The Zohar Ha’Kadosh tells us that the “rain” is an analogy for Torah She’Biksav, the Written Law, and the “dew” represents Torah She’Baal’Peh, the Oral Law. Just as the former is celestial in nature, the latter is earthly and mundane in nature. We infer from this statement that the Written Torah contains principles and laws from a pure, Heavenly point of view, while the Oral Torah emphasizes rules and regulations from the perspective of earthly society.
The commentators emphasize the various differences between dew and rain, suggesting their parallel to Torah study. Horav Eli Munk, zl, observes that while raindrops can be measured as a standard liquid, dew cannot. Likewise, the Written Torah, which is compared to rain, has clearly defined mass. It is composed of five books, containing 248 positive commandments and 365 prohibitions. The Oral Law is like the dew, that cannot be quantified. It spreads thinly over the land, without limit, literally like the vast sea of the Talmud overflowing on all sides.
Horav Munk cites the Chofetz Chaim who criticized the people’s lack of proficiency in Tanach. He commented that one would expect a greater accomplishment in the Written Law, which has clearly defined parameters, than the Oral Law which is literally limitless. Regrettably, this is not the case. The study of Chumash lags far behind the study of Talmud. Perhaps one’s accomplishment seems greater and more significant in an area that does not have boundaries.
rusu rus ,uba ubhc okug ,unh rfz
Remember the days of yore, understand the years of generation after generation. (32:7)
Moshe Rabbeinu implores Klal Yisrael to learn from the past, to study its lessons to enable themto plan for the future. The pasuk seems to delineate between “days” of yore and “years” of generation after generation. This prompted the Dvar Avraham to infer a valuable lesson for us to employ in coping with the reality of life’s challenges. “Remember the days of yore;” view each day as a singular occurrence, exclusive of anything else. The challenges of each day should be perceived as they are, completely independent of any other situations. Afterwards, “understand the years of generation after generation;” consider how these autonomous daily challenges interact to create progressive consequences over the years. The only way to face the challenges of life is by viewing them as part of a large picture spanning generations. Each solitary event no longer stands by itself, but is rather another piece in the mosaic of life.
The Dvar Avraham articulated this idea on the eve of World War II, when the streets of Europe were already filled with the terror that would be inflicted on the Jews. He said, “It is imperative that these words be inscribed on the tablets of our hearts. Especially now, as we are being trampled under the weight of destruction, in a bitter exile that has been our life for two thousand years. There is no day that does not bring another curse. It would be quite easy to defer to depression and hopelessness and forget about the advent of Moshiach Tzidkeinu and, ultimately, also forsake our Torah. We should not view present circumstances as isolated happenings with no relationship to the future. Rather , we should remember that everything that Hashem does is for the good. Thus, all events are considered a preliminary for the future. The darkness of today will bring about tomorrow’s light.”
Life’s challenges have been poignantly analogized to a needle-point which on one side is a disarray of colors and threads, each one going in a different direction. The other side, however, is a beautiful masterpiece of color, a portrait of joy expressed through rich pastels. Regrettably, we view only one side of the needle-point. If we would only overcome our spiritual myopia, we could perceive the other side. Perhaps we would even see some of the profound beauty on the side of disarray.
