A heretic once approached Rav Elchonon Wasserman to challenge him on the Torah’s authenticity. The heretic said, “Your Torah has a rule that we follow the majority to determine what’s correct. Since the majority of the world worships a different religion, the Torah itself should rule that they are correct and Judaism is false!” Rav Wasserman looked at him and replied, “You are correct that there is such a rule. But we follow the majority only in cases of doubt and uncertainty. In this case, where we are considering the existence of Hashem and the validity of Torah, there is no doubt whatsoever!”
This week, we start reading the Torah from its beginning in Sefer Bereishis, which discusses the creation of the world. It is incredible to learn how Hashem created and formed the world with its myriad details and miraculous construct. Even a simple look at Creation—the trees, animals and plants, each with their millions of details—gives us a clear proof of the reality of Hashem. The pasuk says, “S’u marom einecha uru mibara eila”—“Lift your eyes to the sky and see who created this.” Just by spending a few moments looking at a leaf, a caterpillar or especially the human body, we realize the awesomeness of Hashem.
In the Shabbos morning davening, in the expanded Pesukei D’Zimra, we say Tehillim 19 in which Dovid Hamelech describes how all the celestial beings call out the existence of Hashem and sing His praises. Yet in the middle of the Tehillah, it seemingly switches to an entirely different topic, discussing the greatness and awesomeness of the Torah. These pesukim are very familiar to us, as we just sang them on Simchas Torah—“Toras hashem temima … mitzvos hashem barah… me’iras eneyim, yiras hashem tehora.” Why do we switch to this seemingly unrelated topic? My rebbe, Rav Asher Arieli, quoted a commentary on Tehillim which explains that in Tehillim 19, Dovid Hamelech is describing the two ways to see the authenticity and awesomeness of Hashem: through the lens of the incredible creations of Hashem, and … through the words of the Torah itself. When we learn the Torah in depth, we see how true and complete its words are.
The beginning of the Midrash echoes this point and gives us an even deeper insight. The Midrash opens by quoting a pasuk in Mishlei: “Hashem is the craftsman/trainer/mother and raises people.” The Midrash concludes that Hashem created the Torah, with its many levels of intricacy and meaning, 2,000 years before He created the world. When He decided to create the world, Hashem looked into the Torah and used it as the blueprint for creation. We thus see that the intricacies and miraculous wisdom reflected in Hashem’s creations constitute a portal to see Him. And still, His creations are just a reflection of the wisdom and infinite nature of the Torah, which is the world’s blueprint. The more we study the Torah and its blueprints, the more we understand the meaning and purpose of the world.
There is one additional element the Midrash is teaching us. Hashem is like a mother to us, always looking out for our good and helping us improve. Therefore, Hashem also gave us the Torah as our nourishment and source for growth. Learning Sefer Bereishis, especially the traits of our avos (forefathers) Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, teaches us how to lead our lives. Rav Gedalia Schorr adds that the Midrash is teaching us that learning Torah on its own will certainly help a person develop and grow. Reinforcing this concept, there is a title that’s used for someone learning (or who has learned) in yeshiva—a “ben Torah.” Literally, this means a “son of the Torah.” What does that mean and why is that the title for people learning in yeshiva and acting with derech eretz (manners and respect)? The answer is that the Torah raises and develops the person just like a mother raises her child. The Torah literally is the force that develops us personally and makes the world go ‘round.
Rabbi Baruch Bodenheim is the associate rosh yeshiva of Passaic Torah Institute (PTI)/Yeshiva Ner Boruch, where he leads a multi-level Gemara-learning program. PTI has attracted adult Jews of all ages from all over northern New Jersey for its learning programs. Fees are not charged but any contributions are always welcome. Beyond PTI, Rabbi Bodenheim conducts a weekly beis midrash program with chavrusa learning in Livingston plus a monthly group in West Caldwell. Rabbi Bodenheim can be reached at [email protected]. For more info about PTI and its Torah classes, visit www.pti.shulcloud.com.
