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0:00
The overview briefly
0:02
of this chapter
0:04
is that the author, the Altareb
0:06
in this letter, quotes
0:09
a teaching in the
0:11
Raya Mahemna, which is
0:13
part of Zohar. And
0:15
the teaching, among
0:18
other things, makes reference
0:20
to the fact
0:23
that there are two
0:25
kinds of Torah studies.
0:28
One is the
0:30
esoteric Kabola, like
0:33
the Zohar, and that
0:35
the Zohar
0:37
refers to euphemistically as
0:39
the Tree of Life, Eitzachayim,
0:43
and when Mashiach will come, the
0:46
primary focus of learning will
0:48
be on Eitzachayim type studies.
0:50
And then there is the
0:52
revealed Torah, the
0:55
exoteric, the
0:58
outer revealed teachings of
1:00
Torah, the legalistic teachings
1:02
of Torah, the everyday teachings
1:04
of Torah, the Mishnah, the
1:06
Halokha, the Gemorrah, and so on. This,
1:10
the Zohar, refers
1:12
to as the Eitz
1:14
Hadas Tovvara, as the
1:16
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
1:19
So the author, the
1:21
Altareb will quote this
1:24
section of Zohar in its entirety,
1:26
and then we'll begin to analyze
1:28
it, and I'll be very brief,
1:30
and I'll tell you the question
1:32
and the answer, which goes
1:34
over many days. The question
1:36
is, how can we
1:38
even suggest that
1:40
the Zohar describes
1:42
the revealed Torah,
1:44
the everyday Torah
1:46
as a Tree of Knowledge
1:48
of Good and Evil? Torah is
1:50
all good. You can't use
1:52
the word evil for Torah. You
1:56
can't even suggest that the
1:58
Torah, that deal, with tort
2:00
cases, the Torah that deals with
2:02
purity and impurity, the Torah that
2:04
deals with kosher and un -kosher,
2:06
the Torah that deals with culpable
2:08
or not is a tree of
2:10
knowledge of good and evil. There's
2:12
evil in Torah, there is no
2:14
good morning, there is no evil
2:16
in Torah. The
2:19
answer is he's not
2:21
talking about the Torah part,
2:23
the answer is he's
2:25
talking about the subject matter
2:27
which the Torah talks
2:29
about. The Torah talks about
2:31
good and evil. Now
2:34
comes the analysis what
2:36
we understand at first glance,
2:38
I would think, Milosh
2:40
and Zahar Maimber from the
2:42
language of this quote,
2:44
at least Lachasireimada to those
2:47
who lack knowledge, it
2:49
seems to suggest Shalimud Yisir
2:51
Vaheter at the study
2:53
of the forbidden and the
2:55
permissible and Visei Dirtahar
2:57
as the study of what
2:59
is pure and what
3:01
is not, who may Ilona
3:03
de Tavera, it seems
3:05
to suggest that this comes
3:07
from quote -unquote the tree
3:09
of good and knowledge. Milvachi,
3:13
who Pela Godomach Masatzmei,
3:15
in addition to the fact
3:17
that a statement of
3:19
this kind is astonishing in
3:22
and of its own,
3:24
Viseisir Pashtehaksuvim, and seems to
3:26
conflict with the simple
3:28
interpretations of the verses. Umedroshir
3:32
Abishein Uzal certainly would conflict
3:34
with the medroshim of our
3:36
sages of blessed memory which
3:38
suggests Chakol HaTeirah, that the
3:40
entire Torah, Haniglis which is
3:42
revealed, Lonu to us, Ule
3:44
von Neyneu and to our
3:46
children, that's a quote from
3:48
the Nikro is called Eitzchayim
3:50
Lemaak Zikim Boah, that the
3:52
Torah, the entire Torah, is
3:54
a tree of life to
3:56
those who hold on to
3:58
it, including Hala ... of
4:00
purity and impurity, of forbidden
4:03
and permissible, the low, safe,
4:05
and hazzal al -Abad, not
4:07
only the Zohar. The entire
4:09
Torah is a tree of
4:11
life. How can
4:13
the Zohar allegedly suggest that
4:15
this only refers to
4:17
the esoteric teachings of Torah?
4:19
Obefrat, most especially. The
4:21
fact is, shayagunus we may
4:23
am, that the Zohar
4:25
was hidden in their days.
4:27
The Zohar was only known to
4:30
an elite few. Agam
4:32
and furthermore, kol khachmas akabola.
4:34
In general, the study of
4:37
kabola, haishanistir abimein was concealed
4:39
in their days. Whenel oman
4:41
was concealed, mikol tamideh khachamim.
