*The Alter Rebbe was once playing with his young grandchild, Menachem Mendel, who later grew up to become the Tzemach Tzedek, the 3rd Lubavitcher Rebbe.* “Where is Zeidy 🫣 (grandfather)❔” he asked his grandchild. The little boy pointed 👉🏻to his grandfather’s nose. “No, this is Zeidy’s nose 👃🏻,” the Alter Rebbe replied. “But where is Zeidy?” The child grabbed 🫳🏻 his grandfather’s hand. “Here is Zeidy!” “That’s Zeidy’s hand ✋🏻, but where is Zeidy?” Little Menachem Mendel understood the game. He left his grandfather’s side and went to play by himself, as if he had forgotten this little interaction. After a few minutes, he suddenly called out 🗣️, “Zeidy! Zeidy 🗯️!” The Alter Rebbe looked at his grandchild and got up from his seat to see 👀what had happened. “Aha!” shouted the little boy gleefully. “👉🏻There’s Zeidy!” 😃 Torah study draws down not just the divine light 💫, but *G-d Himself*, too 😮😮! This happens specifically through 👇🏻 Reciting 👀 the words of Torah. When you pronounce the name of an object, you identify the object by its entirety, not parts of it. 👉🏻 Similar to the way the Alter Rebbe’s grandson could identify his grandfather by calling out to him *by name* but not by touching parts of him. Pronouncing someone’s name is a uniquely powerful tool of connection. When you call out to someone ☎️, you are calling *his essence, his entire being*. Not just parts of him 👤🦵🏻💪🏻 . When you want to wake up a sleeping person 😵, calling his name awakens him. Calling someone by name touches their soul, the very ⚡essence of his being⚡ and that is what catches his attention 😯. When someone faints😱, that is another time that you see the power of a name. Calling the person’s name helps revive him 😮. When you study Torah 📜 You are calling out 🗣️to *G-d Himself*☝️, asking Him to be close to you 😮😮😮 Like a person calling his friend to come over 🙋♀️and be with him. Or like a small child 👶🏻asking his father🕵🏻♂️ to be with him and never leave him alone. ~ ~ ~ Isn't prayer 📖 also speaking to G-d? What is the difference, then, between studying Torah and praying to G-d 🙆🏻♀️? Isn’t prayer another method of calling out to G-d? Yes, but in a more specific, narrow manner. Calling out to G-d in prayer is like a child shouting, “Dad???” to his father. He isn’t necessarily looking to spend time together with him, he just has a request to make of him. The same applies to the way we reach out to G-d through our prayers. For example, when we pray for an ill person to recover, we look to draw down His power to provide healing. When we pray for money, we look to tap into His power to provide blessings and physical sustenance. When learning Torah, on the other hand, we are calling out to *G-d Himself*. It’s about building a connection and relationship not based on what one can do for the other, but just about being together. This ☝️is the truest, deepest way to connect and have a relationship with another. As our sages state: _*There is no truth other than Torah*_. The prophet Isaiah lamented the fact that _*No one calls Your name*_. What he meant was that very often, people forget about connecting with G-d Himself and only reach out in order to obtain something from Him - be it money 💵, health, strength, or even some sort of divine revelation or spiritual experience. But when it comes to establishing a relationship with G-d Himself, just for the sake of deepening our connection with Him with no strings attached, suddenly no one calls… Learning Torah, though, establishes a relationship between us and G-d like a friendship between two parties where the joy is in simply spending time in each other’s company and being together. Every word of Torah is the name of G-d and so when you study Torah, you call His name, inviting His essence ✨into this world and upon yourself, creating an unconditional connection and relationship with Him!
