Shalom:

The Bible, or as I call it -the Torah, is a universal teaching that is meant to provide illumination for all humankind. The Holy Zohar, the mystical commentary on the Torah, the Scroll of Moses, tells us that each word and each letter of the Torah is holy and contains teachings and mysteries waiting to be revealed. I invite you to come and learn each letter, word and teaching in an organic way.

"MILA YOMIT: The Torah, Word By Word" is an ongoing learning journey through the Torah that explores each word of the Torah as it appears. It assumes no prior knowledge and it invites the Torah to teach itself to the reader. It is informed by the teaching that each generation is invited to acquire the Torah for itself and to read it with fresh eyes and open minds. It is intentionally geared to people of all religious backgrounds who are interested in deepening and solidifying their knowledge of the original language of the Bible.

This journey began in late 1998 as my response to a Rabbinic discussion as to ways of increasing Hebrew literacy. I was conceptually and spiritually inspired by Daf Yomi-Page Of The Day, a worldwide learning circle in which a page of Talmud is learnt daily.

Each posting is designed to be read in less than 10 minutes. Regular participants have often commented that it is an excellent way to acquire deep familiarity with the Hebrew letters, words and meanings. It is also an organic unfolding discovery of the concepts that are core to the Torah.

When MILA ('word') YOMIT ('daily) began the Hebrew was transliterated into phonetic English. I am now able to offer it as a PDF file with the actual Hebrew included into the text. To mark this milestone, I am going to be sending it out from the beginning in this enhanced format.

Twice weekly, readers will receive a posting that begins with the first word of the Torah and continues.

This is a good opportunity for anyone interested to join this learning journey and deepen your knowledge of the Torah and its Hebrew. As you will see, I draw on a variety of ancient and modern commentaries to illuminate the text. Please see below for the presentation on the first word-BREISHEET-In The Beginning.

The Torah is meant to be learnt together and your comments, questions and insights are invited and welcome. Currently over 500 people worldwide of various religious backgrounds are receiving MILA YOMIT as it is being written.

If you are wish to be included in this innovative educational process and to receive the postings from the beginning, please email your interest to Rabbi Itzchak. If you know anyone who may be interested in this, please feel free to forward this to them.

MILA YOMIT is offered freely as a humble contribution to the Torah's universal teachings being spread widely. Congregation Or Shalom in Canada (http://www.orshalom.ca/), and Reclaiming Judaism in the States ( http://www.reclaimingjudaism.org/edennew.htm ) are non profit organizations and sponsors for MILA YOMIT. Any voluntary contributions to enable MILA YOMIT that they receive are tax-deductible.

MILA-Word Number 1 (breisheet) is available as a PDF file.

"...the entire Torah can be read as Names of God (Zohar), names that have the miraculous powers of creation and sustenance. Different combinations of letters can be made to form new words, numerical values of the words contain meanings, exegeses forms the basis of much of the Oral Torah-all of these are derived from and implicit in the Torah. It was such wisdom of Torah interpretation that Solomon used to reveal the mysteries of the creation, and that great sages used for centuries, until, slowly and tragically, the art became forgotten."(Genesis, Artscroll, p. xxxvii-iii)

It is time for humankind to recover this lost art and hear the Holy One speaking to us through the Torah.

BeShalom
Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein
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Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein, MSW, was ordained by Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg of Jerusalem (1989), Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, Z'L (1992) and Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (1996). He currently serves as the rabbinic chaplain in British Columbia, Canada's federal penitentaries. He is the author of MILA YOMIT.

He is also a student of Rabbi Daveed El Harar, a Sephardic Kabbalist who brought the practice of OPHANIM from Jerusalem to the West. As such, Itzchak is one of a small number of practitioners and teachers of this 'Kabbalistic Yoga'. R' Itzchak conducts Shabbatons and offers workshops on Kabbala, the theology of Rav Kook and the practice of Ophanim in various Jewish and non Jewish settings througout North America.