Inside/Outside – The Fragrance of Torah
The final week before Shavuot features the final chapter of Pirkei Avot, the Chapters of Big Ideas. The leading Mishna of this Chapter Six states that:
אמר רבי מאיר כל העוסק בתורה לשמה זוכה לדברים הרבה…
Said/Taught Rabbi Meir: “Anyone who occupies themselves in the study and practice of Torah for its own sake (Lishma) merits many positive outcomes.”
The term “shem” connotes that the object of the study should be intentional and focused, and the actions derived from this study should be laser-directed at the precise subject…the name.
But a name only allows for the identification of a subject or an object. A name defines, within our mind, a specific person, their physiognomy, what we recognize as the “other.” The name doesn’t automatically represent or define the individual, their values, their ideals, their souls, their essence. The name of a Mitzvah or a subject of study in the sea of Torah does not represent its interiority, soul, or the nature of the action to be taken for a Mitzvah or the details of the Torah study so denoted.
The Sfat Emet (R. Yehuda Leib Alter of Ger) in his monumental Commentary on the Torah proposed the following explanation of the usage of the word “shem” used in the Mishna (delivered in 5637):
We realize as students of Torah that the depth of possibilities in understanding what we study is bottomless. Perhaps the Torah we study is merely the “membrane” or outer layer that surrounds the fiery and limitless essence of the Torah.
What our active involvement in the study of Torah awakens is, layer by layer, the energy below the surface. The excitement that grows as we go deeper into our study cyclically reinforces our desire to further study and we look around in wonder at the greater depths we reach.
The Sfat Emet reminds us that while one can count the words of the Torah, the depth of the Torah behind the words is uncountable and dizzingly deep.
In fact, the approximate quantity of letters in the Torah, 600,000, is remarkably aligned with the 600,000 souls of the Jewish people that our tradition teaches us formed the nucleus of the original receivers of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
Accordingly, one of the most profound goals of the Jewish people as a collective, across our entire peoplehood, past, present, and future, is getting to the “root” of the Torah. Learning for the sake of/in the name of getting to the essence of the Torah is a deeply held, shared value across our many communities.
Our collective efforts in analyzing, reviewing, and sharing our love for and dedication to Torah helps to bring the “inside” to the “outside” even if it is in small and halting steps at times.
“Lishma” means that the name/purpose/goal refers to the spreading/expansion of the study/action much as one’s reputation in a community spreads (Tanchuma VaYakhel 1):
שם טוב שהולך למרחוק
“A good name travels far”
Finally, the Sfat Emet reminds us of the verse in Shir HaShirim (1:3):
שמן תורק שמך
“Like the fragrance of good oils, your name is like flowing oils.”
There are aspects of study or action where the actualization is only meaningful if the “inside” or at least the fragrance rises through the outer layer, to the surface where it can physically spread.
Even in the case where one may be unable or prevented from understanding the depth of the Mitzvah/Torah subject, the phenomenal sensitivity of the human sense of smell (sensitive to recognize a few parts per trillion of some fragrances) can translate in our service to Hashem to picking up the fragrance of the hidden, yet possibly accessible “inside” that is just beneath the surface, name, appellation of the objects or humans or limmud or activities in which we find ourselves as we traverse the blessed contours of our lives.
We are responsible to keep our sense of smell always on the lookout for that special fragrance of Torah wafting towards us and enlivening us as ambassadors of our Masorah.