About the Author
Rebbi Elazar of Worms- known as “the Rokeach”- was one of the outstanding Gedolim of the Jewish community in Ashkenaz, Germany, during the medieval period. He was a great posek, and a relative and student of Rebbi Yehuda HaChassid, author of Sefer HaChassidim. The Vilna Gaon wrote that the entire Torah- all the Braisos, were found by the Rokeach; with clarity, and in their complete form. This is not to be understood superficially, that he had a fantastic library, but rather in the fuller sense: the Torah in its entirety was to be found within him.
We also know that the Rokeach was the teacher of the Ramban in the hidden Torah. Understandably, that seems impossible, as the Rokeach lived in Germany whereas the Ramban was to be found in Barcelona, Spain. However, there is a tradition that the Rokeach taught the Ramban by supernatural means. This tradition is mentioned in several sources, and although the accompanying story sounds like a medieval legend or even fairy tale, this tradition is verified by the son of the Vilna Gaon in his sefer Rav Poalim (a methodological and thorough sefer which sources early Jewish literature).
Why we are learning this sefer
The experienced learner will notice that the Rokeach’s style differs immensely from that of the Ramban. Whereas the Ramban’s writing is illuminating and expressive, the style of the Rokeach would be best described as cryptic. This actually comes with tremendous benefit as it forces the learner to think afterwards. While we are generally accustomed to recalling the things that we learn, there is also a need to think about what we have learnt. To be מתבונן in it, to ‘dig in’. This sefer forces the learner to do just that.
Every word of the Rokeach is like a star. And as our sages say: כל הישוב כולו תחת כוכב אחד יושב—The entire inhabited world rests under one star. As we learn the sefer together, we will see that there is much to think and meditate on. Those listening to the sefer may feel at times like a passenger on a train which is passing beautiful scenery and fascinating locales. They may feel at times that they would like to deboard and devote a month to exploring one word. In the shiur however, we will not be doing so, rather learning and being מתבונן as we go, appreciating the many important יסודות, fundamental ideas that are found in the sefer.
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נתתי אל לבי הבלי עולם הזה שהם שוא ושקר והעולם הזה עולם עובר וימי אדם מעטים והפועלים עצלים מרוב צרות וצוקות נחסרו לבות האדם כי בגוים אין תורה ואמרתי אל לבי לא כל האדם זוכה לידע מלבו חקרי הלכות לסלת סלת נקיהאכתוב ספר אחד למען ירוץ קורא בו למצוא דברי חפץ לידע איך לעשות המצות כאשר צום אלקינו יתברך שמו ויתעלה זכרו
The Rokeach lists three factors which contribute to a lack of clarity in Torah, as we will attempt to explain.
נתתי אל לבי הבלי עולם הזה שהם שוא ושקר
The first factor is the falsehood of this world. That’s a surprising thing to say. If the Rokeach had written that the world was physical or dangerous, even bad, that would be more readily understood. But to say the world is שקר, untrue- isn’t this reality?
There was a Yeshiva in France in the 60’s and 70’s, headed by Rav Eliyahu Abutbul. Those were turbulent times, and the students who came to learn in the yeshiva were interesting people. Once, two young men arrived to the Yeshiva, with their long hair pulled back into pony tails. They announced that they had ‘finished’ with western civilization and were now ready to learn Torah. How had they finished with western civilization? They visited a cinema where a particularly captivating film was playing. At the climax of the film, when the audience was fully engrossed in the narrative, the two young men pulled out slingshots and fired at the screen! They wanted to show the audience that the reality in which just a moment before they had been so completely absorbed, which they had so completely felt, could vanish in a moment, as if it had never been. Much of what we view as being “reality” has no true existence.
As an example, you go to the car dealer to replace the car you bought five years ago. Or you decide it’s time to buy a new sofa. That’s a very common human weakness, to buy new things even though one doesn’t need them. It’s based on a fallacy that the person needs something which in truth he does not. Let’s say this phenomenon would disappear from mankind- what would happen? It would be the greatest economic catastrophe the modern world has ever known. The world economy would collapse. The entire world economy rests on this one fallacy.
