17 days ago
2.36: D_H biyun 1-4-9_10
Rabbi Shulman explains that the Ramchal describes three distinct modes of engaging Torah—reading Written Torah, understanding the revealed Torah (Gemara and halachah), and understanding *סתרי תורה*—and that each produces spiritual growth in a different way. He highlights the Ramchal’s precise word choices—*ויתעצם*, *יקנה*, and *יקבע ויתעצם בנשמתו*—to show when Torah functions as a *סגולה* “internalized” into a person versus when it becomes a true *קניין* acquired through exertion. Rabbi Shulman then begins the next section (*אות י*), framing all human states of “darkness” and “illumination” as dependent on the degree of Hashem’s “illumination” toward the person—limited only by the recipient, not by the Divine Giver.