ORCHARD OF DELIGHTS:  
  The Introduction  

PaRDeS: The Underlying Message and Methodology of this Book

Our Sages teach that the Torah has seventy faces. They liken the Torah to a crystal whose color and radiance alter with the slightest change of position (Bamidbar Rabbah 13:15; Otiyot deRabbi Akiva). Rabbi Isaac Luria, the great, sixteenth century, Safed, Kabbalist, known as the Arizal, posits that the Torah possesses 600,000 faces. This corresponds to the tradition that there are 600,000 soul roots in the nation of Israel, as well as 600,000 letters in the Torah (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 6:15). Both these rabbinic traditions convey the same message about the multiple ways that not only Torah, but reality itself can be understood. In the twentieth century, quantum physics likewise recognized the impossibility of establishing one objective reality. Physicists explained that the role played by the human observer makes it impossible to quantify reality precisely, as it is constantly changing.

The Rabbis coined the term PaRDeS – an acronym literally meaning “orchard” – to refer to their four-tiered system of biblical interpretation, which revealed that each word, verse, story, and mitzvah (commandment) in the Torah could be simultaneously understood on four different levels: P – Peshat – the straight forward or literal meaning of the text. R – Remez – the deeper meaning, alluded to or hinted at by the text. D – Derash – the allegorical, metaphorical, or symbolic meaning of the text, revealed by the midrashic tradition, often contained in a body of rabbinic works known as the Midrash. S – Sod – the mystical or secret meaning, revealed by the Kabbalistic tradition. The name PaRDeS is particularly fitting for an interpretive system because the name is taken from a Talmudic story about four sages who entered a transcendental plane referred to as the Orchard (Chagigah 14b). Based on this story, the oral tradition associated this word with an advanced form of mystical meditation: the ultimate attempt by human beings to pierce the veil and understand God, his worlds, and the Torah. In the 1500s one of Safed’s greatest Kabbalists, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, even named his book – the first work organizing the Kabbalah into a logical and structured format – Pardes Rimonim (Pomegranate Orchard), based on a verse in the Song of Songs (4:13), “Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruit.”

The name Orchard of Delights was chosen for this book because it too adopts the PaRDeS system of learning and because it delights in the spiritual pleasure or oneg gained through reaching new understanding and being pierced by lightning flashes of the intellect. The pleasure gained, of course, also refers to the nearness we feel to God when learning His Torah, observing His commandments, and performing good deeds.

In Judaism, the term “oneg” is often used in connection with the pleasure, both physical and ultimately spiritual, experienced on Shabbat. The Hebrew word for delights, like the word “pardes” is found in Song of Songs (7:7): “How fair are you and how pleasant, love in delights.” In keeping with Jewish tradition, wherein the Song of Songs is considered a Divine allegory describing the love between God and Israel, this verse has been translated by ArtScroll publications as “How beautiful and pleasant are you, befitting the pleasures of spiritual love.”

Although the biblical text will only be systematically interpreted according to the four levels of PaRDeS in a few sections of this book (see, for example, “Why He Took Abraham Outside”; “Isaac Became Old and His Eyes Became Dim”; and “A Closed Portion”), in most sections some or all of the four levels are woven into the commentary, and are expressed in a less explicit and structured manner. Thus, the influence of this multidimensional system of analyzing the text and its relevance is felt on every page of the book.

Throughout the book, the reader will notice the frequent use of the Hebrew words denoting PaRDeS’ four levels (peshat, remez, derash, and sod) and the English expressions, respectively, associated with them: (1) literal or straightforward; (2) alluded to or hinted at; (3) symbolize, represent, allegorical, metaphorical; and (4) Kabbalah, Chassidut (a term used to refer to the teachings of the Chassidic movement), the secret meaning, and the mystical meaning. Note that in the latter two levels, of derash and sod, symbolism, allegory, and parables play an important part in revealing the meaning of the text and demonstrating how it is relevant to each and every person. For a unique combination of the two modes of peshat and derash, see “The Psychology Underlying Interpersonal Communication”; for the notion that, in some sense, the sod level is higher than the peshat one, see “The End of Days.”

Indeed, one of the primary goals of this book is to demonstrate that the “stories” in the Torah are not merely one-time occurrences, temporal incidents undergone by specific individuals long ago. Rather these “stories” are archetypal in nature, reflecting or representing various physical and spiritual energies ever present in all aspects of reality and within each and every person. This understanding of the biblical narratives is crucial for anyone – Jew and non-Jew alike – to apprehend the essence of Torah. For the Jewish people, in particular, the stories in the Torah are especially relevant as the Talmud teaches that “the actions of the fathers are a sign to the children” (Sotah 34a). We will demonstrate time and again throughout the book of Bereishit that our forefathers are not only figures for emulation, their archetypal deeds actually engrave themselves upon the Jewish psyche and determine the path of Jewish history. Tragically, most people are never exposed to any deeper understanding of the Torah. Instead they go through life with an elementary school understanding of the deepest wisdom in the world.

Compounding the damage, the archaic English and fairly literal translation style used in many translations of the Hebrew Bible, leave most people, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, ignorant of any deeper meaning and contribute to the sense that the Bible is old-fashioned and obsolete. In many cases the English translations are based on the antiquated King James Version, first published in 1611, which itself is based on earlier Greek and Latin translations of the original Hebrew. This is a tragedy of immense proportions as most people are “turned off” by what they perceive to be an almost childish account of reality and write it off as virtually irrelevant to their lives.

One of Chassidut’s most important insights is that the Torah speaks to each person in every generation. When this is not achieved the Torah appears archaic at best and totally irrelevant at worst. Especially in our age, when the secular world has made such great strides forward in understanding and shaping the world around us through the application of science and technology, it is crucial to demonstrate how the Torah’s inner dimensions relate to the modern world.

This book attempts at every juncture to translate the underlying meaning of the Torah into contemporary language, bridging secular knowledge and Torah wisdom. There is no field of human knowledge, no modern profession that cannot benefit from the timeless wisdom of the Torah. For this reason I have woven into the commentary insights from the Torah that mesh with contemporary art, science, music, psychology, political science, philosophy, literature, media, and more, without diluting the Torah’s wisdom or forcing it to be something that it is not.

Since these insights are the product of thirty years of study and teaching, some of them are also mentioned in my other published works. When I feel that the reader will benefit from exploring them in the context of these other books, I will cross reference these texts.

It is my most fervent prayer that this book opens the gates of knowledge for its readers no matter what their backgrounds or previous familiarity with the Torah. There is no end to the depths of the Torah, no limit to the spiritual delights awaiting those who feast on the tantalizing fruits growing in her orchard. From the practical to the mystical, the ancient to the contemporary, her secrets are many. May those who read this book be inspired to continue learning and delving ever deeper into the timeless and eternal teachings of the Torah.