Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
יַעֲרֹף כַּמָּטָר לִקְחִי תִּזַּל כַּטַּל אִמְרָתִי
כִּשְׂעִירִם עֲלֵי דֶשֶׁא וְכִרְבִיבִים עֲלֵי עֵשֶׂב׃
May my words come down like rain, my speech drip like dew,
Like showers on young plants, like droplets on the grass.
How is Torah like rain?
מָה מָטָר זֶה יוֹרֵד עַל הָאִילָנוֹת וְנוֹתֵן בָּהֶם מִטְּעָמִים לְכָל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד לְפִי מָה שֶׁהוּא: בְּגֶפֶן לְפִי מָה שֶׁהוּא, בַּזַּיִת לְפִי מָה שֶׁהוּא, בַּתְּאֵנָה לְפִי מַה שֶּׁהִיא. כָּךְ דִבְרֵי תוֹרָה כֻּלָּהּ אַחַת וְיֵשׁ בָּהּ מִקְרָא וּמִשְׁנָה תַּלְמוּד הֲלָכוֹת וְהַגָּדוֹת.
The same rain falls on the trees and gives them each their own flavors, each according to what it is. A grapevine gets its own flavor, an olive tree gets its own flavor, a fig tree gets its own flavor. So too, the words of the Torah are one, yet they contain Tanakh, Mishnah, Talmud, halakhah, and aggadah (stories).
- Even trees that are so different from each other can all be nourished by the same rainfall. In what way are the words of Torah nourishing as well?
- What are the different “flavors” of Torah? How can people with very different interests, ideas, or backgrounds all find some connection to the same Torah?
- Why is it important for the Torah to contain all different kinds of teachings? What does this tell us about the Torah?
- Can you think of other ways that Torah is like rain or dew?
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