23 Sep VEZOS HABRACHA/SIMCHAS TORAH: AN ODE TO SOULS IN THE ABYSS – IS JUDAISM LAW OR FIRE?

Fiery Law
In the opening of the
parsha of Vezos
Habracha—the final
parsha of the Torah
read on Simchas
T o r a h — M o s h e
describes the giving
of the Torah to the Jewish people:
He [Moshe] said: “The Lord came from
Sinai and shone forth from (the land of)
Saeir to them; He appeared from Har Paran
and came with some of the holy
myriads; from His right hand He gave them
a fiery Law.”
Here is how Moshe, in his final moments on
earth, described the nature of Torah: “Fiery
law,” or in the original Hebrew, “Eish das.”
It is an extraordinary and profound
description—the best definition for Judaism.
“Fire” and “law” are opposites. Law is all
about structure, order and rigid behavior,
articulated by the law. That is the function of
law: to uphold order in a society, to create
boundaries which one may not cross.
Fire, in contrast, is the opposite of structure.
It undermines, destroys and disintegrates
any arrangement. It is never confined to one
place, always swaying, moving, blazing,
dancing, consuming something; it breaks
down anything that enters into its realm. Try
“telling” a fire to maintain order and to be
respectful of boundaries, and it will consume
you too. By its very nature, fires defy
borders. Which is why fire represents
unrestrained passion, zealotry, energy, which
aspires to break out of the confined mode
and strive for more, as a physical flame
which is never content and seeks to consume
more.
This is the heart of Judaism: it is both “aish”
and “das,” fire and law, combined in one.
The two seem paradoxical, but they are not.
On the one hand, Judaism demands a life of
precise structure and order. Every mitzvah
and ritual has its time, place, and specific
rules. Judaism demands consistency and
stability, day in day out. It keeps us
synchronized with the rhythm of time and
the passage of seasons; it keeps us aligned
with the transitions of light to darkness, and
conversely, and to the patterns of the body
and the universe. Halacha, Jewish law, is all
about specific structure in minute details and
specifications. As the countless intricate
“laws” that govern the creation of a single
cell, Torah governs the life of the Jew.
Yet together with that, Torah is “fire.” It
challenges us to never stop growing, to open
ourselves to the mystery and infinity of life,
to transcend our habits and conventions, to
re-invent ourselves, and to never stop
burning; to continue to explore, grow and

climb the mountains of infinity.
The laws of Torah are, in essence, tools to
touch transcendence and infinity. The laws
are not there to limit and contain, but rather
to free up and express our full potential and
glory. It’s like tying down the chords of the
violin so that it can produce exquisite music.
The Old and the Young
This is how Torah has the power to attract
both the young and the old. Usually, the old
folks are more comfortable with “law,”
believing in consistency, order and stability.
While the young are more comfortable with
“fire,” with passion, idealism, breaking the
mold and shaking up the status quo.
Systems that are based either on “law”
(America of the 1950’s) or on “fire”
(America of the 60’s), alienate one of the two
demographics. Torah, in contrast, is “fiery
law,” it is both law and fire, hence its power
to capture the souls of the old and the young.
The Endless “Fiery” Quest
A story:
It was Simchas Torah, and the disciples of
Rabbi Mendel of Horodok, many of whom
had journeyed for weeks to spend the joyous
festival with their Rebbe, were awaiting his
entrance to the synagogue for the recital of
the Atah Hor’eisa verses and the hakafot
procession. Yet the Rebbe did not appear.
Hours passed, and still Rabbi Mendel was
secluded in his room.
Finally, they approached Rabbi Schneur
Zalman of Liadi, who had studied with
Rabbi Mendel in Mezeritch under the
tutelage of the Great Maggid. Perhaps Rabbi
Schneur Zalman, who was revered and loved
by Rabbi Mendel, would attempt what no
other Chassid would dare: enter the Rebbe’s
room and ask him to join his anxiously
awaiting followers.
When Rabbi Schneur Zalman entered Rabbi
Mendel’s study, he found the Chassidic
master deeply engrossed in his thoughts.
“The chassidim await you,” said Rabbi
Schneur Zalman. “Why don’t you join them
for the hakafot?”
“There are a hundred meanings to the verse
Atah Hor’eisa,” cried Rabbi Mendel, “And I
do not yet fully understand them all. I cannot
possibly come out to recite the verse without
a proper comprehension of its significance!”
“Rebbe!” said Rabbi Schneur Zalman.
“When you will reach a full comprehension
of the hundred meanings of Atah Hor’eisa,
you will discover another hundred meanings
you have yet to comprehend…”
“You are right,” said Rabbi Mendel, rising
from his seat. “Come, let us go to hakafot.”
Because Torah is not only law; it is also
“fire.” Part of it must always remain elusive,

