The literal meaning does not begin to exhaust the contents of the sacred text. Beneath the surface lie deeper meanings waiting to be tapped by resourceful readers. What distinguishes a divine from a human text, the Rabbis contended, is a multiplicity of meanings. And here, it seems to me, lies the miracle of this whole performance, that the Sages, like heirs or curators of a rare collection, charged to preserve a sacred text, are not dumbfounded by it into silent adoration. To unlock the secrets of Scripture, then, calls for as much devotion as freedom.
Deep reading is a function of constant reading.
The inviolable sanctity of the canon is what inspired the Rabbis to memorize and ponder it in totality and detail, enabling them to turn the slightest textual rub into a story, ethical insight or world view. Thus the most prosaic text can become the most profound. Our parasha , maddeningly concrete in its extensive treatment of skin ailments, offers a memorable example of this self-transcending fundamentalism. It is this slight anomaly which prompts Resh Lakish to enlarge the canvas. With the subtlest of rereadings, leprosy has been linked to the misuse of language.