The Torah as a Jewel

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One of the qualities of Torah is its beauty; and its wonders, the inner beauty of a life led according to Torah.

Sometimes we hear a teaching and we feel, ” Wow, that is beautiful,” and this fills us with joy. This is not a superficial feeling or something we should ignore, but a real appreciation of the beauty of the Torah.

The holy Zohar teaches that the Torah, the Holy Blessed One and the soul are all of the same essence  and thus it has inherent beauty.

The Sages in the Mishnah, indeed relate to the  Torah as a very precious jewel.

Great is Torah, for it gives life to  those who practise it in this world, and in the World to Come. As the Scripture states, “For the words of the Torah are life to he who finds them, and a healing to all his flesh” (Proverbs 4:22)….., “She shall give to your head a garland of grace, a crown of glory she shall grant you” (4:9). Ethics of the Fathers

Yet this is not the only sense in which the Torah is seen as an element of beauty , as a jewel. Our whole purpose in being here on this planet is to add an additional element to the Creation. To perfect what is already perfect. Thus the Ari z’l states:

Yet it arose, in his simple will, to create the worlds, and to bring forth the created beings, to bring to  light the perfection of His works, His Names and His attributes, which was the reason for the creation of the worlds. Etz Chayim 

Rabbi Ashlag teaches  that the unfolding of the worlds is a parallel reality to the perfection that already exists. The beautification of the creation through our good deeds and Torah was so important, that for this the world was created.This idea is stunning in its implications, giving us a basis for true joy in our learning and our practice of the Torah and the mizvot.