V'Zot HaBerachah: The Torah: Our Inheritance and Our Bond With G-d

Parshas VeZos HaBerachah contains the verse,2 “The Torah which Moshe commanded us is the inheritance of the congregation of Yaakov.” This is the first verse from the Torah to which a child is introduced, as our Sages state,3 “When a child... learns how to speak, his father should teach him… [the verse,] “The Torah which Moshe commanded us….”

This verse refers to the Torah conveyed by Moshe, who received it at Sinai. “The Torah which Moshe commanded us” includes the entire Torah, not only the Written Torah but the Oral Law as well, including “every new insight developed by an experienced sage,”4 for even these insights were “given to Moshe at Sinai.”³ The Torah given to Moshe encompasses even the mystical insights of P’nimiyus HaTorah to be revealed by Mashiach. True, there are differences with regard to the extent to which various dimensions of the Torah have been revealed and the times when those revelations took place. There are certain dimensions of the Torah that have already been revealed and others that will be revealed only later. However, even when these revelations were delayed and not conveyed to the Jewish people immediately, what was or will be later revealed is not a new Torah, Heaven forbid, for the Giving of the Torah will never be repeated. All the new insights that have been and will be developed are merely revelations of “the Torah which Moshe commanded us.”

The verse is thus teaching us that no matter how much we have learned or have yet to learn, and to what extent we comprehended or will comprehend what we are studying, it is all included in “the Torah which Moshe commanded us.” This leads to an awareness that everything that we know is only a tiny portion of the Torah, for the Torah contains unfathomable depth.5

Based on the above, the question arises: How is it possible to teach — or at least allude to — such a profound concept when dealing with a very young child who is just beginning his study of the Torah? Generally, Torah study involves an ordered pattern. We begin by teaching a child easy concepts and then proceed to more difficult ones. In the first stages, a child learns simple and straightforward ideas. Afterwards, he is exposed to more complicated and lofty ones. This pattern continues until he reaches complete understanding of the subject matters which he can comprehend (yedias hachiyuv). At that point, he is asked to begin the process of “negative understanding” (yedias hashelilah).6 This is when he learns to appreciate how the true content of the Torah transcends our understanding entirely, and that he can hope to fathom only a small fraction of it. As a student’s understanding develops, it is possible to teach him such lofty concepts and for him to grasp them. However, how is it appropriate to teach these elevated dimensions of the Torah to a child as soon as he is able to speak?

This question can be answered as follows: The essence of the Torah “that Moshe commanded us” transcends intellectual comprehension entirely. This essence was granted us as an inheritance, and thus belongs to every Jewish soul without distinction. Thus, the essence of the Torah relates to every Jew equally, even to a young child.

The general approach of following an ordered progression when teaching – proceeding from what is easy to what is difficult – is appropriate for subject matters that can be grasped on a rational basis. However, this pattern does not apply with regard to the Torah itself, for its essence transcends the intellect entirely. G‑d invested Himself, His Essence, in the essence of the Torah. Thus, to refer to our Sages’ words,7 when a Jew studies the Torah, it is as if G‑d is telling him, as it were, “you are taking Me,” for by studying the Torah, he acquires and bonds himself with G‑d’s Essence.

In no way is this an exclusionary process. On the contrary, G‑d has invested Himself in the Torah which every Jew studies. The nature of the student or the subject matter is not a determinant because a Jew’s connection to the Torah is not a product of his understanding, but stems from G‑d’s initiative. He conveys His Essence to each and every Jew. It follows that, from our mortal standpoint, just as a person with an underdeveloped intellectual potential is incapable of grasping the essence of the Torah, so too, is the most developed intellect inadequate. Our connection to the Torah comes solely due to Him. It is only because G‑d “chose us from among the nations” that He “gave us His Torah.”8 He – G‑d in His omnipotence – gave us His Torah, His essential delight.

Since G‑d invested Himself in the Torah, just as He invested Himself in the concepts of the Torah that an adult studies, He also invested Himself in the words of Torah recited by a young child. In the breath of a child who recites the Torah’s words is manifest G‑d’s Essence.

This is the intent of the concluding phrase of the verse, “The Torah... is the inheritance9 of the congregation of Yaakov.” The age or maturity of an heir is of no consequence, as long as he is the heir of the deceased, he acquires his estate; even a newborn is granted his rightful inheritance.10 Moreover, he acquires the entire estate of his deceased relative and assumes his relative’s position as if there were no difference between the two.11

These concepts also apply regarding the Jewish people. Since the Jews are G‑d’s children,12 like heirs, they are considered one with Him, as He is the benefactor whose inheritance they are receiving. Thus, through the Torah, the entire Jewish people acquire G‑d’s Essence. This is “the inheritance of the congregation of Yaakov,” the entire Jewish people, even those on the lowest levels, as implied by the use of the name Yaakov (יעקב), referring to those Jews who relate to the level of the heel
(עקב).i13 Even they acquire the Torah – and through it – G‑d’s Essence.

There is, however, a need for further clarification. True, the essence of the Torah is also manifest in the Torah a child reads. However, why must the child be informed of this at such a young age? What would be missing if this concept was communicated to him afterwards, when he is older and capable of understanding it thoroughly? In the interim, he could be exposed only to those aspects of the Torah which he is capable of understanding.

The resolution of these questions is based on a fundamental concept. A Jew must know with absolute certainty that the true essence of the Torah is not a matter of mortal thought or understanding. The essence of the Torah is that it is G‑d’s wisdom and “He and His wisdom are one.”14 When a person does not possess such a conviction, the entire foundation of the Torah is lacking, for the Torah is not just a body of knowledge, but an expression of G‑d’s Essence and a means to bond with Him.

The realization that G‑d and the Torah are one is not a specific detail, or merely one element of the study and comprehension of the Torah. It is not a lofty truth that can be taught later in one’s Torah study, after first learning easier concepts. It is the essence of the totality of “the Torah that Moshe commanded us,” the foundation on which all Torah knowledge rests. Thus, it is understood that laying this foundation must come first. Only afterwards can one build a structure – the conceptual framework of the Torah – upon it.

There is another point involved: If learning this truth – that the Torah is G‑d’s wisdom and “He and His wisdom are one” – is delayed, the child will lack the foundation of all the Torah concepts that he will learn until he learns this truth. Furthermore, if a child becomes used to appreciating only the intellectual dimension of the Torah, afterwards, he will find it difficult to ingrain within himself the conviction that the Torah transcends the intellect entirely for, as is well known, intellect conceals the essential dimensions that transcend reason.

Therefore, this conviction must be instilled within a Jew when he is still very young, at the very beginning of his intellectual development. As a result, afterwards, “even when he grows older, he will not depart from it.”15 Later, even when he will study the Torah with developed understanding, this understanding will be permeated by the fear of Heaven and the acceptance of G‑d’s yoke to which this conviction leads.

Adapted from a sichah delivered on the night of Simchas Torah, 5722 (1961)