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The Torah of a United World
Zohar, Raya MeHemna, p. 276a; translation and commentary by Simcha Treister
How unfortunate are those who only eat the straw instead of
the real fruit of Torah and don't understand the inner secrets of the Torah.
They learn only the simple stories as they are written and the logical
deductions associated with them. They learn the stories and the strict rules.
But the stories are like straw and the strictures are like wheat [in
Hebrew, "chitah"]. The "chet-" part of the word ["chitah"]
means "sin" [in Hebrew, "chet"] and the " hei" at the end of the
word ["chitah"] is a letter from the world of truth.  | | " Using logic alone to understand Torah is like eating straw...." | | |
Wheat was the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and
Evil, which Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden. Thus wheat is a mixture of
good and evil, chaff and seed - sin and holiness - as reflected in the letters
of its name. The spiritual source of reasoning and logical deductions is from
this source of mixed good and evil, which explains why using logic [alone] to
understand Torah is like eating straw instead of proper food.
Now it is not the accepted thing for a King or Queen to ride
on a donkey [in Hebrew, "chamor" which shares the same root as the
word "chumrot", meaning "strict rules"]. Majesty rides on a horse as it
is written, "You rode on Your horses, your chariots of salvation" (Habakkuk
3:8). One does not degrade a Queen by putting her on a donkey and certainly not
the King himself. It is more proper for the king's servant to ride a donkey.
The physical is called "chomriut" in Hebrew, associated
with the word "chamor", "donkey". | | " All Israel are called 'the sons of the King'...." | | |
This is the reason it is written about the Mashiach
that he is "just and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey" (Zachariah 9:9).
The word "humble" [in Hebrew, "oni"] in that verse is spelled ayin
nun yud and is an acrostic for the three tractates of the Talmud
that deal with the strict decrees - Eruvin, Nidah
and Yevamot....
In the mystical realms these tractates represent the control of
the physical realm as it given over to the angelic forces supervised by the
faithful servant of the King, the angel Metatron. The commands of the King are
delegated to this angel to carry out or delegate to others. He represents the
spiritual forces affecting the physical world . Until the servant fulfills his
command, He is not called King. The higher spiritual level is only revealed when
there is unity between the spiritual and the physical, between the King and the
Community of Israel.
[He] is not called "King" until he rides on his horse, which
is the Community of Israel. When the King is outside his residence, not united
with his Queen, He is not in His full majesty. In the future, when He returns to
His residence, then "G-d shall be King over all the earth; on that day G~d will
be one, and His name one" (Zachariah 14:9). All Israel are called "the sons of
the King". Their relationship is like father and son, but not like the sons of
the King until they return to the Land of Israel. When they return to the Land
of Israel, the full majesty of their relationship will be revealed.
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