Acquiring Torah 44: Ramchal: Derech Eitz Hachaim X

Now, to return to the root of the matter, since the radiance in them derives from the stimulus of the King and the stimulus of the King from Israel’s actions, Israel is the essence of the entire creation. “How glorious is Your Name throughout the earth,” relates to the power received by the Holy Name on earth through the mystery of, “Grant strength to the Lord,” which I have mentioned. “Bestow Your splendor above the heavens,” relates to the splendor involved in the stimulus and spread above the heavens among the attendant angels there. It explains a further great remedy that is performed through men, since it is said, “Through the mouths of babies and suckling’s have You founded strength (Psalms 8:3).” Since Angels have no evil impulse, their actions are unable to remove it, but men who have an evil impulse can remove it. So what did God do in order to give them the additional power required for the achievement of this remedy with special vigor? He allowed them the “uncircumcised” years, which comprise the home of the. Prior to man’s entry beneath the yoke of the Commandments during which the Other Side is more closely attached to them, in accordance with the mystery of, “Folly is bound up with the heart of youth (Proverbs 22:15).” During that period, transgressions are ignored; but, on the other hand, study of the Torah is very highly rated. Such is the notion of the utterance of the mouth of school children putting a complete stop to the Other Side, which explains the verse, “Through the mouths of babies and suckling’s have You founded strength, in order to put a stop to the enemy.” The root of the verb envisages a man engaged in an activity coming to a halt; it applies not to angels who, since the evil impulse has no power over them, cannot put a stop to it and can only banish it, but only to men. I will now explain the expression “strength.” (Ramchal; Derech Eitz Hachaim X) We can achieve more with our Torah study than can the Highest Angels. We can put a stop to the enemy; the Other Side. We can do this by using our Torah study to fight our Evil Impulse. We do not study only for wisdom; we study Torah as a way to smash all internal barriers between us and God.