See Letter 7 of The Nineteen Letters
See Letter 8 of The Nineteen Letters
The Torah, Israel, and various Tithes are referred to as ראשית– Beginning, Each of these represent a beginning of the process of recognition of Hashem in the world and dedicating and uplifting His world.
(The Torah was given to the world at a time when this awareness was lost. Israel’s role was to live by that Torah, the ultimate instruction book of how to best use this world for the highest purpose, thereby beginning the process of bringing the world back to this awareness.)
Beraishis 1:1, Page 2
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The Torah emphasizes the godlike dignity of the human body. This is a central theme of the Torah.
Man is capable of his godly mission on earth, even with his physicality and all his urges. In fact, Man was specifically designed to grow upward and become holy with his body.
It is a grave error to only see godliness in Man’s mind and spirit, thereby giving the body free reign to be involved in all sorts of depravity.
A holy body is the foundation for all growth of the spirit. The higher the spiritual and mental greatness, the more demands on keeping the body holy. As such, the first commandment the Jewish people are given is ברית מילה. Israel’s mission is to rebuild a purer Mankind, therefore their very first commandment is to dedicate the body to God.
Many of the mitzvos have this theme, such as laws of sexual relations, eating, ritual purity and cleansing oneself of ritual impurity.
Beraishis 1:27, Pages 32-33
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Because Avraham exerted himself to see God in nature, אלקים, God responded to him by teaching him about His name י-ה-ו-ה, the God who has brought about all of nature for the opportunity to educate Man to come closer to God. As י-ה-ו-ה, God will move history along the path to its higher purpose, the education of Man, even if it requires the suspension of the rules of nature.
The world only came to fully witness and understand this relationship with God at the time the Jewish nation was formed in Egypt. Then, the Jewish nation had no ability to fend for itself physically and survive and despite that God interceded and redeemed it. (This was clearly the divine hand operating against the rules of nature.) Jewish history begins with this lesson. All of Jewish history is one big lesson of God’s involvement in the world and His constant education of Man, which is the meaning behind the name י-ה-ו-ה.
Beraishis 2:4, Pages 50-51
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Man was created outside The Garden of Eden and was placed into the garden. The garden is prepared for him, awaiting his arrival, ready to meet his every need. But there is no guarantee that he will remain in this garden. The condition for remaining in the garden is to live by God’s laws, making use of the garden as God sees fit.
Man’s is destined to live in the Garden of Eden – life on earth where all of his needs are met. The world around him will flourish and his efforts will succeed when he lives by God’s rules. This is the ultimate destiny for all of mankind. Man grows towards that end in the course of history.
Later in history, the Land of Israel was to be another Garden of Eden on a smaller scale, given to the Jewish people, on condition that they live by God’s laws. In response, the land and all their lives would flourish. This would serve as an example for all of mankind of what they should strive for.
Beraishis 2:8, Page 57
