Comparing Torah to Rain

Parshas Ha'azinu employs extensive allegory to describe the future relationship between Hashem and the Jewish people, both the good and the bad. Translating the imagery into practical insights is no small task. Allow me to share one sweet thought I read regarding the pasuk (32:2): "Ya'arof ke'matar likchi, tizal katal imrati - Let my instruction flow like rainfall; let my sayings drip like dew" - essentially comparing the Torah to rain and dew.

What's the meaning of this particular comparison?

Menachem Baker in Parperaot L'Torah brings down an explanation from the Chasidic master, Rav Simcha Bunim of Psichicha. He says that when rain falls, its influence on the ground is not immediately apparent. That is, it takes time for seeds planted to sprout and grow in response to the rain, and only then is the benefit of the rain obvious.

So it is often the case with words of Torah. Many times we teach Torah to children, or perhaps adults who are beginning their Torah studies at a later age, and the impact of the Torah thoughts imparted are not immediately apparent. Rather, it takes time for students to advance, whether it is children finally displaying greater maturity and comprehension, or adults without any background beginning to consider making changes in their lives in response to Torah study. This is an especially important point for kiruv professionals to consider to avoid becoming frustrated at a lack of visible change even after alot of time invested with particular individuals. Indeed, sometimes the appearance of tangible results may take years in such cases.

What the Torah reassures us in this pasuk: words of Torah are always absorbed; it just may take time for the benefits to become apparent. But just as the rain continues to fall irrespective of visible changes, so too must we continue to teach Torah to all who will listen with the hope that the benefits will come in time.

A slightly different explanation was offered in a recent "Partners in Torah" email newsletter by Rabbi Leiby Burnham in the name of the Vilna Gaon:

While falling on a field, rain will water the whole field equally. However, what the rain will cause to grow is dependent on what was put into that earth. If the person toiled and planted fruit or grain seeds, he will soon have an orchard or a field of grain growing beautifully. If he planted nothing, having frivolously wasted the planting season away, he will find his field quite empty despite the prodigious rain. Worse yet, if he planted deadly plants such as the foxglove, he will find that the rain helped secure a poisonous crop.

Torah, the Vilna Gaon explains, has the same attributes. It is an incredible receptacle of Divine wisdom that is given to humans to interact with and explore. What we get out of it however is dependent on what we put in. If we invest ourselves in the Torah and expend the necessary time, energy, and emotion into capturing its truth, if we approach it with respect, and are honest with ourselves as we study it – even when it calls upon us to make meaningful changes in our lives, the Torah will then lead us to levels of knowledge and spiritual joy we could not have imagined possible. On the other hand, if we leave our field of Jewish knowledge fallow (i.e. we take an unhealthy approach or we don’t cultivate it), we will be left bereft of the most incredible inheritance we have as a people - the Torah.