Article
Scriptural Allusions to Torah Umadda (1998)
I have written elsewhere on the theme of Torah Umadda, especially in my volume by that name, at some length. The present article is in the nature of a footnote to that work, and consists of an interpretation of a verse in Psalms (36:10). It is not intended as a "proof" of the Torah Umadda thesis, and is by no means to be taken as "scientific" evidence of Torah Umadda in the Psalms. It is, rather, as the title of this short piece indicates, an allusion to Torah Umadda. And I believe it reflects the peshat of the verse and is more than homiletical.The verse reads, *Ki Imcha Mekor Chaim B’orcha Nireh Ohr*.The standard English translation is, "For with Thee is the fountain of life; Thy light do we see light." This is a fairly accurate translation, but it does not avoid a difficulty which arises in Hebrew as well. That is, how does one see light in the light of God? It is in the nature of light that a stronger light overpowers a weaker one. A small match struck in a totally dark room gives much wanted illumination, whereas the same amount of light in the outdoors on a sunny day is hardly noticeable, if at all. The Talmud (Hullin 60b) asks, rhetorically, what use is there of a lamp in the daytime?!It would seem therefore, that the most powerful light imaginable, whether physically or metaphorically, is the light of the Divine, the *Ohr Hashem*. When a mere mortal has attained that spiritual or prophetic category of the divine light, all other "lights"—again, whether physical or metaphoric—should effectively disappear. When exposed to the light of Godliness, all other lights shrink into insignificance. The conclusion, therefore, is that in immersing one’s self in Torah, in attaining the spiritual illumination of divinity, all other sources of enlightenment fade away and are meaningless. Apparently, *Madda* has no standing in the face of Torah.But that is not what the Psalmist says. When King David cries out, *B’oracha Nireh Ohr*, "in Thy light do we see light," he is decl…
