Sorry, but the class isn’t up yet at www.torah.org<\/p>\n
1:4:9<\/p>\n
The best way to draw close to G-d, though, is through Torah-study [1] — by reciting [2] and studying it, and by comprehending it. For G-d actually granted us texts that were composed by Him which are the Torah itself and the Books of the Prophets in His love for us. They have the unique ability to endow anyone who reads them with the highest levels of spiritual achievement — when he reads them in a holy and pure way [3] and with the intention to fulfill G-d\u2019s intentions.<\/p>\n
Anyone who tries to understand and know what has been passed down to us from the Torah\u2019s commentators [4] grows greater and greater in the process\u00a0 [5] — especially if he tries to grasp its esoteric and mystical levels, for anyone who aspires to that reaches the highest and most perfect soul levels [6]. And in fact, not only does anyone who dwells on Torah acquire those levels but creation itself is likewise elevated [7].<\/p>\n
Notes:<\/p>\n
[1] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That is, G-d wanted us to know His wishes for us and He wanted us to be able to go back to the statement of those wishes again and again. He also wanted us to withdraw from the world in the course of each and every day in order to re-read that statement. That series of wishes is the essential backdrop of Torah-study.<\/p>\n
See 4:2:1-7 for more about Torah study.<\/p>\n
[2]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The original reads higgayon<\/em> which can be translated as either \u201creciting\u201d or \u201creflecting upon\u201d. But it\u2019s obvious based on 4:2:2 below that Ramchal is referring to the former.<\/p>\n As such, Torah-study works on two levels: on a mere recitative one, and on a deeper, cognitive one (spoken of immediately following this). That\u2019s is, we can grow in our inner beings by merely uttering<\/em> words of Torah (in the original Hebrew) given that the words themselves are infused with an inscrutable steam and thrust of their own. Needless to say, merely uttering scientific, historical, literary and other such texts does nothing to deepen our being, despite the truth and elegance of their pronouncements, because the words themselves aren\u2019t cosmically significant.<\/p>\n [3]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See 4:3:1.<\/p>\n [4]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This is apparently referring to the Talmud and other works of The Oral tradition as well as the classical commentaries based on them.<\/p>\n [5]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0We affect our inner beings because we\u2019re nibbling at the very core of G-d\u2019s will for us, so to speak, and communing with His very Being in some inexplicable way. It\u2019s somewhat analogous to communing with an author\u2019s mind while reading his or her work deeply and slowly. But just as you can never truly commune with an author through his works, because so much is left unsaid — that\u2019s all the more so true when it comes to communing with G-d Himself while delving into His Torah. The best way to put it, perhaps, is that you\u2019re communing with G-d\u2019s will for us at the time, rather than with G-d Himself.<\/p>\n [6]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ramchal stressed the importance of the study of Kabbalah in quite a number of places. See, for example Adir<\/em> Bamarom<\/em> pp. 1, 15, 22, and 113 and Derech<\/em> Chochma<\/em>. In fact, he himself authored dozens of Kabbalistic books and booklets.<\/p>\n [7]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See Messilat<\/em> Yesharim<\/em> Ch. 1 and Kohelet<\/em> Rabbah<\/em> to Ecclesiastes 7:13.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n (c) 2014 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n ———————————————————-<\/p>\n AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> at a discount.<\/p>\n You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here<\/a> at a discount as well.<\/p>\n Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sorry, but the class isn’t up yet at www.torah.org 1:4:9 The best way to draw close to G-d, though, is through Torah-study [1] — by reciting [2] and studying it, and by comprehending it. For G-d actually granted us texts … Continue reading