Take a journey into the Garden, where one may partake of the Tree of Life-- the four levels of Torah, all necessary for full understanding, represented by the acronym PaRDes, which means “garden” or “orchard” in Hebrew. Pashat - Written. “Pashat” means “simple.” This is the plain meaning of the text, to which all levels are anchored--the essential foundation of the Torah--for proper understanding. Remez - Mishneh, Oral Law. “Remez” means “clue.” It is the meaning hinted at, or alluded to in the text. Derush - Midrash. “Derush” means “sermon.” It is the homiletical parables, the poetic of Midrash. It can be seen as a literary expansion of the text. Yet some of the stories are to be seen in their literal sense, secrets undisclosed in the written. Sod- Kabbalah. “Sod” means “secrets.” It is the mystical, given over in methods, such as gematria, the numerical equivalent of each letter, deriving deeper meaning from the words. The sod level has its own language, the terminology of kabbal
