There is a certain mistaken outlook that many have with regards to the nature of Torah. Many think that the Torah is something to be studied, an intellectual pursuit that has its own time and place. We set aside some time to study Torah, and then when the study session is finished, we forget about the Torah and G-d and go about our lives in the world, chas v’shalom.
The Baal Shem Tov HaKadosh brought a new light into the world which, among others, accomplished two amazing things. First, he showed us that the Torah was not meant only for the elite. Rather, every person from any walk of life has a portion in the Torah. Whether one is a Rosh Yeshiva, a shopkeeper, or a wagon driver, the Torah is intrinsically bound to every Jew. Second, he showed us that the Torah applies to every aspect of life, at all times, and with everything we come into contact with.
The Tikkunei Zohar teaches that “Kudsha Brich Hu V’Oraisa Chad,” that HaShem and the Torah are one existence. Additionally, everything in existence is only able to exist and continue to exist because it is infused with chiyut, life force from Hashem. This divine life force energy permeates into every person, animal, plant, stone and pebble in all of creation.
This means that we can find G-d in every aspect of existence. As Rebbe Nachman says in Torah Alef, a Jew should always be looking for the divine wisdom in every aspect of the world. The Torah is not confined only to certain books, places or times. Rather, G-d and his Torah can be found in everything, in all places, at all times.
This concept is revealed to the greatest extent in the mitzvah of nedarim, vows, that is stated at the beginning of Parashat Matot. The concept of a neder is that a person is able to create a new, spiritual Torah status to an object simply by verbally designating it. When a person declares that a certain type of food, such as meat, is forbidden to him, that meat takes on a Torah prohibition. He transformed it from a delicious, kosher rib steak into a Torah prohibited food - just like a pork chop. How is a person able to do this? Isn’t he writing a new Torah?
The simple understanding is that the concept of nedarim is part of the Torah, and the Torah gives us the power to change the spiritual status of items from permitted to prohibited. However on a deeper level, the person is just revealing that at the root of everything in creation is G-d and the Torah. Therefore, any item in creation can take on a new status as a Torah prohibited item, because it is intrinsically connected to the Torah. In a certain sense, we are just revealing the fact that the Torah applies to this item as it does with every aspect of creation.
This concept can illuminate our lives in a general sense as well. We should always remember that G-d and the Torah can be found in all aspects of creation. Whether by taking a moment of hitbodedut in a forest, or by a stream, making a blessing on water from a pristine spring, seeing hashgacha pratit in the events we experience, or just by seeing the beauty and grandeur of the universe, we can always look for and find the divine amongst the mundane. We can always find Hashem.
