It is said the Torah is likened unto water and wine. As water extends from one end of the world to the other, so does the Torah. As water is life to the world, so is Torah. As water descends from Heaven, so the Torah descends from Heaven. As water refreshes the soul, so does Torah refresh your soul. With water we clean up the outward man, with Torah we clean up the inward man. As water descends drop by drop and turns into many streams, so it is with Torah. A man learns a verse today, a commandment tomorrow, until he flows with knowledge. The other side of the coin is, if you’re not thirsty at all, water doesn’t taste that good to you. The Torah is not that good to you unless you really desire to learn it. Just as water leaves a high level from up in the clouds and goes to a lower level, so does Torah leave a high haughty mind to one more humble. We are not ashamed to ask a wealthy man for some water to drink. So it should be with the Torah, that a learned man should not be ashamed to ask an inferior person in knowledge to teach him a verse or a letter or whatever he needs to learn.

Often we are compared to fish in the scriptures. As with fish who die when they are taken out of the water, so we would die without the words of life contained in the Torah. Also the Torah is like wine. As wine becomes better with age, so does the keeping of Torah, as the words become implanted into your very soul. A little wine is said to gladden the heart, so as the Torah gladdens the heart. Sometimes too much wine will cause you distress. When you really get into reading your Torah, it can make you ill to see how you missed the mark so much in your life. Wine poured over a wound can become a disinfectant, so the Torah can disinfect you from the diseases of the world, once poured into your soul. As Paul told Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach’s sake, we need to take a little Torah every day for our spirit’s sake. Great is the Torah which gives life to those that practice it in this world and in the world to come. It is also likened unto a fig. Why, because in all fruit there are things such as seeds and peelings and things that are not eatable. But with the fig, all of it is eatable! The Torah is the reflection of the Divine, as a matter of fact, it “is” the Divine!