להלביש באותו סיפורStories as Garments

le-halbish be-oto sippurIn Gamatria ↗

The story is true, and it is a garment for a secret.

Shaltiel grants that the mitzvot have hidden reasons, but not the stories; surely they mean what they say. Yehoyada recalls King Menasseh, who mocked the Torah for recording that Timna was a concubine and that Reuben found mandrakes (Sanhedrin 99b). If the stories only teach good conduct, the Torah is no better than other chronicles. It is God's word, 'perfect', holding every true wisdom. Ramban says all that Moses received is written in it, plainly or by hint, down to the crowns of the letters. The Zohar curses whoever says a Torah story is only a story. The story is true, but it was written to clothe a secret. The kings of Edom clothe the world of Tohu, which is why their details vary: a city named here, a father there, a wife only for the last.

Hover the image to look closer.Tap the image to look closer.