English: “Moshe commanded us a Torah, an inheritance of the congregation of Yaakov” — do not read “inheritance” (morashah) but “betrothed” (me’orasah). This teaches that the Torah is betrothed to Israel like a wife to her husband, and no other has a portion in it.
Classic midrashic reading that turns the inheritance language into a metaphor of exclusive betrothal between Israel and the Torah.
Type of Learning
Custom (phrase-by-phrase or midrashic expansion of the verse).
What Is Learned
The midrash extracts concrete legal, historical or theological referents from the wording of the passuk, giving the brief biblical language a fuller operational meaning.