Like many people, I think, I long had this idea that much of the book of Vayikra is boring. I mean, of course, none of G-d\u2019s words could possibly be boring \u2013 but yeah, boring. Complicated, dry and, without the Beit Hamikdash, largely (though of course not wholly) irrelevant. Also gross, for those of us who would prefer not to discuss the innards of dead animals.<\/p>\n
The more I learn, though \u2013 not just Vayikra, but anything in Torah \u2013 the more I see how if I just manage to pay enough attention, even passages that seem so very dry or irrelevant can hold sparks of deep, relatable insight. That is the magnificence of Torah study, and I see it particularly beautifully in a bit of meta-exegesis (you\u2019ll see) in the Or Hachaim\u2019s very long comment on the beginning of Parshat Bechukotai.<\/p>\n
Vayikra 26:3 seems fairly straightforward: \u201cIf you follow My laws and guard My commandments and do them\u201d \u2013 then you\u2019ll have rain and food and stuff. The Torah makes this sort of statement in other places too, and it\u2019s easy to let our eyes just glaze past it. The Or Hachaim, however, does no such thing; in fact, by Sefaria.com\u2019s count, he has 42 comments on this pasuk<\/em>!<\/p>\n No, I\u2019m not going to share them all. But there is a piece of his analysis that I think contains a particularly crucial, yet too often ignored, message about how to approach Torah study.<\/p>\n Like any good bit of Torah commentary, the Or Hachaim starts with a question, or several.<\/p>\n The first question is actually cited from the midrash halacha<\/em> on Vayikra, and the midrash answers it: If the word \u201c\u05d7\u05d5\u05e7\u05d5\u05ea\u05d9\u201d is really just another word for \u201cMy laws\u201d \u2013 what is added by using both that and the word \u201c\u05de\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea\u05d9,\u201d \u201cMy commandments?\u201d The midrash concludes that \u201c\u05d7\u05d5\u05e7\u201d here is actually a reference to one specific law; namely, amelut baTorah<\/em>, being engrossed in learning Torah.<\/p>\n The Or Hachaim has several questions about this midrash, along with many answers. Many, many answers, in his 42 comments. For instance:<\/p>\n Why use specifically the word \u201c<\/em>\u05d7\u05d5\u05e7\u201d to refer to Torah study? \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n This part isn\u2019t really my main point, but I have to share it anyway. The Or Hachaim suggests that the word \u201c\u05d7\u05d5\u05e7\u201d here is connected to \u201c\u05d7\u05e7\u05e7,\u201d \u201cengrave\u201d: we have a responsibility to \u201cengrave\u201d Torah in ourselves. How do we do that? By repetition, \u201ceven to learn things one has learned two or three times.\u201d He then goes on to quote another midrash, Kohelet Rabbah chapter 3, with an explanation for why we so often forget what we learn: It was part of G-d\u2019s wisdom to create us as such forgetful beings, so that we would always learn Torah with desire.<\/p>\n I relate to this particularly deeply because I often can\u2019t quite put my mind on a source I learned (or taught!) just a few weeks ago\u2026 or days, or hours\u2026 I almost always teach from comprehensive notes because I can\u2019t guarantee I\u2019ll be able to pull things out of my mind with total accuracy on the spot. That can sometimes feel embarrassing as a teacher, but Kohelet Rabbah reassures me that it\u2019s natural, and even intentional. I get to be amazed and inspired all over again, each time I learn a piece of Torah. And each time I learn a piece of Torah, it digs deeper into me; whether or not I remember the details of the content, every experience of learning is transformative. Each time, Torah becomes more and more a part of me, engraved in my soul.<\/p>\n Of course, the transformative nature of Torah study is not only because we have to do it again and again. The Or Hachaim goes on to raise other questions about the identification of \u201c\u05d7\u05d5\u05e7\u05d5\u05ea\u05d9\u201d in this pasuk as \u201cTorah study\u201d:<\/p>\n Why use a plural word to refer to one law? <\/em><\/p>\n Why use the word \u201c<\/em>\u05ea\u05dc\u05db\u05d5,\u201d \u201cyou shall go,\u201d specifically in connection with the act of Torah study?<\/em><\/p>\n Among the many, many explanations he offers is the meta-exegetical point that Torah study is not actually one thing. (And by \u201cmeta-exegetical,\u201d I mean he\u2019s using exegesis, scriptural interpretation, to make a point about exegesis. I, for one, enjoy that sort of thing. I also enjoy saying \u201cmeta.\u201d)<\/p>\n Here the Or HaChaim references the Zohar as the source for an idea that many of us actually learn at a young age, but may not fully appreciate: \u201cThe Torah has four paths, namely, peshat, remez, derash, <\/em>and sod<\/em>. And from these, shivim panim<\/em> (\u201970 faces,\u2019 or facets) separate, and each of those to a number of paths and trails and lanes.\u201d Note that I\u2019m selecting English synonyms for \u201cpath\u201d somewhat arbitrarily. The point is that he says there are lots of them, perhaps of different sizes and types.