The simple explanation of Torah in the stories is mystic and in the laws-literal. That is the way I understood things. When reading the Ari Isaac Luria, I saw that he was understanding the the simple explanation of the seven days of Creation was that it was referring to the higher sepherot. The point of Torah is the commandments. Those are meant literally, But even the commandments are meant to bring to natural law as we see in the argument between R Simon ben Yochai and the sages about if we go by the reason for the commandments or the letter of the law. But to both the reason is known. So R Shimon says one can take the garment of a rich widow.