HAMOTZI LECHEM MIN HA'ARETZ

BS"D


G@d doesn't actually "bring forth bread from the Earth". There are no bread-bushes. We know that it is our G@d-given ingenuity which enables us to take the gift of wheat & turn it into bread. Indeed, this is exactly the intention G@d had when gifting us with a simple, basic material: for us to get to know it, learn to tend it, & transform it into something good for us. So it is with Torah.

There was a man who lived alone in the mountains, secluded from civilization. To survive he sewed wheat & ate the wheatberries raw.

One day, out of curiosity, he wandered down into the valley below & was taken in by those who dwelled there. They brought him bread to eat. He asked, "What is this?"
"Bread," they replied, "to eat."
He tried some & liked it. "What is bread made from?" he asked.
"Wheat", they answered.

The next day his hosts brought him cakes baked with oil. He enjoyed these & asked what they were made from.
They said, "Wheat."

In the evening they brought him pastry made with honey for him to eat. Again it tasted very good to him so he asked what they were made from & his hosts told him, "Wheat".

"I am the master of all of these", he declared, "for I eat their essence: wheat!"

Because of his narrow view, he knew nothing of the delightful potential which lay in his raw wheatberries, nor would he ever explore it. So it is with the person who understands a principle of Torah, but who refuses to embrace all the delicacies which can be derived from the divergence from the principle.

The Midrash says that the first question we will be asked before we are allowed to enter the Gates of Heaven is:
"Did you enjoy the world I made for you? Did you really learn Torah?"

Shavu'ah tov.