Grab the Clothing - Daily Dose of Wisdom

The words and the stories of Torah are but its clothing; the guidance within them is its body.

And, as with a body, within that guidance breathes a soul that gives life to whoever follows it.

And within that soul breathes a deeper, transcendental soul, the soul of the soul: G‑d Himself within His Torah.

Grasp the clothes alone and you have an empty shell. Grasp straight for the soul—or even the body—and you will come up with nothing. They are not graspable; they are G‑dly wisdom and you are a created being.

Instead, examine those words and those stories, turn them again and again. As fine clothes and jewelry can bring out the beauty of the one who wears them, so these words and stories can lead you to the G‑dliness that dwells within the Torah.

Based on letters and talks of the Rebbe, Rabbi M. M. Schneerson

From the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory; words and condensation by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman. To order Rabbi Freeman’s book, Bringing Heaven Down to Earth, click here.

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February 27, 2012

very nice

i like it.

An appreciation for clothing style is apt if you mean it to house the G-dly Soul.

And if you don't correlate the two and dress shabbily, it is just as good.

It's personal preference and a matter of where your mind and heart are.

Thanks.

Anonymous

February 26, 2012

Grab the Clothing

I paraphrase like this but no sure it is in line with the Rebbe.... If one pursues the studying of Torah in itself, all with the zeal of an intellectual endeavor, he would fail because a created being can not touch the infinite G-d. If he realizes those words and stories of the Torah are like the clothing or the jewelry to bring out the beauty of the G-d who wears them then he may be able to grab certain degree of the His essence. Am I in line with the thinking?

Nancy Duong
Queens, NY/USA

February 26, 2012

examining and grasping

Examining and Grasping the Torah are two different things...And the clothes are actually the reading of the torah.....to me there is no jewel that sparkles in a radiant way....only torah knows its sparkling jewel.....Clothing speads over continents of understanding...one can just open a Torah to speak the truth

Judith L Witten
Brockton, USA

June 19, 2009

words and stories

Nothing could be closer to the truth than what you have written here. If only so many fundamentalists would take note.

Graham
Wellington, New Zealand

June 19, 2009

edit

Edited today, mainly for readability. This thought doesn't appear in either of the volumes of Bringing Heaven Down To Earth. It came out of learning the Rebbe's maamar, "Gal Einai."

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

April 6, 2006

Dear Tzvi Freeman,
I would like to commend you on your outstanding view of life, and your words of wisdom. It is often difficult to grasp the meaning of life, and I feel that you did a wonderful job on that.

eden
lincolnwood, illinois