Page 28 - HaMizrachi # 22 Rosh HahHana - Yom Kippur 2020 USA

YAMIM NORA’IM READING

Mrs. Shira Smiles

THE Harmony OF TORAH STUDY

he last of the 613 mitzvot is to as a whole more than for any particular be meaningful. Each act of observance
“write this song for yourselves, part of it. becomes meaningful when performed
Tand teach it to the Children of as a thread in the fabric of the whole,
Israel, and place it in their mouths, so This is what King David meant, posits rather than as an isolated, perhaps even
that this song will be for Me a witness in Rav Reiss, when he wrote, “The Torah rote, action.
Bnei Yisrael.” of G-d is perfect (complete); it restores
the soul.” Only when the Torah is stud- ddd
Most of the Torah commentators believe ied and observed in its entirety (rather
the “song” referred to here is the entire than piecemeal) does it have the ability Torah is not just the black-inked words
Torah. It is from this verse they derive to restore one’s soul. Just as one cannot that prescribe and proscribe our actions,
the mitzvah that every Jew must write remove even one spring from a clock but also the white parchment upon
his own Sefer Torah, a mitzvah that can and expect it to work, so too one cannot which those words are written, the pur-
be fulfilled by underwriting even one remove one piece of Torah and expect it pose and spirit of the laws without which
letter, as a single missing letter can inval- to work on one’s soul. observance becomes an empty shell.
idate the entire scroll and filling in that That is why, continues Rabbi Eliyahu
letter can make the scroll “kosher” again. ddd
Schlesinger, even if his parents wrote
G-d in His Torah is the greatest practi- Two of the symbols that grace our Rosh one, it is necessary for every individual
tioner of the economy of language. Each Hashanah table are the pomegranate to write his own Sefer Torah, to recom-
word, indeed each letter, offers greater and the apple. Rabbi Schwartz clarifies mit himself to a life infused with Torah
insights into meaning, allusions, infer- the differences between them. While we as his individual soul relates to G-d. And
ences, and secrets using the four basic pray that we may be filled with mitz- he must teach his children the entire
elements (PaRDeS – plain meaning, vot like a pomegranate, the Gemara in song – not just the words –so they too
alluded meaning, derived meaning, Berachot says that “even the emptiest will appreciate the beauty and majesty of
mystic meaning) to uncover as many as of them are filled with mitzvot like a the Torah to which they are heirs.
70 different interpretations of the text. pomegranate.” Rabbi Itamar Schwartz
cites HaGaon HaRav Dovid Povarsky When Bnei Yisrael delve deeply into
Rabbi Moshe Reiss uses the poetic image in explaining that each seed in a pome- Torah study and give it voice, they sing
from Shir HaShirim to further explain granate is separate, enveloped in its the praises of G-d and bear witness to
the magnificence of Torah study: “The individual sac and not connected to any His sovereignty over the earth. As Rosh
King brought me into His chambers.” other seed. Hashanah approaches, let us write the
When viewed from the outside, the score of the Torah on our hearts and
castle is magnificent. However, as one In a similar way, a person can have join together in a joyous symphony of
enters and goes from room to room, many mitzvot, do many acts of chessed, renewed harmony with all creation. Let
his awe grows as he encounters greater but these may remain individual acts if the spirit and joy of a Torah life infuse
richness and beauty in the furnishings one does not infuse these acts with the our lives with meaning and may we
and accoutrements of each room. unifying element of spirituality, indicat- merit the blessings G-d will bestow upon
ing life’s deeper spiritual meaning and us in the coming year.
So too with Torah study. During a cur- purpose.
sory reading, one can already recognize
the Torah’s splendor. However, as one On the other hand, the apple has its
delves ever more deeply into the text, seeds at its core, and everything else
one marvels even more at the myriad surrounds them. The apple, the mean- Mrs. Shira Smiles is a sought-after interna-
nuances and textures that continue to be ing to our lives, is dipped in honey to tional lecturer, a popular seminary teacher,
revealed. The Torah must be appreciated provide the sweetness our lives need to and an experienced curriculum developer.

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