<\/p>\n Torah study is referred to as plural \u201claws,\u201d says the Or Hachaim, because it is not<\/strong> \u201cone law.\u201d The pursuit of Torah wisdom is so multifaceted that we cannot refer to it in the singular; it is inherently a plurality.<\/p>\n Which means that following only one of the paths doesn\u2019t really count as Torah study.<\/p>\n \u201cBechukotai telechu\u201d –<\/em> \u201cyou shall go in My laws\u201d: Follow the multitude of paths of Torah \u2013 all of them! If Torah study involves many paths, then engaging in Torah study involves walking down all of them in an attempt to, in the Or Hachaim\u2019s words, \u201cexplain the Scriptures.\u201d<\/p>\n Growing up and attending a Jewish day school, I learned about pardes<\/em>, the acronym for peshat, remez, derash, <\/em>and sod<\/em>. And I heard the expression \u201cthe Torah has seventy faces.\u201d But until I read the Or Hachaim, I never thought about how these numbers relate to each other or fully comprehended the exponential vastness implied by these traditions of multiple interpretations. I still don\u2019t comprehend it, of course, because I\u2019ve still only had the privilege to stroll down a few of these paths, and I usually forget and have to retrace my steps. But the sheer potential for learning is astounding \u2013 even when what we\u2019re learning is Vayikra. Maybe especially when what we\u2019re learning is Vayikra. Because as the Or Hachaim goes on, \u201cone should not say there is nothing in Torah except the peshat <\/em>that is understood by all.\u201d<\/p>\n And it occurs to me even more that the perspective he\u2019s arguing against is often taken even when we\u2019ve barely scratched the surface of the peshat <\/em>we think is so obvious.<\/p>\n It\u2019s so easy to simply read and move on. It\u2019s easy, too, to read and dismiss: \u201cWhoa, what a strange mitzvah! Okay, so what\u2019s for dinner?\u201d \u201cWow, that midrash doesn\u2019t make any sense; those details aren\u2019t anywhere in the text!\u201d But if we leave it there, we haven\u2019t learned anything at all. Every pasuk<\/em>, every bit of derash<\/em> \u2013 in fact, every bit of peshat <\/em>too \u2013 has innumerable little paths branching off from it. We think we understand? We think we\u2019ve got the \u201cpeshat <\/em>that is understood by all\u201d? We\u2019ve barely begun.<\/p>\n That,<\/em> to me, is the magnificence of Torah study, and it is an essential piece of what makes the experience of navigating the maze of Torah so transformative, again and again.<\/p>\n Whatever question I have \u2013 someone has likely had it before; I just have to pull out more sefarim<\/em> (or post on Facebook, when that\u2019s what\u2019s available). Whatever questions I have on the answer I find \u2013 there is more to uncover: more answers, and more explanatory paths leading from each answer. When I think something is dry and meaningless \u2013 well, to borrow an expression from one of my teachers, perhaps I simply haven\u2019t yet had the merit to understand it. Perhaps I have to keep going.<\/p>\n Even if we don\u2019t understand yet, even if we think we understand already, even if we think we\u2019ll never understand, even if we think there\u2019s nothing there to<\/em> understand \u2013 we are duty-bound to keep going. It\u2019s a law. It\u2019s the <\/strong>law.<\/p>\n We find the sparks of insight and relatable, penetrating meaning by following as many of those paths of interpretation as we can. By questioning and searching and never letting up, never settling for anything that looks like \u201cthe peshat<\/em> that is understood by all,\u201d always searching for the paths that will engrave Torah ever more deeply into our souls. By simply remembering that there is more to learn, even when we are not (yet) able to learn it; by acknowledging there is more to every bit of Torah than \u201cthe peshat <\/em>that is understood by all.\u201d<\/p>\n And that\u2019s only one of the approximately 42 messages that just one scholar uncovered in the seemingly straightforward (and even boring) Vayikra 26:3.<\/p>\n Sarah C. Rudolph is a Jewish educator and freelance writer. She has been sharing her passion for Jewish texts of all kinds for over 15 years, with students of all ages. Sarah\u2019s essays have been published in a variety of internet and print media, including Times of Israel, Kveller,\u00a0Jewish Action<\/a>, The Lehrhaus, TorahMusings, and more. Sarah lives in Cleveland with her husband and four children, but is privileged to learn online with students all over the world through\u00a0www.TorahTutors.org<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0www.WebYeshiva.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Like many people, I think, I long had this idea that much of the book of Vayikra is boring. I mean, of course, none of G-d\u2019s words could possibly be boring \u2013 but yeah, boring. Complicated, dry and, without the Beit Hamikdash, largely (though of course not wholly) irrelevant. Also gross, for those of us<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133529,"featured_media":59645,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\n
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