From She'aris Yaakov on Meseches Berachos (pg. ל"ח)written by Rav Yitzchok Meir Morgenstern. My own free translation
The primary purpose for studying Gemara is in order to connect to God even when studying the revealed portions of the Torah that deal with mundane matters, which is much more difficult than connecting while learning Kabbala.. This is not a simple task. The entire redemption is predicated upon the study of Sha"S, namely to toil in matters of this world, a world of small-mindedness, and to reveal the Divine there. We find that the Arizal explains in his comments on the Seder that the word כרפס (karpas) shares the same Gematria as ש"ס. Karpas represents small-mindedness, and it is there that one must welcome in the Divine.
Shema, the declaration of the Unity of God, teaches us to constantly contemplate on the Unity of the Creator. Unity is mainly discerned in the opposite place where unity is not readily visible and then the hiddenness is overcome and the Unity revealed. This is why the Talmud begins by discussing Shema in the evening, the time when things are hidden, where we need to introduce a lofty perspective.
In the Introduction to the Zohar it says that God hid the light of Creation in the Yesod. The Besh"t explained that God hid it in the Torah. The Gaon of Vilna explains that the Talmud teaches that God initially created two Leviathans, He killed the female and castrated the male. The Oral Torah which is the feminine is the place of death. It is the place where we don't easily see the presence of God. The written Torah (as well as Kabbala) speak openly of God, but the Oral Torah, the female Leviathan, focus primarily on man and his obligation to heed Halacha. To know how to serve God. It does not speak of God, but of what He begat. It is our mandate to resurrect the dead, to bring the feminine back to life, to bring life to the Oral Law, to bring to it the light of God. This is the highest light.
This is the goal of studying Talmud, not to permit this world to hide the Divine light, but to see it. Studying Talmud in the study of Kabbala down to its most minute details. The Arizal revealed the general light of Kabbala study from the aspect of the Unity of God. Now we need to understand how God is revealed even within the fractured world in the details of every Halacha in the lowest spiritual realms.
The primary purpose for studying Gemara is in order to connect to God even when studying the revealed portions of the Torah that deal with mundane matters, which is much more difficult than connecting while learning Kabbala.. This is not a simple task. The entire redemption is predicated upon the study of Sha"S, namely to toil in matters of this world, a world of small-mindedness, and to reveal the Divine there. We find that the Arizal explains in his comments on the Seder that the word כרפס (karpas) shares the same Gematria as ש"ס. Karpas represents small-mindedness, and it is there that one must welcome in the Divine.
Shema, the declaration of the Unity of God, teaches us to constantly contemplate on the Unity of the Creator. Unity is mainly discerned in the opposite place where unity is not readily visible and then the hiddenness is overcome and the Unity revealed. This is why the Talmud begins by discussing Shema in the evening, the time when things are hidden, where we need to introduce a lofty perspective.In the Introduction to the Zohar it says that God hid the light of Creation in the Yesod. The Besh"t explained that God hid it in the Torah. The Gaon of Vilna explains that the Talmud teaches that God initially created two Leviathans, He killed the female and castrated the male. The Oral Torah which is the feminine is the place of death. It is the place where we don't easily see the presence of God. The written Torah (as well as Kabbala) speak openly of God, but the Oral Torah, the female Leviathan, focus primarily on man and his obligation to heed Halacha. To know how to serve God. It does not speak of God, but of what He begat. It is our mandate to resurrect the dead, to bring the feminine back to life, to bring life to the Oral Law, to bring to it the light of God. This is the highest light.
This is the goal of studying Talmud, not to permit this world to hide the Divine light, but to see it. Studying Talmud in the study of Kabbala down to its most minute details. The Arizal revealed the general light of Kabbala study from the aspect of the Unity of God. Now we need to understand how God is revealed even within the fractured world in the details of every Halacha in the lowest spiritual realms.
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