ב"ה
THEMES of Featured Ascent Lights
Moses' goal was to combine Torah and prayer in his effort to help the Jewish people.
Rashi brings two commentaries on the first word of this week's Torah portion, "Ve'etchanan": The first is related to the concept of a free gift, referring to Moses' request of G-d to allow him to enter Israel without being judged - even if he didn't deserve it. The second is that "ve'etchanan" is one of the ten words for prayer used in the Torah.
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Via the Torah the Jews can instill G-dliness in a physical world.
One's voice can communicate what one is thinking; the
Sages teach that there were five voices that accompanied the giving of the
Torah to
illustrate G-d's infinite nature -
beyond that of the four levels within Creation - or even beyond the Four Worlds.
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Intermediate
Persistence paves the way to Redemption.
Exile can be compared to pregnancy. Just as during pregnancy the discomfort grows, so too the pain of the exile grows from minute to minute; Just as the birth of a child is anticipated, so too do we look forward to the end of the exile which will herald a millennium of revelation.
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Even our own understanding is granted by G-d.
"…and choose life!"
The Torah requires a person to use his intelligence, to look past the surface. Much of that with which we come in contact looks like life and good, yet is really death and evil. A person who bases his choices on instinct, mood, whim, or superficial thought is not deemed as having made his or her own choice. |
When one sits down to seriously learn Torah, he is not just reading an ancient text; he is accessing G-d’s essence in a most intimate way.
On Shavuot we celebrate our relationship with G-d’s Torah. We continue to actualize that moment of infinite potential on Mt Sinai over three thousand years ago through constant involvement and innovation; we enter into this eternal dialogue and forge a unique personal relationship with our Creator.
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Related Topics
The larger, bold text is the direct translation of the classic text source.
The smaller, plain text is the explanation of the translator/editor.
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