This is the key principle to understanding Torah. All the information provided in the Scripture falls into 2 categories:
- Derech Hashem or Derech Elohim– God’s purpose of the Creation, the Divine intent for all the humans in general and for Israel in particular. This is the Ultimate scope and purpose for us to learn, to understand, to eventually reach the level of Divine experience – Ruach Hakodesh. To love Him means to know Him, to know Him means to understand His Torah. For example the phrase “Love your neighbor as yourself” must be understood as the very purpose of many commandments – Mitzvot – to arrive at the same feeling of love and servitude of your fellow men.
- Mitzvot or Pathways– a Divine tool to help us accomplish the goal listed above. Using the wording of Rambam (Moreh Nevuhim), this tool is in the form of – ” a concession to a human weakness”. Once we understand that a mitzva is “doing” or “not doing” to develop the spiritually inclined mind (the mind where God-oriented thoughts dominate), only then we can know God’s purpose, Derech Elohim, in following it and understanding it. Mitzvot may be temporal (making sense only within given society at a given time of the human history) or eternal (accomplishing the same goals in any time of the human history regardless of the on-going culture). For example the dictum to help the stranded donkey belonging to another Jew or, another example, a whole group of mishpatim how to deal with slaves or with captive women, – are obviously outdated, they are nothing but pathways given to the nation 3400 years ago to accomplish a very specific Eternal goal – to develop respect for fellow men, their emotions or their possessions. The goals are eternal, the pathways are not, they might be of value only for the given historical period (for example only for people living 3400 years ago). Sometimes modern life does not even offer conditions to apply some of those pathways/commandments, or human mind “outgrew” certain commandments making them irrelevant today. Once we understand and can distinguish pathways from intended goals of the Derech Elohim, we become able to distinguish the eternal from the time-limited temporal and we can use even the time-limited commandments to better understand the Eternal nature of the Divine Purpose pointed to by such commandments.
