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Why does the Torah (תורה) describe itself as both "zer" (crown) and "zor" (estranged)? The Gemara (גמרא) in Nedarim 82b explains that when we merit Torah it becomes a crown, but when we fail to engage properly, we become estranged—not merely from the Torah, but from ourselves. Torah is our essence, and distancing from it creates deep alienation.
Rabbi Zweig explores a profound Gemara (גמרא) in Nedarim 82b that asks why the Torah (תורה) describes the golden crown around the Aron using two terms: written as "zor" (estranged) but read as "zer" (crown). The Gemara explains: if one merits Torah, it becomes a crown; if not, one becomes estranged from it. Rabbi Zweig asks: why use such strong language? If someone doesn't merit the crown, they simply don't have it—why "estranged"? To answer this, Rabbi Zweig brings a Baal HaTurim on the word "venishma," which appears three times in Tanach: at Kabbalas HaTorah ("na'aseh venishma"), regarding the bells of the Kohen Gadol's me'il, and in Megillas Esther. The Baal HaTurim derives from this that reading the Megillah supersedes Torah study and Temple service. But Rabbi Zweig notes a linguistic problem: in the latter two cases, "venishma" is nifal (passive—"it will be heard"), while at Kabbalas HaTorah it should be kal (active—"we will hear"). How can the Baal HaTurim compare them?
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Nedarim 82b
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