The Torah
Concerning the Torah we are taught, that originally it was purely spiritual, and only after many contractions from its original form, could the Torah discuss the physical matter of the world.
Text 6
...The Torah has been compared to water, for just as water descends from a higher to a lower level, so has the Torah descended from its place of glory, which is His blessed will and wisdom; [for] the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are one and the same and no thought can apprehend Him at all. From there [the Torah] has progressively descended through hidden stages, stage after stage, with the descent of the worlds, until it clothed itself in corporeal substances and in things of this world, comprising almost all of the commandments of the Torah, their laws, and in the combinations of material letters, written with ink in a book, namely, the 24 volumes of the Torah, Nevi’im and Kesuvim.
Tanya, Chapter 4
One could mistakenly think that the Torah has changed through this process and that in order to connect Torah with the Almighty we must nullify the corporeality of the Torah. This bereisa teaches us however, that this notion is incorrect. The Torah remains one with the Holy One, blessed be He, even when engrossed in corporeal matters.
Text 7
R. Yehudah ben Baseira used to say: “Words of Torah are not susceptible to uncleanness...as it says, ‘Is not My word like as fire?’ Just as fire is not susceptible to uncleanness, so words of Torah are not susceptible of uncleanness.
Talmud, Berachos 22a
Even when the Torah is enclothed in physical discussion, it is described as the fiery word of G-d.
The Jewish People
The soul of the Jew is “a part of G-d,” not only before it comes into the body, but even after it is enclothed in physicality. Still then, it is a part of G-d. This is also demonstrated by the supporting verse used here in the bereisa: “To the holy who are upon earth, the noble ones, in whom is all My delight.” The verse conveys that even when the Jewish people are upon the earth, and involved in corporeality, they are still referred to as holy.
The Beis Hamikdash
Although the Beis Hamikdash is made up of physical material, this does not hinder its G-dliness. On the contrary, not only did the G-dliness that was in the Beis Hamikdash affect its physical attributes, but the rest of the world as well, was in turn influenced by its G-dliness.
This concept is articulated in the two verses that are brought concerning the Beis Hamikdash. The first verse, “The base for Your dwelling that you, G-d, have achieved; the Sanctuary, O L-rd, that Your hands have established," is expressive of the fact that the actual Sanctuary is holy. The second, "And He brought them to His holy domain, this mount His right hand has acquired," communicates that this holiness extends to the mountain as well, and that it is ultimately expressed throughout the entire land of Israel.
The Heaven and Earth
G-dliness is not only expressed in the supernal heaven and earth, but the physical heaven and earth is expressive of the Almighty as well. Even the physical earth proclaims the deepest levels of G-dliness. The Talmud tells us that the heavens today, thousands of years after they were created, are as sturdy as they were in the moment of their formation. This is expressive of G-dliness the way it surpasses the confines of worldly definition. The same too, is found in the earth, where G-d’s involvement can be explicitly seen through the earth’s ability to produce constant growth.
Text 8
This is the constant and everlasting effect, throughout the earth, of the fiat, "Let the earth bring forth herbs..."...To make herbs and trees, and fruits, sprout ex nihilo into substantiality, constantly, from year to year. This is a kind of degree of infinity; for if this world will subsist for myriads of myriads of years, they will still sprout forth from year to year.
Tanya, Igeres Hakodesh, Epistle 20
Avraham Avinu
Although Avraham is already included as an acquisition of the Almighty by the fact that he possessed a G-dly soul like the rest of the Jewish people—a soul which expresses the Divine in this corporeal world—he is nonetheless enumerated as a separate acquisition.
Avraham was unique in that he was able to bring G-dliness to a pre-Torah world and is therefore enumerated independently from the Jewish people. The Jewish people are considered an acquisition in that they remain holy in a corporeal world. Avraham though was considered an acquisition in that he was able to bring holiness to the world as well.
Text 9
And he blessed him, and said: “Blessed be Avram to G-d, Most High, acquirer of heaven and earth.” From whom did he acquire them?...R’ Yitzchak said, “He would greet wayfarers, and once they had finished eating he would tell them, “Thank [G-d],” and they would ask him, “What should we say?” He would tell them, “Say: Blessed is the G-d of the world from whose [food] we ate.” G-d said to him, “My Name had not been recognized amongst My creatures and you made Me known amongst My creatures. I therefore consider it as if you are My partner in the creation of the world.”
Bereishis Rabba 43:7
The Jewish people are called G-d’s acquisition, for even when they are corporeal, they are still G-dly. Avraham was considered the acquisition of G-d because of his ability to bring about a recognition of G-dliness in creation even before the giving of the Torah. For this reason, the bereisa’s supporting verse regarding Avraham is one that relays this point—that Avraham brought G-dliness to the rest of the world.
The ability that he had to bring this about demonstrates the deep unity that he had with the Almighty, to the point that not only was he not affected by the world, but he affected it. He is therefore referred to as G-d’s acquisition.
(Based on Likkutei Sichos 35, p. 35ff, reworked by Rabbi Dovid Markel. To see other projects and to partner in our work, see: www.Neirot.com.)
