What Came First, the Bible or the Jew?

Visit www.JEMEDIA.org for more! Both the Torah and the Jewish people preceded creation. But which came first? The Midrash tells us that the Jews came first, and the proof is in the Torah itself, which constantly states: "Speak to the Children of Israel..." proving that the souls of the Jewish People pre-exist Torah. The Talmud explains that in the first of the Ten Commandments, "I am the L-rd your G-d...," the word "I -- Anochi" forms an acronym: "I inscribed My soul and gave it over." This means that G-d invested His very essence into the words of His Torah. Nevertheless, the Jewish people are higher in G-d's mind, even than Torah. "Tzaddikim emulate their Creator." When a person studies Torah properly -- especially a Rebbe, the leader and collective soul of the generation -- their primary concern is not to produce works of Torah scholarship, but to bring people closer to G-d; the very purpose of the Torah is for the Jewish People. 24 Teves, 5741 • December 31, 1980 From Living Torah Disc 83 Program 329