Noah receives only a few instructions on how to build the ark. They are mostly regarding the type of wood to use and the dimensions of the ark. The most interesting instruction, in my mind, is that he’s told to put a tzohar in the teivah, in the ark. The easiest translation of this word tzohar is an opening, something that illuminates, a window. Noah has to have a window in the ark to help him still be connected to the outside world.
The Ba’al Shem Tov, the great Hasidic master who often taught on prayer, bases his entire theology of prayer on these three words “tzohar ta’aseh l’teivah” - you should put a window in the ark. The Ba’al Shem Tov knows that the word ‘teivah’ can also mean ‘word.’ He teaches that the words, words that make up our Torah and our prayers, must illuminate our relationship with God. More than that, we have to make an opening, a tzohar, into each word, the teivah. That opening is our own search for meaning. He writes that in every single letter, which comprises every word, there exist entire worlds and souls and divinity. The Ba’al Shem Tov urges each person to put their full effort into creating this opening, tapping into those magical worlds embedded in each word and letter. It requires personal seeking and digging into the texts and liturgy of our tradition, and through that creation of opening, we’ll find something bigger than ourselves, something Godly.
I’ve been thinking about how one cultivates this type of perspective. We sometimes expect acquiring knowledge to be a passive process. We might consider ourselves learners, consuming what is provided to us. Yet here the Ba’al Shem Tov’s teaching indicates that we have to do the seeking and opening, and it will specifically be that search that yields meaning and connection. I’m particularly excited about a program that we’re starting this week, Teen Talmud Torah. Each week, our teens will be delving into texts, trying to create their own window, their own opening into the tradition. My hope for them, and really my prayer for all of us, is that we realize the role that we have in creating those openings. I hope to instill in them a sense of agency, a sense of digging, offering a window into the words.