4:43
From the average Torah scholar
4:45
did not know kabola, keem
4:47
likhidizgul, of the exception of
4:49
unique individuals who are quoted
4:52
in the Zohar. We
4:54
have gamzeis bahatsne lechas, and even
4:56
those were undercover,
4:58
under the radar, modestly.
5:02
Velei ber abim, not publicly. Kedisa
5:04
be gemora, ze tzezin gemora.
5:06
O kama shekosewa ha 'arizah, as
5:08
the famous rabbi Isaac Lurri, who lived
5:10
much, much later, said,
5:13
dedaf kebedeiris elu achreinim, that
5:15
in latter days, mutir,
5:18
it's permissible, and not only is it
5:21
permissible, but in this famous
5:23
teaching of the arizah, mitzwa,
5:25
it's incumbent upon us, legales,
5:27
to reveal ze sachachma, this
5:29
wisdom. Velei ber dedes
5:31
orishainim, not in the earlier generations. So
5:33
you're gonna tell me that in
5:35
the earlier generations, there was no tree
5:37
of life Torah? Legamen,
5:39
furthermore, rashbi rabshiman bar yechoy
5:41
omar. He himself says, bezor
5:44
akodesh, shaleinitin reshus legales, rak
5:46
leyul lechavet of lebadim, that
5:48
permission was not granted to
5:50
him to reveal these teachings
5:52
only to him and to his
5:55
contemporaries, special group of
5:57
people, abgamzeis, pleonizgibah, this itself
5:59
is story. to
6:01
the Fizeh. If we accept all
6:03
of this, then this leads
6:05
us to believe that lehaya limbut
6:07
is sarvaheter, that the study
6:09
of the forbidden and the permissible,
6:11
because, continue momentous. Certainly the
6:13
study of financial laws, deichen,
6:17
would not supersede mitzvah's phila,
6:19
the mitzvah prayer, shan istachna,
6:21
the mitzvah prayer was ordained,
6:23
apisaitis azayah, based upon the
6:25
esoteric teachings of the Zahra,
6:28
the yechudim lehainim and mystical
6:30
fusions on high, leyaydim
6:33
to those who know Kirash
6:35
B. B. Chavaydev, so
6:37
prayer is esoteric. Torah,
6:39
most of Torah deals with financial laws.
6:41
What happens if you're ox, gore is
6:43
my cow? What happens if you say
6:46
ayahu and I say you don't know?
6:48
Or vice versa. Beze 'ayne, this can't be,
6:50
because the study
6:52
of Torah, the revealed Torah is
6:54
paramount, kide 'isa bege mora, as it
6:56
says in gemara, de 'ab
6:59
shimon banyochay vachavaydev, rabashimon banyochay
7:01
himself, and his contemporaries vachom, ishetay
7:03
tasayum nasay, and all those
7:05
who were full -time Torah scholars,
7:07
ayin, mafsik and litphila, it says
7:09
that in their time, they
7:11
didn't even stop studying Torah, even
7:14
for prayer. So you can't
7:16
suggest that prayer is higher. Ba
7:18
'afir luqisha esik b'dinimom, and it's
7:20
even scholars who engaged only
7:22
in financial law, Kirab Yehuda,
7:24
like the famous Rabbi Yehuda, de 'a
7:26
kuli tnu ibn izikin habi. It
7:28
says that Rabbi Yehuda's 100 %
7:30
of his application in Torah was
7:32
in tort law and damage law.
7:34
Ba 'afir luqisha nebid alas, despite the
7:36
fact that he only learned financial
7:38
law, le 'hab imats, like Baba
7:40
Metsiya, Baba Kama, Baba Baster, and
7:42
so on and so forth. Le
7:45
'hab imats, le 'hab imats, le 'hab
7:47
imats, it says that Rabbi Yehuda
7:50
and his group of scholars only prayed
7:52
once a month. They
7:54
would only do the minimum prayer, put
7:56
on Talas and Sholna, say Shema, and
7:58
then so on, but they would do the whole
8:01
prayer because they would be Torah
8:03
scholars. Khadmahadar, Tomudha, as mentioned in
8:05
the Gamor, Khadissi, Bghamorabir
8:07
Shami, paid a comment to the
8:10
brachas at the test in the
8:12
Jerusalemite, Tom, with Chapter 1, Sviraleh,
8:14
Rashbe, does Rashbe, hold, I feel
8:16
the Khrish mainmab sickin, that even
8:19
they shouldn't stop Prashma, no, Prashma,
8:21
you have to. Kimimimimikro. only from
8:23
reading Vallemym Mishner, da diffimicula
8:26
rashbi, debating what part of
8:28
Toria should stop, and what
8:31
part of Toria shouldn't stop.
8:33
And nowhere, Vallechulek does he
8:36
differentiate between the first of
8:38
the six orders of the mission,
8:40
which deals with agricultural laws, or
8:42
Moaid and the second, which deals
8:44
with charitable, I'm sorry, with
8:47
seasonal laws, festivals, the Kochim
8:49
Vataris, and then the latter...
