It is a tree of life to those who lay hold on it. (Proverbs iii,18)
This sentence, which we recite in our Synagogues when the Sefer Torah is returned to the Ark, refers to the blessings of wisdom. Our Rabbis identify wisdom with the Torah, for every branch of knowledge stems from the tree of the Torah revealed by G-d to Moses.
Moses commanded us a law as an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. (Deut. xxxiii,4)
The verse forms part of the final blessing of Moses before he took leave of the people he had faithfully led for forty years. Just as an inheritance is passed from father to son, so the Torah was to be handled down from generation to generation. The term Torah applies, in the first instance, to the Written law found in the Five Books of Moses. In its wider meaning it includes the Oral Law which is essential for applying the Written Law to everyday life.
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