, the voice of the Yetzer HaTov, the inclination toward goodness who proclaims that there are no accidents, that she, Esther, has come to royalty for this very purpose: to save her people.
So it is with us, living amid the swirling maelstrom of events, circumstances, joy and sorrow, hope and despair. To whom do we turn, where is our center? Is it in our physicality (Nephesh), our human powers of rationality and emotion (Ruach) or in our spirituality (Neshama)? How do we touch the essence, how do we see beyond the illusion to the truth?
Truth and Shadow
Esther, the Neshama, neither rejects the world nor surrenders to physicality. Instead:
Esther reaches within, transcends her physicality. Fasting means reaching within, focusing on the Neshama, grasping the real beyond the illusion.
And immediately afterwards:
Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house; and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the entrance of the house.
Royal Apparel: this is the body, garment of the Neshama. Esther stands in the inner court of the king’s house - why does it say, “in the inner court of the king’s house” and then “over against the king’s house?” Why the repetition? Because Esther understands that as she transcends her self, transcends her life, takes her life in her hands, she is really in the inner court of the King’s house: not the false king, Acheshverosh, but the true Ruler of Heaven and Earth. By fulfilling her destiny, she experiences elevation, fulfillment, return to the source. Not by rejecting the world, but through the world, not becoming ensnared in the world but moving through the world: understanding the world itself as a mask for Holiness, as a disguise for God.
From then on, Esther’s actions become filled with direction and purpose: she isolates and entraps Haman and brings Mordechai to the ascendancy. With Mordechai, she rescues her people and establishes Purim: a time of light and joy for all of the generations. From then on, she sees the World of Truth that is dimly reflected in and hinted at in this world.
The Secret of the Megillah
This is the Esther, the concealed secret of the Megillah: In that moment when the Neshama connects to the source of Holiness through the aegis of the body, all of he gates of the upper worlds open and the light flows into the soul. At this moment, everything becomes miraculous, filled with wonder.
A strange Midrash describes Avraham’s first encounter with God. In a vision, he sees a palace, illumined with myriad torches, perhaps on fire! He cries out in alarm: Is there a Ruler in this palace? At that moment, God is revealed to Avraham: Yes. I am the Ruler in the Palace.
Our people has been upheld by the pure souls of each generation who stood up when each age’s Haman arose. The world seems to be empty, bereft, random. But when the soul is alight, then we experience the Presence that fills the world. What if God were speaking to you right now? What would God be saying? Now close your eyes, open your heart, and listen - Shema, Yisrael!
With this fourth shiur (lesson), we conclude our first unit of study: the four levels of Torah.
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