Page 471 - VAIKRA
P. 471

Torah specifically commands both the elders and the young children                         #                                                               26347-EYAL-6BOOKS - 26347-Vaikra-EYAL | 15 - B | 18-08-19 | 15:24:57 | SR:-- | Black   26347-EYAL-6BOOKS -
                                                                                                                      separately. This implies that the elders are responsible for educating the
                                                                                                                      younger children by serving as role models. Just as the Torah describes
                                                                                                                      our forefather’s deeds at length in order to teach us proper behavior, so
                                                                                                                      too, must we serve as role models for our children. In this way, they will
                                                                                                                      aspire to emulate our way of life.

                                                                                                                      The world depends on three things, one of which is the Torah. Chazal say
                                                                                                                      that before the world was created, Hashem would delight in the Torah.
                                                                                                                      How is this possible? After all, many portions of the Torah deal with
                                                                                                                      various prohibitions relating to physical matters. What purpose do they
                                                                                                                      serve for Hashem? Also, how did Hashem study Torah before the world’s
                                                                                                                      existence, since many parshiyot discuss stories of our forefathers, who did
                                                                                                                      notyet existatthe time?

                                                                                                                      We can explain this according to the Zohar that states that Hashem
                                                                                                                      “looked into the Torah and created the world.” This implies that the Torah
                                                                                                                      served as a blueprint, and Hashem created the world according to it. How
                                                                                                                      did the mitzvot of the Torah serve as a blueprint for Creation? Moreover,
                                                                                                                      we know that many prohibitions will become permissible in the future,
                                                                                                                      which implies that the Torah will take on a different form. We need to
                                                                                                                      clarify what the status of these mitzvot will be in the End of Days.

                                                                                                                      Hashem created the world through the Torah, which are derivatives of His
                                                                                                                      Names. Each creation was fashioned through a different combination of
                                                                                                                      letters derived from a different Name of Hashem. There are exactly the
                                                                                                                      same numbers of neshamot of Am Yisrael as letters in the Torah. Each
                                                                                                                      letter corresponds to a different neshamah. In the creation of man, the
                                                                                                                      Torah, the neshamah, and man formed a partnership in order for man to
                                                                                                                      be able to exist in the world. Even before the first man and the forefathers
                                                                                                                      were created, Hashem delighted in the Torah and took pleasure in the
                                                                                                                      stories of the forefathers. This was possible because Hashem foresaw what
                                                                                                                      would occur in the future and anticipated its realization. The future
                                                                                                                      developments of the outstanding deeds of the forefathers brought Hashem
                                                                                                                      great joy.
   466   467   468   469   470   471   472   473   474   475   476