The Wisdom of Not Knowing by Estelle Frankel

Author:Estelle Frankel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shambhala

The white fire of Torah

A CLOSING TALE: COMMUNICATING THE INEFFABLE

Reb Yitzhak of Vorki and Reb Avremele of Trisk were the best of friends in their youth, spending all their waking hours together studying Torah, praying, or going for long, silent walks in the woods. When they grew up and each became the rebbe of a different shtetl, they vowed to stay connected by writing a letter to one another on the eve of every Sabbath, in which they would share their thoughts and feelings and most recent spiritual insights. For years they successfully did just that with the generous help of Reb Yitzhak’s personal assistant, who became known as the letter carrier. Each Friday morning after prayers Reb Yitzhak would compose a letter, which his assistant would carry from Vorki to Trisk, where Reb Avremele lived. He would then wait until Reb Avremele composed his reply, which he would then faithfully carry back to Reb Yitzhak in time for the Sabbath. Though this practice went on for years, the letter carrier never questioned Reb Yitzhak about the content of their letters. But one Friday, when he was feeling especially tired on the trek between shtetles, the assistant began to wonder about the letter he was carrying and he toyed with opening it and reading it as a way to reward himself for all his troubles but then resisted the temptation. The next week, though, he succumbed to his curiosity as he reached the middle of the forest and he decided, once and for all, to read the letter before delivering it. When he opened up the envelope, what he found inside shocked him—it was a blank piece of paper! He suddenly felt very upset, and he began to imagine that he might be the butt of a cruel joke; however, out of loyalty to his rebbe, he put the blank piece of paper back in the envelope and delivered it to the Trisker rebbe, who proceeded, as usual, to send a letter back. Once the letter carrier was back in the forest, he opened up the Trisker rebbe’s letter and, once again, found a blank piece of paper. While he felt justifiably upset, the letter carrier also felt guilty for betraying his rebbe’s trust. As he made his way back to Vorki in time for the Sabbath, he resolved to confess his betrayal and also to demand an explanation.

After the Sabbath, Reb Yitzhak could see that the letter carrier was visibly upset, and so he took him into his private chamber and asked him what was wrong. As the assistant confessed he began to cry. Reb Yitzhak cried along with him, in deep sympathy. They stood together weeping and embracing for what seemed like hours, and then Reb Yitzhak began to slowly explain the meaning of his actions:

It says in the Zohar that the primordial Torah—God’s Torah—is made up of black fire written upon white fire. The black fire refers to the actual letters and words of the Torah, while the white fire represents the spaces between the letters.

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