Page 7 - Step and repeat document 1
P. 7
24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 1 - B | 18-01-28 | 15:09:23 | SR:-- | Cyan
24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 1 - B | 18-01-28 | 15:09:23 | SR:-- | Black
#24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 1 - B | 18-01-28 | 15:09:23 | SR:-- | Yellow
24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 1 - B | 18-01-28 | 15:09:23 | SR:-- | Magenta
#
Orchard of Delights
May the merit
Throughout this book we will see that not only can the Torah
be understood on four levels but on a manifold number of levels, of this new commentary
reflecting the Arizal’s notion that the Torah possesses 600,000 faces. on the Chumash
Indeed, Kabbalah and Chassidut explain that not only all the bring a Refuah
mitzvot but every story, chapter, verse, and letter in the Torah yields
layer upon layer of symbolic and associative meanings. Throughout to all of Am Yisrael
the book the term PaRDeS will apply to both the four specific levels
and to myriad possible interpretations implicit in the very notion of
PaRDeS.
Indeed, the name PaRDeS is particularly fitting for an interpretive In the hope that all who learn
system because the name is taken from a Talmudic story about four from this book
sages who entered a transcendental plane referred to as Pardes,
the Orchard (Chagigah 14b). Based on this story, the oral tradition will merit the privilege
associated this word with an advanced form of mystical meditation: to study Torah in Eretz Yisrael
the ultimate attempt by human beings to pierce the veil and
understand God, His worlds, and the Torah. In the 1500s one of Avraham and Laya
Safed’s greatest Kabbalists, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, even named
his book – the first work organizing the Kabbalah into a logical,
structured format – Pardes Rimonim (Pomegranate Orchard), based
on a verse in the Song of Songs (4:13), “Your shoots are an orchard
of pomegranates with pleasant fruit.” In memory of those dignified individuals
The name Orchard of Delights was chosen for this book because it who dedicated their lives
too adopts the PaRDeS system of learning and because it delights to the well being of the Jewish people,
in the spiritual pleasure or oneg gained through reaching new
understanding and being pierced by lightning flashes of the intellect. and in honor of those visionaries
The pleasure gained, of course, also refers to the nearness we feel to who are prepared to lead the Jewish people
God when learning His Torah, observing His commandments, and into a new era.
performing good deeds.
In Judaism, the term “oneg” is often used in connection with the We are very grateful to take part in this project,
pleasure, both physical and ultimately spiritual, experienced on the life-long work of
Shabbat. The Hebrew word for delights, like the word “pardes” is
found in Song of Songs (7:7): “How fair are you and how pleasant, Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman,
love in delights.” In keeping with Jewish tradition, wherein the
Song of Songs is considered a Divine allegory describing the love a visionary, a mentor, and a friend…
between God and Israel, this verse has been translated by ArtScroll
Daniel & Avia Farber
26
#24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 1 - B | 18-01-28 | 15:09:23 | SR:-- | Yellow 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 1 - B | 18-01-28 | 15:09:23 | SR:-- | Magenta 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 1 - B | 18-01-28 | 15:09:23 | SR:-- | Cyan 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 1 - B | 18-01-28 | 15:09:23 | SR:-- | Black #