Chazal in Talmud Shabbos (105a) say that the word hfbt, I, is an acrostic for hapb tbt, ,hcvh vch,f” I put Myself into the writing.” Hashem says that His very essence is suffused to every letter of the Torah. As Horav Moshe Swift z.t.l. explains, this amazing statement is the cornerstone for the eternal nature of the Torah. Hashem reveals Himself through the Torah. It is His will. When one reads or studies the Torah, he is actually studying Hashem. Honoring the Torah is tantamount to honoring Hashem. There is nothing like Torah in the world of literature; other writings merely constitute an expression of the author’s thought. The Torah represents pure thought itself. As Divine thought in action, the Torah is as immutable and eternal as its author. It is as infinite in scope and depth as its author is infinite in time and space. For this reason, the Torah has not been destroyed. It cannot be obliterated for it represents Hashem Himself.
Horav Moshe Swift explains that, therefore, Chazal require deep reverence for to the Torah and its scholars. If a Sefer Torah falls to the ground, it is as if a shadow is cast upon us. We must atone for this by fasting. A single letter missing from the Torah divests it of its sanctity and renders it ineligible for holy purposes. We stand up when the Torah is raised, for Hashem is revealed through it. Talmidei chachamim, Torah scholars, Rabbis and teachers, who devote their life to its study, are to be revered, for they are infused with the Divine Himself. To abuse or denigrate the Torah or its loyal disseminators is, therefore, an unpardonable sin.