8:51
Sections which deal with sacrifices,
8:54
purity and impurity in Ezekiel,
8:56
or torque laws. Parentices
8:58
with say, Sadat's aatsim, birai,
9:00
Muhammad, Muhammad, Macaimus. This is
9:03
conflicting with what he himself
9:05
says in the Zohar. The
9:07
missionary is Shifcha. In the
9:09
Zohar, it says that mission
9:11
is at the level of
9:13
the maidservant of Bilon Zilpa,
9:16
Vamikrashutaita, Vamikrhaita, Vakrhaita, the
9:18
Khrhati, than Kabul, the Umatonista,
9:20
which is the Queen, but I
9:22
am Amnisham, the terroristship exabumalka, and
9:25
the written law is the Queen,
9:27
the Heinrich Zaidabor, the King, Hamilovish
9:29
Bizovamashkasovarizo. So again, it doesn't make
9:31
sense. The government, furthermore, pilpulakusius, with
9:33
Tirutsim, the whole debate. questions, answers,
9:36
which we said earlier, the missitre
9:38
at all, which come from the
9:40
side of negativity, because in holiness
9:42
there are no questions and answers,
9:44
they are just facts. Viruachattum, all
9:47
of this, emanates from the spirit
9:49
of impurity. Ashka Khan, we
9:51
find, be it Abshiman by Yachai, himself
9:53
engaged in questions and answers. The
9:55
Osak Beituba, he engaged in this
9:57
in abundance. Gambi, yes, a bambe,
10:00
Many years, Repshim and Bayekhoi and
10:02
Eson Rabi al -Lozor were hiding in the
10:04
cave from the Romans. And what did
10:06
they do there for 13, 14 years?
10:08
They studied Torah. What did they study?
10:10
The oral Torah, dealing with law, dealing
10:12
with financial law, dealing with dispute. The
10:15
Yad Raba, on the contrary, were
10:17
told, beshush tsara maora, in the merit
10:19
of the affliction which he experienced
10:21
in the cave, Zocholozahi merited this revelation.
10:23
If it is a big yamara,
10:26
as it says in Gamoradom al -Rippinchas
10:28
ben -Yoyer, that they were said
10:30
to Rippinchas ben -Yoyer, Akol Kusher,
10:32
that Repshim Bayekhoi had responded
10:34
to every question of Dalit Piruke.
10:36
He had 24 questions on
10:38
every one of his questions. We
10:41
are Marlayi, you've seen it before, and
10:43
he said, if I had not seen this
10:45
myself, I wouldn't
10:47
have believed it. The gam be 'emis,
10:50
au cork ha 'ikir is gein be' moro,
10:52
and obviously, we must say that their
10:54
main occupation in the cave. meaning
10:57
Repshim and Rabbalozer -e -San, Hayyot -e -Tayt -e
10:59
-San, Mishnah -e -Is, was the teaching
11:01
of Mishnah. Tof -reish -sidrei,
11:03
Shai -e -Bimeim, the
11:05
600 sections that they
11:07
were in those days, Adra -Bene -al
11:09
-Kadrish, until Rebbe came and organized
11:11
it. The illus -e -Prazeer, the
11:13
entire span of the Zohar, and
11:15
Tikun -e -Zohar, could be reviewed
11:17
thoroughly over two or three months.
11:19
He bavad -e -lay -al -madab -e -rachad -beis
11:21
-pumim, we're not talking about repeating
11:23
the same thing again and
11:25
again. G 'am -al -madab -e -senu -zal -fur -ther
11:27
-maw -arab -e -sed -mi -em -sh -chah -e -beis -am
11:29
-ig -ish -en -lay -al -akad -ish -bar -achal -a -dal
11:32
-a -mashal -a -lach -a -bavad. God dwells
11:34
in Jewish law in al -a -chah.
11:36
So from all of this,
11:38
we come to one
11:40
conclusion, that it's impossible to
11:43
interpret that quoted section
11:45
in the Zohar, the way
11:47
we interpreted that Kabbalah, that
11:49
the inner teachings of Torah are the
11:51
tree of life. The rest of Torah
11:54
that deals with the permissible and the
11:56
forbidden tort law, financial law, is the
11:58
tree of good and evil. How
12:00
could you say that the
12:02
entire Torah is the tree
12:04
of life? Even great Kabulists
12:06
spent their entire life dealing
12:08
primarily with the revealed Torah
12:10
of the permissible and the
12:12
forbidden? That is the question
12:14
that was presented following the
12:16
quote that was presented in
12:18
this rather long portion of
12:20
Tanya. End of today's portion.
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