Pensamento Judaico sobre Provérbios 6:22

The Torah as an acquisition is quite different from other acquisitions. (Exodus Rabbah 33) Generally, he who sells personal property is depressed over the need to have had to do so. Not so the seller of Torah. He rejoices. Normally, once a purchase has been made, the owner is concerned about safeguarding it. Not so with Torah. Torah safeguards its keepers, those who own it. Normally, the idea that by purchasing an artist's product, one establishes a claim on the artist, is inconceivable. When acquiring Torah however, one does establish a claim on its Creator. "And they shall take a contribution for Me," (as if you were acquiring Me as a gift). (Exodus 25,2) In giving the Torah to Israel, G-d has handed over His most precious and versatile possession. He has given Torah scholars the key to guiding the world, to turn on and off benefits as one would use a key to lock or unlock a vault. All this G-d did joyfully, not regretfully. The relationship between G-d and Israel may be viewed in the following manner. A king had an only beloved daughter. When he married her off, he said to her husband: "I cannot give her up completely, since she is my daughter. I cannot ask you not to take her home, since she is your wife. My one request is that wherever you two go, have a spare room for me nearby, so that I can be near you." Similarly, G-d said to Israel: "Now build Me a house so that I can be near both of you (including the Torah) at all times." The concept, of course, is that since the mitzvot of the Torah concern themselves not with the abstract but with the physical, Torah belongs in the physical world. At the same time, however, since it had been the outgrowth of the world of pure spirit, it cannot be severed from that world either, and represents the link between the two worlds.

What will happen with the Torah of our God, and how faithful are His testimonies, and how commendable are His sayings! For the Scripture mentions four ways of a person that vary: sitting, walking, lying down, and rising up, and all of them are active positions. And do not find it difficult to switch between them. Regarding lying down, the reason for lying is similar to "He will not harm you while you lie down" (Psalms 5). Our sages in the Talmud distinguished between "lying" (shokhev) and "lying down" (nishkav), while in the context of the Torah, both refer to lying down. And the testimony is found in Genesis 19, "Behold, I lay last night with my father." Now, lying down refers to awakening, as most of the time, when a person sleeps, he lies down. Thus, the verse in Genesis 28 states, "And he lay in that place," without mentioning that he also slept. The one who is asleep is similar to the dead. Therefore, it is written in 1 Kings 1, "And David lay down." Now, sitting is the resting posture of a person in one place, as if it is half-standing. Standing, on the other hand, refers to being fully erect, as in Leviticus 25, "And the house shall be raised up." Walking is the movement from one place to another, which is the opposite of sitting and lying down. It is like a stretched line from the head to the feet. However, in the book of Psalms, it is written, "He neither walked, stood, nor sat." It does not mention lying down because most of the time when a person lies down, he sleeps. In the Torah, it is written, "You shall speak of them when you lie down," like in Ecclesiastes 36, "I spoke to my heart, even with my mouth." All his activities, regardless of the position, he was commanded to meditate on His Torah. Thus, it is written, "And you shall meditate on it day and night." King Solomon (peace be upon him) said in Proverbs 6, "When you walk, it shall lead you; when you lie down, it shall watch over you, and when you awaken, it shall speak with you." Whether you are standing or sitting, these words teach us that God is one, and there is nothing besides Him. Therefore, it is written in Deuteronomy 6, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart." If you desire to stand in this worldly life and in the world to come, love the Name. And at the end of the book, I will reveal to you this secret, for it is the foundation of all wisdom. For the Name alone is the Creator of all and knows the parts of everything in the path of all, for the parts are changing, and the human soul alone, as given by God, is like a ready tablet upon which to write. And in this writing on the tablet is the divine script, which is the knowledge encompassing those born from the four roots, the knowledge of the spheres, the Throne of Glory, the secret of the Divine Chariot, and the Supernal Knowledge. Then the soul will be attached to the glorious God while still in the human being, and likewise, when it separates its power from its body, which is its palace. And it is not proper for an intelligent person to seek in this world only what will be good for the world to come. Do you not see that it is written in matters of forbidden relationships, "I am the Lord who distances you from forbidden relationships"? Then one will be among those who cleave to the glorious Name, as the words of Asaph say, "But as for me, the nearness of God is good for me" (Psalms 73). And higher than that, for behold, your distant ones shall perish, as David says, "For You will not abandon my soul to the grave" (Psalms 16). When my flesh descends there, for the grave is the burial place that is in the depths of the earth, as in Psalms 139, "And I lie down in Sheol, behold, You are there." And David says, "You will make known to me the path of life" (Psalms 16). And so says the poet, "But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol" (Psalms 49), and the word will take me up to a high place, as in Genesis 5, "And he was not, for God took him" (referring to Enoch). And as it is written, "And after glory, you shall take me" (Psalms 73). And it is written, "And sanctify yourselves today, and do not approach a woman" (Exodus 19). Therefore, one who lies with his wife is impure. And it is forbidden for him to pray until he washes himself. This was also mentioned by the sages of the Mishnah, that it was the custom of the people of Israel during the Second Temple period to wash a garment or skin if even a drop fell on it. One should not eat sacred meat. The Scripture emphasizes the stringency regarding menstruation, childbirth, and the Nazirite's consecration. When the days of his vow are completed and he desires to resume drinking wine, he must bring a burnt offering, a sin offering, a peace offering, and shave off his hair at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, as a way of disgracing himself, for he has distanced himself from his sanctity and descended from his elevated state. Likewise, a woman who has given birth shall bring a one-year-old lamb. The owner of a field shall give tithes, first fruits, forgotten sheaves, corners of the field, and the dough offering. The owner of a vineyard shall observe the prohibition of orlah (uncircumcised fruit trees), the additional tithes, and the consecration of the first fruits. Similarly, the owner of a flock shall give the first shearing, the first-born, and the tenth. And one shall partake of peace offerings, the thigh, the breast, the foreleg, the cheeks, and the stomach alone, as it is written, "Each person shall give according to what he has, according to the blessing of the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 16). The meaning is that it is fitting to give according to what the Lord has given him, and this is the criteria. In the end, Elijah the man of God and also Elisha shall testify to this.