Torah, we know, is built in the opposite way. Torah is a never-ending search for truth, which is why it is so demanding; it almost seems cruel at times. Every detail, every feature, is important and the arena within which it functions is real and consistent. Therefore, the falsehood of the world prevents us from understanding the Torah correctly.
והעולם הזה עולם עובר וימי אדם מעטים
The second factor is that there is a limited amount of time. We cannot build our understanding of Torah in the way it’s meant to be built.
והפועלים עצלים מרוב צרות וצוקות נחסרו לבות האדם כי בגוים אין תורה
The third factor is that when the Jewish people are subjugated under the gentiles, they are unable to understand the Torah properly. That’s how the Rokeach interprets the Passuk “כי בגוים אין תורה”- that when the Jewish people are found by the gentiles, the Jewish people don’t have the Torah. “נחסרו לבות האדם”- the heart is not able to be with the Torah.
(The Rokeach understood this very well. His wife and children were murdered during the crusades, quite likely in front of him. He himself was wounded. These people were made of steel- they were able to continue on.)
וקראתי הספר הזה: רקח בשמי: ‘אלעזר, וסימן ר’קח מרקחת מעשה ר’קח שמן ‘אלעזר בן ‘יהודה, כל אדם צריך לרשום שמו בספרו כמה תנא דבי אליהו מתחיל ויגרש את האדם לפי כן ויגר”ש כמה תנא דבי אליהו מדרש תדשא מתחיל תדשא הארץ דשא כמה זה ‘רבי פנחס בן יאיר ומדרש בראשית רבה מתחיל ואהיה אצלו אמון ואהיה שעשועים יום יום ואהיה שעשועים כמו רבי הושעיה רבה ופרקים דרבי אליעזר מתחילין מי ימלל גבורת ה’ כמה אליעזר בן הורקנוס וכן סדר עולם מתחיל מאדם ועד נח, מאדם כמו יוסי.
This is an oft quoted piece in which the Rokeach writes that the title of the sefer should allude to the author’s name. As such, אלעזר is the gematriya of רקח. He also brings examples from several midrashim which begin with an allusion to the author’s name.
But why should the title allude to the author? For self-aggrandizement? The reason is that the Torah is supposed to develop from within the learner. The sefer originates in the author’s soul. As the Rokeach wrote earlier, “אין כל אדם זוכה לידע מלבו…”, not every person merits to know from his heart… There is a popular genre of Torah literature called “ליקוטים” where all the different opinions are quoted in one sefer. For such a sefer it is not necessary to allude to the author’s name because the ideas were taken from other people. But the definitive sefer, in which the Torah emerges from within the author, should allude to his name.
This is a profound insight into knowledge of the Torah: you have to know it from the Torah but at the end you know it from yourself.
יראת ה’ ראשית דעת ראשית חכמה יראת ה’ תחלת חכמה יראת ה
The Rokeach begins with three pesukim referring to יראת ד’, fear or awe of Hashem. They refer to “ראשית”, the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. “Awe” in the context of Torah learning means that you understand that anything that you will ever understand in Torah originates in a place which is above your understanding. That is the beginning of understanding- that you stand now in front of something that is greater. There is a manner of speech, “he has topic X under his belt.” In Torah, you can never say that; the Torah is always above. This doesn’t mean that your understanding is incorrect, rather that there is still more to it that you have not grasped.
When I learned with the Mashgiach, I generally understood him at the time. At times I would ask him questions, make clarifications, etc. But after ten years, it would often dawn upon me that- wow- there was much more there. And after twenty years- WOW- there’s even more there.
This is the purpose of Torah, that even after you understand the Torah, you understand something which is above you. That is what is meant when we say “תורה מן השמים”, the Torah is from the Heavens. That’s not like a label that reads “Made in the People’s Republic of China.” We already know where the Torah came from. The point is that even after you understand, what you understand is of the Heavens, מן השמים.
