"Ezehu ashir?" our Rabbis ask: Who is rich? The answer: "Ha-sa-me-ach b'chelko." He who is happy with his portion.
To the myriad expansions and interpretations of this teaching -- it's broad enough to apply to money, love, success, friendships, etc, -- I take a more targeted approach deriving from the occurrence of the same word in another famous expression, "Vetain chelkeynu b'Toratecha." And give us our portion of Your Torah.
This latter phrase, containing the word "chelek," portion, is puzzling. Why would we be asking G-d for our portion in His Torah? We've already received the Torah. What more could we be asking for here?
An explanation I've heard attributed to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Z'TS'L, much to my liking, is when we ask G-d for our portion of His Torah, we are asking Him to help each of us to find their own unique personal, individual insight into the Torah, with the understanding that each and every Jew has something to add to Torah knowledge through their own original insight -- should they be fortunate enough to find it.
Not everyone gets to go to Yeshiva or study for the rabbinate. Does this mean they have nothing to add to Torah knowledge? On the contrary. Like another famous statement, "Kol Yisroel yes lahem chelek la-olam haba," meaning all Jews have a portion in the World to Come, according to this interpretation, we all have a chelek in Torah reserved especially for us with our unique talents and understanding. We can count ourselves fortunate when we find it. And we can spread Torah knowledge and interest in the Torah by sharing.
My particular slant may seem foreign to "proper" Torah scholars. I have a background in the arts, and I do literary analysis, basically. I do not think the Torah is a literary work of art, chas v'shalom, but it lends itself to the same kinds of hermeneutics (schools of interpretation) that, in the past, I have applied to purely literary works -- and to films.
Our rabbis teach us there is an art and science to interpreting the Torah. There are rules and guidelines and practices well beyond my understanding. Yet with the particular insight I've honed over the years in secular pursuits, I see new light in the Torah all the time.
This, then, is the purpose of this blog. It is a sharing of my chelek of Torah which I have found, and, yes, I am very happy with my portion ...