challenging you to
transcend yet again.
The “Arms” Below the
Universe
There is a strange verse in
the final parsha of the
Torah, read on Simchas
Torah:
“[The Heavens] Are the
abode for the G-d Who
precedes all, and below the
world are arms. He expelled the enemy from
before you, and said, ‘Destroy!’”
What is the meaning of this enigmatic
statement that “below the world there are
arms”?
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov offered the
following moving interpretation.
If we had to categorize all of humanity into
two groups we could say that there are the
people who are comfortable in the world;
and there are people who find no place for
themselves in our universe. There are those
who just have their two feet etched
confidentially on the ground. They know
who they are and they know what they want,
or even if not, they are not bothered by these
questions.
But there are others who struggle with deep
psychological, emotional, and spiritual
dilemmas; people who experience deep
anxiety, pain and grief; individuals who
suffer from addiction, voids, and other
internal maladies. All these people never feel
fully present in our world; they never feel
grounded and stationed solidly on the earth.
Psychologically speaking they feel like they
are falling off the ball of the planet.
It is to these people who Moshe speaks and
says: “Metachas zeroos olam,” below the
world there are arms. When you feel like you
are “falling off” the planet, that you have no
place in our world, that you don’t belong
here, you should know that below the world
there are arms that will embrace you when
you fall. These are the Divine “arms” in
whom you can fall right into and allow them
to contain all your pain and trauma.
But here is the catch: Only those who “fall
off” the face of the earth can experience this
embrace. As long as you feel secure in your
own being, as long as you feel confident in
your own ego, you can’t feel the transcendent
embrace of G-d. Only when you have
nothing else to hold on to can you experience
those loving arms which are always present
below the world for those who are about to
fall into the abyss.
Many of us have lots of pain and challenges
in our lives. We often feel like we are “falling
off” the planet, with no real light at the end
of the tunnel. Allow yourself to land in G-d’s

arms wrapped around the universe. Allow
G-d to hug you.
A Shaky Hotel
The following story was told by the Rabbi
Zalman Gurari, who witnessed the moment,
to my late father, Gershon Jacobson:
One year, around 1933, a hotel was rented in
Warsaw for the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe,
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schnerson (1880-
1950) to spend there the last days of Sukkot
with his hundreds of disciples and followers,
in prayer, study and celebration.
It was Simchas Torah during the hakafot.
And as is the tradition in Chabad, the dancing
was fierce. Hundreds of Chassidim were
dancing with all their might, their soul, their
heart, as their feet were jumping up and
down in the heavenly symphony of Simchas
Torah with the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
The owner of the hotel was a Rodomsker
Chassid, a follower of the Chassidic dynasty
of Rodomsk (which was almost completely
wiped out in the Holocaust.) He ran over to
the Lubavitcher Rebbe and exclaimed: I
know the structure of this hotel, and it is not
capable of holding up all this pressure, all
this jumping and dancing. I am frightened
that the building will cave in on us and the
results can be catastrophic. You must tell the
Chasidim to stop dancing at once!
The Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak
Schneerson, smiled and said to him:
The Torah states “Metachas zeroos olam,”
below the world there are arms. The
Kabbalah explains this as referring to
“zeroos d’Adam Kadmon,” the Divine arms
which hold up the entire universe and the
entire planet. Our planet, the earth, is
suspended in mid-space. Who holds it up?
G-d’s “arms!”
So, my dear Jew, the same “arms” holding
up the entire planet, will hold up this hotel
too!
The Chassidim continues to dance, jump and
celebrate, till the wee hours of the morning.
The hotel remained intact. But the greatest

miracle, said Reb Zalman, was that this non-
Chabad Chassid returned to his previous

position calm and serene, with full trust in
the words of the Rebbe.