[Siman 1]
And Moshe went and spoke these words to all of Israel: The expression "went" is nothing but [an indication of] rebuke, as it is stated
(Psalms 46:9), "Go and see the wonders of God." At the end of Ecclesiastes, it is written (Ecclesiastes 12:11), "The sayings of the wise are like goads" - just like this goad directs the cow to its furrows, so [too] do the words of Torah direct the heart of those that learn it to the good path. "And it is like nails (
masmerot) that are planted" - just like this nail is planted, so [too] are words of Torah. And just like a planting (sapling) is fruitful and multiplies, so [too] do the words of Torah become fruitful and multiply to find an explanation about them. "They are given from one shepherd" - even though these are rendering impure and those are rendering pure, these are forbidding and those are permitting, Moshe said all of them from the mouth of the Almighty. But it is written, "And it is like shifts (
mishmerot) that are planted," with a [letter],
shin, to say that there are twenty-four books in the Torah (Bible) - like the number of shifts that David established. Therefore it is written with a
shin. And so [too,] in Chronicles, David is spelled fully (
dalet-vav- yod-dalet), as its
gematraia (numerical equivalent) is twenty-four - corresponding to the twenty-four shifts that David established.
[Siman 2]
These words: This is what the verse stated, "Have I not written you thirds with counsels (
moatsot) and knowledge"
(Proverbs 22:20). The numerical equivalent of counsels is six hundred and six. [That,] and the seven commandments that the Sons of Noach were commanded, is six hundred and thirteen. And so [too,] does it state
(Isaiah 5:1), "my beloved had a vineyard in a fertile corner": "A vineyard" - that is Israel, as it is stated
(Isaiah 27:2), "a vineyard of wine, sing to it." "And he separated it"
(Isaiah 5:2) - with Avraham, that he cast away the residue from him, such as Yishmael. "And he cleared it of stones" - with Yitschak, that he took Esav away from him. "And he planted it with choice vines" - that is Yaakov, as all of the plantings that came out from him were good and desirable, like this choice vine which is completely good. And this is [the meaning of] "all of it was true seed"
(Jeremiah 2:21). Choice vine (
sorek) has a numerical equivalent of six hundred and six, [together with] the seven commandments of the Children of Noach - behold, that is six hundred and thirteen. It is written
(Proverbs 3:19), "The Lord established the earth with wisdom" - and there is no wisdom besides Torah. And what is its name? Confidant (
Amon), as it is written
(Proverbs 8:30), "And I was a confidant with Him." And it was not called Torah until it was given at Sinai. The numerical equivalent of Torah comes to six hundred and eleven. And the two that are subtracted from six hundred and thirteen are the two that were given by the mouth of the Almighty. And this is what is stated by the verse, "God spoke one, I heard two"
(Psalms 62:12). This is [the meaning of] "Moshe commanded us the Torah"
(Deuteronomy 33:4) - Moshe commanded us [commandments] according to the numerical equivalent of Torah. And the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded us the [remaining] two, as I explained in Parshat Vayishma Yitro. And it is an inheritance for Yaakov, and not for the [other] nations of the world, as it is stated
(Psalms 147:19), "He tells His words to Yaakov, His statutes and His judgments to Israel, He did not do this with any nation." And it is written about it, "each day," as it is stated
(Proverbs 8:30), "And I was a confidant with Him and I was His delight each day." And a day is not less than a thousand years, as it is stated
(Psalms 90:4), "As a thousand years in Your eyes is like the day, yesterday." Upon what was it written before it was given? If upon silver and gold, gold and silver had not been created. Rather it was written on the forearm of the Holy One, blessed be He. And so every man [should] understand and fathom with his mind and his intelligence to contemplate the Torah day and night - as it is written
(Joshua 1:8), "and you shall contemplate about it day and night" - and good deeds. And it is as the Sages said: The world is half guilty and half meritorious - if one comes and commit sins such that the sins outweigh the merits, it comes out that the world becomes guilty through him; but if the transgressions are of equal weight to the merits and one comes and performs one commandment, the merits will outweigh the transgressions. Happy is he who brings merit to the world! And if he has not learned as is fitting him, let him do his actions with faithfulness. Elihayu, may his memory be blessed, said, "I was once walking on the way and I found a man, and he was mocking me and taunting me. I said to him, 'What [can] you answer on the day of judgement, since you have not studied Torah.' He said, 'I have what to answer - it is [because of] the understanding and intelligence and heart that were not given to me from the Heavens.' I said to him, 'What is your craft?' He said to me, 'I am a trapper of birds and fish.' I said to him, 'Who gave you knowledge and heart to take flax and spin it and weave it to make traps, and to catch fish and birds with them and to sell them?' He said to me, 'It is the understanding and the knowledge that were given to me from the Heavens.' I said to him, 'To take flax and to weave and spin and catch fish and birds you were given understanding and intelligence; but to acquire the Torah, they were not given to you? Behold, it is written
(Deuteronomy 30:14), "But the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart to do it."' [So] he immediately thought in his heart and raised his voice in crying. I said to him, 'My son, Let it not be bad to you, as all those that come to the world are rebuked once they come and are pulled away from Torah, as it is stated
(Isaiah 19:9), "And embarrassed will be the workers of flax, the combers and weavers of holes."' And it is about him and those similar to him, and those that do like his deeds. And the last word is the fear of the Lord; and those that do it with faithfulness - his craft will be counted and he is fitting for life in the world to come.'"