Talmud Bavli Succah on Torah Study in Breadth and Depth

"This is similar to the practice of Rava and Rami bar Chama.  When they would stand before Rav Chisda, they would first run through the Gemara with one another to review the material, and then analyze the material with logic."

-- Talmud Bavli, Succah 29a

This dictum encodes a formula for Torah study: breadth first, then depth.

Talmud Bavli Kereitot on the Preparation of the Anointing Oil

"This was the method used in preparing the anointing oil that Moses made in the wilderness: He would boil the hin of olive oil together with the roots of the spices - the words of Rabbi Yehudah. Rabbi Yose said to him: But there is not enough oil to even smear the roots with the olive oil, let alone boil the roots in it! Rather, how does one proceed? First they brought the spice roots and soaked them in water, then Moses removed the roots from the water and he poured oil on them until they were covered with a layer of olive oil, and the oil absorbed the fragrance of the spices. Moses then quickly removed the oil from the bowl and wiped off the oil still clinging to the roots, and deposited it all into a flask."

-- Talmud Bavli, Kereitot 5a

Ramban on the Leshon haQodesh - Hebrew as the 'Holy Language'

"This is also the reason, I believe, for why our Sages call the language of the Torah 'the Holy Language' (Leshon haQodesh); it is because the words of the Torah and the prophecies and all kinds of other holy words were all said by the prophets to the people in this language. And furthermore, you see that it is the language in which the Holy One, Blessed is He - may His Name be blessed - speaks with His prophets and with His congregation, such as the first two Commandments, 'I am YHVH your God' and 'there shall not be for you other gods' as well as all the other communications from God recorded in the Torah and in the books of prophecy.

"And furthermore it is in that language that God is called by His sacred Names: El, Elohim, Tzeva'ot, Shaddai, Yah, and the ineffable, four-letter, great and unique Name. And furthermore it is in that language that He created His world and gave names to the heaven and the earth and everything that is in them. And furthermore, His angels and all His heavenly hosts - all of them He calls by names in that language, such as 'Michael' and 'Gabriel'. And furthermore it is in that language that He gave names to the holy ones who are on earth, such as to Abraham, Isaac, Solomon, and others besides him."

-- Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban), Commentary on the Torah - Exodus 30:13.

Mishnah Sanhedrin on the Mold of the First Adam

"Therefore was man created singly, to teach you that whoever destroys a single life from Israel is considered by Scripture as if he had destroyed an entire world; and that whoever preserves a single life from Israel is considered by Scripture as if he had preserved an entire world. [...]

"And to teach the greatness of the Holy One, Blessed is He: For a man mints many coins from one mold, and they are all similar to one another; but the King of kings, the Holy One, Blessed is He, minted all men from the mold of the First Adam, and not one of them is like his fellow man. Therefore each and every one is obligated to say, 'For my sake was the world created'."

-- Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5


"ISRAEL" - this is Metatron on the Spiritual plane, about whom it is said, "Your name is Jacob. Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name." (Genesis 35:10).

"AN ENTIRE WORLD" - this is Metatron on the Physical plane, about whom it is said, "the whole earth is full of His glory." (Isaiah 6:3).

"THE MOLD OF THE FIRST ADAM" - this is Metatron on the Astral plane, about whom it is said, "and on the likeness of the throne, was a likeness like the appearance of a man upon it above." (Ezekiel 1:26).  

Midrash Rabbah Vayiqra on Moses Entering the Tabernacle

When the Holy One, blessed is He, said to Moses, 'Make for Me a Tabernacle (Mishkan)', on every single thing Moses would write, 'as YHVH commanded Moses'. The Holy One, blessed is He, said, 'Moses arranged all this honor (kavod) for Me, yet I am inside it and he is still outside'. He called him to enter the innermost chamber of the Tabernacle. Therefore it is stated, 'He called to Moses and YHVH spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting' (Leviticus 1:1)."

-- Midrash Rabbah Vayiqra, 1.7


This is somewhat of a puzzle. Did Moses actually write these words on all the holy vessels, with a marker or something? The Midrash is revealing that the letters of the Holy Language have the power to transform the vibration (which the Midrash calls 'kavod') when written on objects. The vibrational resonances of the holy vessels were not complete upon their building ─ it was only when Moses came through and declared them to be 'as YHVH commanded', in other words, a vibrational witness that they were not just physical objects, but pure patterns and blueprints in the mind of God, and impressed this vibrational signification on each object, that they lit up with the vibrational resonance of divinity, so that then Shekhinah could dwell in the Tabernacle.

Still, this interpretation implies that the actual writing took place. Another interpretation: The holy vessels and furnishings of the Tabernacle were not primarily physical objects, but patterns and blueprints within the divine mind. They existed first as blueprints, and then later as physical objects. But before they even existed as blueprints, they primordially existed as the verbal descriptions as they are written in the Torah. When writing these designs into the Torah, Moses concluded them with the phrase 'as YHVH commanded', thereby serving as a written signification that they were not just paragraphs that Moses came up with on his own, but that they were patterns of thought in the mind of God.
 

Talmud Bavli Shabbat on Converting to be Appointed as Kohen Gadol

"There was an incident involving a certain gentile who was once walking past the rear of a study hall when he heard the voice of the teacher reciting the following verse to his class of students: 'These are the vestments that they shall make: a breastplate and an ephod...' (Exodus 28:4). The gentile stopped and said to the class: 'These lavish garments, what are they for?' The students replied to him: 'They are for the Kohen Gadol'. The gentile said to himself: 'I will go and covert so that they will appoint me as the Kohen Gadol!'

"So the gentile came before Shammai and said to him: 'Convert me on the condition that you have me appointed as Kohen Gadol.' Shammai pushed him aside with the ruler he was holding in his hand. Undeterred, the gentile came before Hillel and presented him with the same request, and Hillel converted him."

-- Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 31a

Talmud Bavli Sotah on a Congregation Full of Kohanim

"Adda said in the name of Rabbi Simlai: In a synagogue whose attendance consists entirely of Kohanim, they all ascend the platform to recite the Blessing. One must wonder about Rabbi Simlai's statement: To whom, then, is their Blessing addressed, if there is no one else present among the congregation to receive the Blessing?"

-- Talmud Bavli, Sotah 38b