Great Secret of Torah
Noach was the first human being who planted a vineyard {Bereshit 9:20}:
וַיָּחֶל נֹחַ, אִישׁ הָאֲדָמָה; וַיִּטַּע, כָּרֶם. וַיֵּשְׁתְּ מִן-הַיַּיִן, וַיִּשְׁכָּר
Noach, the tiller of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. He drank from the wine and became drunk.
Noach was extremely happy, and he got drunk. What was the Simcha, the happiness, about? Noach found out that the soil, the Adamah, was not cursed. That what was previously thought of as a curse, the spoiling of the grape juice, was in fact a good thing. With a little help, it created wine. Noach was very happy because he was the one to find out the process. He had discovered a secret of Nature. Noach also discovered the truth of the saying in Sanhedrin 38a,נִכְנַס יַיִן יָצָא סוֹד
as he fell asleep, drunken. Noach went to the world of Sod, and exclaimed as he woke up: "The Adamah is not cursed, but Canaan is." He had understood a secret of Torah. Of course, through this curse, the nation of Yisrael would stand up. Like the curse of the Adamah, also this curse is a blessing in disguise. But the main point is that we learn from Noach, that the secrets of Nature and the secrets of Torah come down together, or rather, one arises as the other descends. If one is looking for secrets of the Torah of his day, one may, like Noach, have to engage in the secrets of Nature. This, my reader, is a very great secret of Torah.
ובשית מאה שנין לשתיתאה, יתפתחון תרעי דחכמתא לעילא, ומבועי דחכמתא לתתא,
כי אין לעלות על הסולם שראשו מגיע השמימה מבלי לעלות תחילה על דרגות הסולם המוצב ארצה.
על כל אחד מחכמי התורה ומכל שכן יודעי חכמת הנסתר - אמר רבינו - חובה רבה ללמוד לפחות אחת משבע החכמות
במידה שיחסר לו לאדם בידיעת הסגולות שבכוחות הטבע יחסר לו מאה ידות בחכמת התורה, ובמדה שחכמי התורה ישיגו במחקרי סגולות הטבע יוסיפו מאה שערים בחכמת התורה