Moses Signed My Bible
Dec 22nd, 2009 by Rabbi Simcha Weinberg in Reflections & Observations
Torah Scroll
I can already see Rabbi Moshe Stepansky’s response: “Good for you! God signed mine!”
He will be right, of course, but he probably won’t put his up for auction.
The Holy Reb Moshe, will also argue that it is impossible to find Moshe’s signature anywhere on my bible; he was, of course, too humble, and would not take any credit for the bible.
But, I will tell you, without any doubt, that whenever I open my bible, I have absolute clarity that I am studying with Moshe Rabbeinu. His signature may not really be there, but he is, in each and every word. When I study Chumash, I am sitting with Moshe before God and learning and receiving the gift of Torah.
Can there be a greater thrill? I doubt it. You are welcome to join me.
Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.
7 Comments
This entry is filed under Reflections & Observations.
You can also follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Or perhaps you're just looking for the trackback and/or the permalink.
Actually R’ Shlomo signed mine.
One of my all-time favorite BeSHT stories-
This not yet chosid is going to check out the BeSHT, to see what he is all about.
This yid is a learned person and on Firday nite after the tish with the BeSHT, he retires for the night.
Before going to sleep he ruminates that the BeSHT, while learned,didn’t knock his socks off at the tish.
He falls asleep and has a dream.
In the dream he sees the BeSHT and the ARIZaL disputing the explanation of a piece of Zohar, each one holding true and fast to his explanation.
The ARIZaL says “Let’s take it up with Rabi Shimon, the author.”
Rabi Shimon says the ARIZaL’s interpretation is the correct one.
The BeSHT is relentless and unmoved. ” Let’s take it up with G-d, c’vayachol!”.
G-d sides with the BeSHT.
The yid wakes up.
At the third meal, the BeSHT starts giving over the Torah from the dream.
He turns to this yid and tells him – you already heard this Torah last night.
R’ Simcha was kind enough to present me with a number of diverse s’forim from his personal library during my last visit to the USA.
“Please, I want you to have them”, he said. Whereas in the back of my mind, I was thinking “He’s just looking for a cheap way to get his s’forim over to Eretz Yisroel”.
Well,maybe he wanted the RaMaK to come home to Tsfat.
Anyhow, I’d like to thank R’ Simcha for affording me the firsthand experience of traveling like R’ Shlomo with one suitcase full of s’forim.
On a different note, I could not but notice that some of these s’forim had signatures of multiple previous owners, people, who throughout the ages perused and learned Torah from these selfsame books, each person in their own inimitable way.
Certainly, it is important, even crucial, to have the author’s imprimatur. However, the M’sorah, the giving over of one generation to the next is almost as important. I like to imagine the fingerprints, invisible as they may be,that are the living history of these holy books.
Show me a person’s library and I’ll tell you about that person. One of the saddest things to me is when I visit someone’s home and there is nary a library.
Our Holy Torah isn’t for sale auction. CHaZL tell us it is fully available for all who wish to partake.
No one has a monopoly on Da’at Torah. Rav Amital said that if someone claims their way, and ONLY their way, is Da’at Torah – that is the acid test that they are wrong.
Sh-Lo-Mo-H is spelled with the same letters as L-Mo-She-H
Rav Matis Weinberg shlitah brings down the gemara that teaches that the lettter Lamed is characterized as, “Migdal Porei’ach B’Avir – a floating castle in the sky” and as such, in many cases when one sees the letter Lamed it denotes raising whatever it is up to a higher level. For example in Kaddish when we recite in the month of Elul preceding Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, “L’aylah *u*L’Aylah! – higher *AND HIGHER!*
By the way, one good place to employ the letter Lamed is when davening for someone, for example for healing or livelihood.
If the person’s name for example is: Chana bat Sarah one can say, “Please G-d send a complete healing from Heaven, a healing of the soul and a healing of the body L’Chana bat Sarah” with the intention of raising them up a level.
The Talmud relates that personal trials, among them illness or livelihood needs, can be characterized as a pit that one has fallen into; as such the idea of lifting someone up applies nicely.
There is a beautiful song “Lift me up” on the solo album “Armchair Theatre” by Jeff Lynne (of ELO – perhaps available via secondspin.com or iTunes). It’s really all about our mystic yearning for HaShem and to connect to HaShem through Torah, Prayer, Mitzvot and Life itself.
He sings: “Don’t want to be one of the broken-hearted: So lift me up! Finish what You started, take me on, for a ride…
Lift me up, from the broken hearted, (the) River’s deep and wide….”
The song and its complete lyrics can be found here:
http://www.lyrics.com/lift-me-up-lyrics-jeff-lynne.html
If you enjoyed the song and the Chasidisheh idea of listening to lyrics as applied towards your feelings to G-d, then you may also enjoy this masterpiece:
http://www.lyrics.com/blown-away-lyrics-jeff-lynne.html
As you listen to it, just think about G-d.
You will be “blown away.” Baruch Sheh’kacha Lo b’Olamo!