By Divine Design
Aaron L. Raskin
- The
- Kabbalah
- of
- Large,
- Small,
- and
- Missing
- Letters
- in
- the
- Parshah.Was
- that
- a…mistake?There
- are
- no
- mistakes
- in
- Torah.
- That
- said,
- week
- after
- week
- when
- reading
- the
- weekly
- Torah
- portion,
- scholars
- and
- laymen
- alike
- encounter
- broken,
- enlarged—and
- even
- missing—letters
- without
- stopping
- to
- realize
- that
- the
- bodies
- of
- these
- oddball
- letters
- themselves
- hold
- some
- of
- the
- Torah’s
- most
- cogent
- life
- lessons.
- A
- missing
- vav
- can
- teach
- us
- how
- to
- more
- closely
- connect
- with
- G-d;
- an
- enlarged
- letter
- beis
- can
- awaken
- our
- receptivity
- to
- beauty
- and
- change;
- and
- a
- conflict
- between
- the
- way
- a
- word
- is
- written
- and
- the
- way
- it
- is
- pronounced
- (kri-ksiv)
- can
- afford
- us
- a
- new
- layer
- of
- understanding
- of
- the
- parshah
- than
- if
- that
- word
- had
- been
- written
- “correctly”
- in
- the
- first
- place.
- Studying
- such
- anomalies
- more
- closely,
- and
- with
- the
- right
- teacher,
- we
- unlock
- the
- door
- to
- the
- very
- structure
- of
- Torah.Rabbi
- Aaron
- L.
- Raskin,
- author
- of
- Letters
- of
- Light
- (a
- chapter-by-chapter
- study
- of
- each
- of
- the
- 22
- Hebrew
- letters),
- takes
- his
- lifelong
- love
- of
- Alef-Beis
- and
- graphic
- design
- to
- the
- next
- level
- in
- By
- Divine
- Design.
- He
- analyzes
- the
- contextual
- anomalies;
- cites
- Midrashic,
- Talmudic,
- and
- Kabbalistic
- source
- texts;
- and
- peppers
- the
- parshiyos
- with
- warm
- Chassidic
- stories
- and
- insights
- that
- bring
- the
- letters’
- inner
- meanings
- to
- light.
- This
- is
- not
- just
- another
- book
- on
- the
- parshah.
- Layreaders
- of
- the
- weekly
- Torah
- portion
- will
- appreciate
- the
- book’s
- simple
- writing
- style
- and
- unusual
- mystical
- insights;
- scholars
- and
- lecturers
- of
- all
- stripes
- will
- find
- the
- book
- to
- be
- a
- rich
- resource
- for
- their
- weekly
- drash.
- Its
- stories
- and
- jokes
- are
- infinitely
- quotable,
- and
- its
- arguments
- well-annotated
- with
- numerous
- cross-references
- to
- source
- materials.By
- Divine
- Design
- is
- a
- book
- that
- you
- will
- return
- to
- again
- and
- again.
- Of
- that
- there
- is
- no mistake.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
