(Sicha 20 Menachem-Av 5741)
The Tribes Preserve Their Father’s Ways
In this week’s Torah reading, we read about the passing of Jacob (Source 1) and how Jacob praised G-d for all his offspring following in his ways (Source 2). When they left Egypt, G-d referred to the tribes as “grapes in the desert” (Source 3), and the midrash explains that this to due to them following in their father’s ways (Source 4).
Rules of Interpreting the Torah
Moses gave the written Torah to the Jewish people, and alongside that, he taught them the oral tradition of its interpretation (Source 5). Everything is alluded to between the lines of the written Torah, and the oral tradition deciphers it.
In this class, we’ll examine one of the tools the sages used to interpret the text, called “don’t read it … ” For example, “don’t read it ‘Vayikra’ but ‘Vayakrie.’ ” (not “he called” but “he caused other to call [G-d]”.) (Source 6); “don’t read it ‘guard the matzot, but read it ‘guard the mitzvot,’ ” (Source 7); “don’t read it ‘from those who disgrace it’ but read it ‘who are forgiven.’ ” (Source 8).
The Heart of the Jewish People
The “don’t read it” rule is used in both the very beginning and end of the Torah. Beginning: “Don’t read it Bereshit, but read it Bara-shit,” meaning that G-d created the space under the Altar during the Six Days of Creation (Source 9). In the end: “Don’t read it Yisrael but “Ra’ah E-l,” meaning that the deeds of the tribes are pleasing to G-d (Source 10).
The Rebbe applies a lesson from here to our spiritual service: The space under the Altar is the foundation of the world, like the Foundation Stone (Source 11). At the beginning of a Jew’s spiritual journey, they are told: “Do not be moved by the physicality of the world, because G-d created the world upon the space under the Altar – the spiritual.” Eventually, one is told they must reach a level of “seeing” G-dliness.
Don’t be Quick to Believe
The rule of “don’t read it” also applies to childhood education.
This rule essentially says the following: When you see something that may be positive, do not accept it at face value. Look deeper, perhaps within there’s something that may be bad for you. As King Solomon said in Proverbs: “For the lips of a strange woman drip honey,” but “her end is as bitter as wormwood.” (Source 12.)
