Textual anomalies (such as oversized letters, undersized letters, backward letters, etc.) and apparent inconsistencies are not accidental or the result of scribal errors, but are considered sacred to the text itself. In fact, the first step of studying our holy books is to discern each and every textual detail.
The initials of these four general categories yield the acronym "PaRDeS" (meaning "orchard" or "garden"), said to be a reference to the ultimate restoration of mankind in the restored Garden of Eden or Paradise:Įach of these four categories of exegesis is discerned based on literary cues within the texts of the Tanakh. Sod - ( סוֹד) - The mystical or esoteric meaning of the text.Drash ( דְרָשׁ) - The moral or imperative sense of the text.Remez ( רֶמֶז) - The allegorical meaning of the text.P'shat ( פְּשָׁט) - The plain (historical/grammatical) meaning of the text.The Jewish sages typically allow inference within four main categories, with several levels of meaning coexisting sumultaneously within a given pasuk (verse): The Torah is a work of literary art, written by the LORD Himself, and therefore shares characteristics with all other works of art. "There are seventy faces to the Torah" turn it around and around, for everything is in it" (Bamidbar Rabba "Naso" 13:15 Avot 5:26). Shivim Panim la'Torah ( שִׁבְעִים פָּנִים לַתוֹרָה) - "The Torah has 70 faces." This phrase is sometimes used to indicate different "levels" of interpretation of the Torah.
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