Rav Simcha Wasserman on The Power of Torah

In Bereishit (1,6) it says "Yehi rakiah betoch hamayim" - "Let there be a firmament in the waters".  Rashi says that the rakiah is exactly in the center between the lower waters and the upper waters.  Ramban says that what Rashi is saying here is one of the most hidden statements of the Torah, and even those who know should not explain it.

 

Why did Rashi write this if it is so deep it could not be understood?

 

Hashem is Tov UMeitiv, He is good and He gives goodness:  'He is good' refers to the fact that He gives us food.  'He gives goodness' refers to the fact that the food tastes good and we enjoy it.  Enjoyment is not the function of the food, nourishment is.

 

It is the same with Torah.  When we learn Torah it is nourishing, much more powerfully and deeply that we know.  Just like food nourishes the body even though we are unaware of it.  When we learn Torah, that which we understand is like the taste which brings us a feeling of enjoyment.

 

There are times when certain foods are too hard to chew, so it is put in a pill like vitamins.  So one swallows it without chewing it or tasting it. so one gets the nutritional benefits without 'enjoying' it.

 

When Rashi put together all the elements we need in learning Torah, there are parts which he knew we could not understand.  When the Ramban talks about that part in Bereishit which we cannot understand, he is saying "It is a vitamin pill.  take it, you need it, you will get what you need, but don't try understand it"

 

Based on "Reb Simcha Speaks" by Yaakov Branfman and Akiva Tatz