Revealing inner light within the physical

במדרש יקרה היא מפנינים מכ"ג שנכנס לפני ולפנים ד"א מפנינים מבכור אין פנינים אלא תחלה שנאמר וזאת לפנים בישראל כו'.

In the Midrash: "She is more precious than peninim" (Mishlei 3:15) — more than the Kohen Gadol who enters lifnei velifnim (the innermost chamber). Another interpretation: "more than peninim" — more than the firstborn (bechor); for "peninim" means nothing other than "first," as it is said, "And this was the practice formerly (lefanim) in Yisrael…" (Rus 4:7).

The Midrash on the Torah's preciousness reads "peninim" two ways through wordplay: as the Kohen Gadol who enters the innermost Kodesh HaKodashim (lifnei velifnim), and as the bechor, since "peninim" shares a root with "lefanim," meaning that which is first or foremost.

הענין הוא שהתורה ניתנה בעוה"ז להמשיך אור התורה גם בעניני הגשמיות למצוא הפנימיות בכל דבר בכח התורה ומצותי' וממילא כשנתעורר הפנימיות תוך החיצוניות הוא יקר מאוד נעלה יותר מהפנימיות כשהוא בלי לבוש.

The matter is that the Torah was given in this world to draw the light of the Torah even into physical matters — to find the penimiyus (inner dimension) in every thing through the power of the Torah and its mitzvos. And consequently, when the penimiyus is awakened within the externality, it is exceedingly precious, loftier than the penimiyus when it is without a garment.

The Torah's purpose is to bring its light down into the material world, uncovering the holy inner point hidden in every physical thing. When that inner light is revealed specifically inside the "garment" of the physical, it is even more precious than inner light that remains naked and unclothed Above.

וכמו כן סגולת התורה להדביק הכל אל השורש והראשית.

And likewise, it is the special property (segulah) of the Torah to attach everything to the root and to the beginning.

The Torah's unique power is to bind every detail of creation back to its source and origin.

לכן נקראת התורה ראשית דרכו:

Therefore the Torah is called "the beginning of His way" (Mishlei 8:22).

Because the Torah connects all things to the beginning, it is itself named "reishis darko" — the first of Hashem's ways.

Summary: The Midrash links the Torah's preciousness to that which is "first" — the Kohen Gadol entering the innermost chamber and the bechor. The Torah was given to draw its light into the physical world, revealing the holy inner point within material things; inner light clothed in the physical is even more precious than naked inner light. Through this, the Torah binds all of creation back to its root and beginning, which is why it is called "reishis darko," the beginning of Hashem's way.