Teachings — in his own words

Every passage below was checked against the Hebrew text on Sefaria. Hebrew is quoted as written; the translator is named under each one.

His opening words

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בְּעֵזֶר יוֹצֵר אוֹרָה. אֲבָאֵר פֵּירוּשׁ הַתּוֹרָה. לְיַחֵד שְׁמוֹ הַנּוֹרָא.

“With the help of the Creator of light, I will elucidate the explanation of the Torah, to unite His awesome name.”

Ohr HaChaim on Genesis 1:1 · Sefaria Community Translation · Read the full text ↗

Why God spoke to Avraham first

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וּבֶן חָמֵשׁ שָׁנִים הִכִּיר אֶת בּוֹרְאוֹ מֵעַצְמוֹ

God spoke to Abraham without first appearing in a vision, because Abraham “already recognised his Creator at the age of five without having received any guidance from a teacher.”

Ohr HaChaim on Genesis 12:1 · Eliyahu Munk translation · Read the full text ↗

Make Me a Sanctuary — for all times

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וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ הִיא מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה כּוֹלֶלֶת כָּל הַזְּמַנִּים

“Make Me a Sanctuary” is a positive commandment that includes all times — in the desert, in the Land, and for all generations.

Ohr HaChaim on Exodus 25:8 · Study translation of the Hebrew · Read the full text ↗

Our actions below affect blessing above

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כִּי כְּשֶׁהַתַּחְתּוֹנִים מַטִּין מִדֶּרֶךְ הַטּוֹב מִסְתַּלְּקִים הַהַשְׁפָּעוֹת

“When people who dwell in the lower parts of the universe stray from the correct path they cause the beneficial outpourings from the upper part of the universe to cease.”

Ohr HaChaim on Leviticus 25:25 · Eliyahu Munk translation · Read the full text ↗

Two obstacles to keeping the Torah

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אֶחָד מִצַּד הַשָּׂגַת יְדִיעַת הַתּוֹרָה עַצְמָהּ, וּשְׁנִיָּה מִצַּד קִיּוּם מִצְוֹתֶיהָ

The Torah answers two causes of failure: “Ignorance of what is written in the Torah” and “the difficulty in keeping the commandments.”

Ohr HaChaim on Deuteronomy 30:11 · Eliyahu Munk translation · Read the full text ↗

Removed: earlier summaries I wrote myself

“Many explanations for one verse” — my own general description of his style, not a quotation.
“Every word is precise” (attached to Genesis 12:1) — my summary; that passage is actually about why God spoke to Avraham before appearing to him.
“The love of Torah” (Deuteronomy 26:11) — a well-known saying attributed to him, but Sefaria has no text for that verse, so I could not check it.
“Teshuvah is near” (Deuteronomy 30:11) — my wording; the passage is about two obstacles to Torah, shown above.
“Redemption and awakening of hearts” (Leviticus 25:25) — a loose summary; replaced with his actual words.