blessed are You, giver of the Torah,
to us, your people.
we who are human,
we who make mistakes,
we who knowing and unknowingly read Your Torah to suit our needs.
and yet, still,
You gave it,
and You give it,
to us.
fully and completely.
blessed are You,
giver of the Torah,
taker of risks,
who has faith in Your people.
israel.
Parshat Emor, May 11, 1940
The truth, however, is quite different. God teaches Torah to His people Israel -- and not only does God teach it, He actually gives away the Torah to them, giving them the power to enact commandments. Scriptural commandments are segments as it were, of the body of the King -- the Holy Blessed One, the Torah, and the Jewish people are One -- therefore, when they are bound up with the Holy Blessed One, their desire and knowing and soul can also become commandments.
As the Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 25a), quoting R. Akiva, says: “The text (Leviticus 22:31, 23:2, and 23:4) repeats the words ‘you,’ ‘you,’ ‘you,’ three times, to indicate that you ‘you,’ the Jewish people, determine the Festival dates even if you err inadvertently; ‘you,’ even if you err deliberately, and ‘you,’ even when you are misled.
כי ד' מלמד תורה לעמו ישראל ולא מלמד לבד רק גם נותן להם תורה שנתן התורה לישראל שמעתה גם ישראל יכולים לעשות מצוות כי המצוות דאורייתא הן אברין דמלכא וכיון שישראל נאחזין בגופא דמלכא וקב"ה ואורייתא וישראל חד לכן רצונם דעתם ונשמתם כשקשורין בהקב"ה יכולין גם הם לעשות מצוות וכמו שאמרה הגמרא ר"ה דף כ"ה אתם אפילו שוגגיו אתם אפילו מזידין
