| The enigmatic title of this chapter is a
quote from the book called the Zohar. It's the most famous kabbalistic
treatise, and most Kabbalah that is studied these days is based
on it. It is attributed to a sage from Talmudic times named Rabbi
Shimon bar Yochai (about 170 C.E.)
Israel is the name given to Jacob, the third of the Jewish patriarchs,
when he wrestled with an angel in Genesis 32:29 (see also 35:10).
It also refers to the Jewish people as a whole. They were formed
as a people from Abraham's time until Moses, and were established
with God's mandate on Mount Sinai.
In the previous chapter we discussed the idea of man being a
microcosm of the universe. In one sense everything in creation
mirrors man and vice versa. The point of creation, however, was
just for man, and therefore he has more importance than all the
rest of creation. In the beginning of Genesis, even though he
was created last, man is the central figure. The universe is the
arena in which he fulfills his divine task. The vehicle to communicate
that task is the Torah. Although the word Torah can refer to the
actual scroll of the Bible, it also refers to the entirety of
God's instructions to man.
There are the written instructions, which include the five books
of Moses, the Prophets, and the Writings; as well as the oral
instructions, which include the Mishna, Medrash, Talmud, and Kabbalah.
There is a tradition, however, that all of the oral instructions
are hinted to in the written instructions, which in turn are all
hinted to in the five books of Moses. Therefore our title technically
refers to the entirety of knowledge that is imbedded in the five
books of Moses. As instructions to man, then, the Torah represents
the very will of the Creator. His will is the closest to Him we
can come. It's the next best thing to God's actual presence, as
it says in Exodus 33:20 "for no man can see Me and live."
In this way we say that God and the Torah are one, as it is the
greatest manifestation or revelation of God we have here on earth.
In the Zohar, the Torah is even referred to as one long name of
God. In a matter of speaking it is His very words, thoughts, and
desires.
If you think about it, you realize that the creation itself is
also an expression of God as well. He created it. It is His handiwork,
and it has His wisdom all the way through it. He made the apple
pretty to look at, a pleasure to smell, delicious to eat, and
healthy. If one examines the universe properly one can come to
the unmistakable conclusion that there is a Creator and designer;
it could not have been an accident. Psychologists often examine
great works of art and draw conclusions about the artist. With
the creation, though, God purposely designed His universe to hide
Himself just a bit beneath the surface. Not only that, but since
God's oneness fills the universe and constantly wills it into
existence, the universe is more like a living self-portrait with
a thin veil to look past.
Man is God's most important and special creation and thereby
the greatest expression of His will. Man also, as a microcosm
of all creation, is a representation of the whole of God's will
as manifested in the world. So just as the universe and the Torah
are fused and connected with God, so is man. Yet it is man in
his fulfillment of the purpose of creation that best expresses
the presence of God. Therefore as the Bible forms this nation
called Israel as the embodiment of God's will through history
and the people charged with the task to follow His instructions,
they become as close to the actual presence of God as you can
get as a nation.
In expressing the idea that God's will to create the universe
is embodied in the Torah, the Zohar states that God looked into
the Torah and then created the universe. Somehow it is the blueprint
of creation. They also say that there are 600,000 primary souls
that make up the Jewish people in any generation. Symbolically,
though not technically, there are 600,000 letters in the Torah.
The Torah, the Jewish people, and God are one to the extent that
they can keep their separate identities and still be one. Israel,
as it lives the principles of the Torah, also becomes a living
expression of God's will in man. They are the people that were
given the instructions, and they are the ones who are living those
instructions. Israel, the Torah and God are all one.
It must be noted as a side point at this time that Israel is
not an exclusive club. Anyone who sincerely wants to join Israel
by converting may do so.
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