This is a collection of teaching of our Sages, and we are going to proceed through the next part of the Talmud, the one entitled “Women, – Nashim, “ which is one of the six orders of the Talmud. I would like to continue to bring some unique statements by the Sages, and show how they are all bringing G-d into life where G-d is normally not found.

1) In the mitzvah of having children, of BEING FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLYING , which is what the Torah calls it, we see that G-d is a part of the reproductive process. Our Sages bring the teaching that G-d is the third partner; the man and woman are partners, and G-d is the third partner in the creation of a child. Thereby, the Sages show that bringing children into the world is bringing G-d into the world as well.

2) The Sages discuss the THE GREATNESS OF GETTING MARRIED , and show there are many, many praises for both the man and the woman, not the least of which is Wholeness. It’s about stepping up from being a partial being to a whole being by connecting with a marriage partner. This is the expansive divine element of getting married.

3) Our Sages teach us that our forefathers, our PATRIARCHS AND MATRIARCHS were almost unanimously BARREN . They couldn’t physically have children, and the reason that is brought for this is that G-d wanted them to pray in an extraordinary way so that they could have children, even when their situation was impossible. And they did, and they had children. So thereby we see that G-d steps into the impossible challenge situation. G-d desires prayers. He desires us to bring him into the situation when things are impossible.

4) Our Sages say that it is a mitzvah to say what can be heard, and it is also a A MITZVAH TO NOT SAY WHAT CANNOT BE HEARD. This is a very important one. People try to get their points across to other people who don’t want to hear what they have to say. So, one of the ways of connecting to G-d is to not say what is not going to be heard.

5) The old-fashioned, Judeo-Christian perspective of marriage is that both the man and the woman MARRY AS VIRGINS . We are being taught, despite modern times and the fashion that is not usually that way, this is the way for a young man and a woman to marry because they then become connected to each other in a very exclusive way. That’s a divine dictum teaching us how to make the marriage bond as unique as possible.

6) There is a mitzvah for the husband to MAKE HIS BRIDE HAPPY , not only at the time of the wedding and the days afterwards, but during the entire year afterwards [and for that matter, for the rest of their lives]. The reverse statement is automatic as well, that the wife should try to make her husband happy, but the mitzvah is really on the husband. Our Sages are teaching us also [based on the Hebrew root word of Simcha] that the best way to make her happy, is for him to be happy, so we see the divine aspect of happiness in general , and especially in a new marriage situation. This can be applied to other new bonding situations, too, the fact that happiness goes a long way towards longevity.

7) About 2000 years ago, during the time of the Sages of the Talmud, TORAH SCHOLARS WOULD EXILE THEMSELVES . They would leave home after they were married in order to learn Torah with their entire being, and then come home at designated times. All of this would occur with the permission and blessing of their wives, but it teaches us also that the learning of Torah, as much as it is encouraged to be learned while married, there’s another side. And that is to keep Torah learning in a complete state of concentration and focus, as it was when the Torah scholar would learn on his own. As much as it’s important to keep the marriage in the forefront of the Torah scholar’s consciousness, in certain situations he must be left alone to blossom, and there is divine credence given to that as well.

The Sages teach us that it’s a A MITZVAH TO LIVE IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL. Unlike any other land, it has a unique quality for its people. It’s as though the land of Israel is a wise being who thrives when her children are inside of her, as a mother would thrive when her children are with her. The land of Israel is extraordinary and the Divine Presence is within it, so close that there is Divine Providence as well.

9) Our Sages teach us that THE POSITIVE SIDE OF THINGS IS ALWAYS GREATER THAN THE NEGATIVE SIDE. In other words, everything being equal, if there is a negative side there is automatically, by definition a positive side. Comparing the two, the positive side will always outweigh the negative side. It will have more power to it, more longevity to it. So, G-d favors positivity as opposed to negativity.

10) Our Sages convey the Torah perspective that MODESTY [TZENIUT] for both men and women is a very valued and important trait. The power of a person, the mystique of a man or a woman comes as a result of what they don’t show to the world. The mysteries, the hidden parts, form the mystique and the attraction of what is supremely valued. This shows that G-d favors, so to speak, that we don’t “let it all hang out” for everyone to see.

11) G-d’s DIVINE PROVIDENCE WORKS ON THE BASIS OF MEASURE FOR MEASURE . This is not the only way that Divine Providence works, but it is one of the most measurable and clear ways. The idea is – what you do is what you get back. What we put out there is what we receive back to us. It may be hidden many times; it may come back to us after an entire lifetime, but that type of Divine Providence is something that we always take into account.

12) Our Sages teach us that we have a mitzvah to EMULATE THE TRAITS OF G-D. If G-d is benevolent, we are meant to be benevolent. And everything else that we can understand, such as G-d’s creativity and G-d’s leadership and G-d’s goodness and G-d’s humility, anything and everything that we can discover about G-d’s relationship with the world, is something that we should emulate for ourselves and thereby connect ourselves to G-d.

13) The Sages teach us that it’s not only the doing of the good deeds or mitzvahs, meaning that’s not the only thing that counts, but the PREPARATION counts as well. The steps that we take on our way to doing the mitzvah count as well. The intention we have to do something good also counts as well, thereby divinizing intention and preparation.

14) Our Sages teach us that it’s always ideal to be altruistic, but not everybody is on that level, and therefore they applaud someone who does something good EVEN IN A NON-ALTRUISTIC WAY. This is because the non-altruistic good deeds will eventually lead to an altruistic way of doing good deeds.

15) Our Sages call marriage, “NISUIN” which means RAISING UP. Marriage is meant to take two individuals into a marriage and raise each of them up as one would raise up a banner, up to a higher level of spirituality. The initial stage of marriage is called “Kiddushim,” which means sanctifying, showing that marriage is sacred ground.

16) Our Sages teach us that TORAH PROTECTS A PERSON FROM HAVING THE YEITZER HARA [EVIL INCLINATION], from having thoughts of self-destructiveness and thoughts of going against G-d’s will. It purifies one’s thoughts. So, G-d is found in the very atmosphere or mind state of one who learns. Our Torah teaches us to rise in order to show respect for both scholars and elders, thereby showing us that we need to have an outward demonstration of respect for older people. The Torah values older people more than it values younger people, which is the opposite of what the modern world values now. Older people have more experience of life, they have been around and have more wisdom about what to do and what not to do, what to think and what not to think, what to say and what not to say. That, in itself deserves respect, all the more so for those who have the wisdom and knowledge of Torah.

Blessings,
yitzchak

For 17 years Rabbi Yitzchak immersed himself in study 20 hours a day with Jerusalem’s leading Kabbalists. Now he learns at night and teaches during the day. Gifted at translating the abstract “code” of Kabbalah into a language understandable by everyone, his work links Jewish mystical thought with self-actualizing tools and meditations. He is founder of the Paradise Principle Institute (SM) [http://paradiseprinciple.com] and Sefirotic Alignment Therapy (SM)