Achieving Closeness to Hashem Through Torah Study

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

In Parashas Terumah, Hashem commanded the Bnei Yisrael to build Him a Mishkan so that He can dwell among them. The verse states (Shemos 25:2), “And they shall take for Me a donation.” Commentators ask, shouldn’t the verse state that they should “give” a donation? Why is the word “take” used? Surely the commandment was to give, not to take.

The Midrash (Shemos Rabbah 33:1) offers an answer by connecting these words to the verse in Mishlei (4:2), “A lekach tov (good acquisition) I have given to you, do not abandon My Torah.” The word lekach shares the same Hebrew root as “to take.” The Midrash says that the idea of the Mishkan is connected to Torah study. The lesson is that the only way Hashem’s presence can dwell within the Mishkan is through the study of the Torah. There is no other way.

The Midrash also teaches that by studying Torah, a Jew is in fact taking—he is taking Hashem to himself, as it were, along with the Torah.

This is explained further with a parable: A king had an only daughter. He married her off to a prince of a different kingdom. As the couple was about to take leave, the king told the prince, “Your wife is my only daughter. I can’t bear to be apart from her. However, I can’t forbid you to take her to your home, for she is your wife, after all. I require this much from you, though: you must make a room for me wherever you will be, so that I can be there as well.”

This was what Hashem said. He gave us the Torah, but He will not separate from it. Therefore, wherever we go, we must make a place for Him so that He will remain together with us [and the Torah].

There are many issues with this midrash that need to be addressed. Are we saying that Hashem can’t exist without the Torah, and is depending on us to provide a place for Him? Also, the analogy seems a bit off the mark. The king is a sentimental type who will be lonely without his beloved daughter. Hashem has no such emotions. Furthermore, when Hashem gave us the Torah, He remained entirely unchanged. Hashem doesn’t lack the Torah above, so that He needs to remain with it below.

Rav Mordechai Gifter explains the midrash: Hashem is an inseparable part of Torah. There is no such thing as Torah without Him. Learning Torah is more than learning a subject in a textbook; learning Torah means gaining closeness to Hashem. The midrash is teaching us that through Torah study, one climbs higher in his deveikus (clinging) to Hashem.

The Ramchal teaches (Derech Hashem 4:2:7) that reaching deveikus requires preparation beforehand. We must first purify and sanctify ourselves so that the Torah will affect us. The more we succeed in purifying ourselves, the greater level we will achieve in our closeness to Hashem.

The Ramchal goes on to explain the vast difference between our generation and the previous ones. Today, we study the same Torah that was studied by the Tanna’im and Amora’im. Nevertheless, when a bird flew over the tanna Yonasan ben Uziel, it was burned by the fire of holiness that emanated from the Torah he learned (Sukkah 28a). Why doesn’t this happen today? The Ramchal answers that it all depends on how much preparation one puts into Torah study.

In Nefesh HaChaim (Sha’ar 4), practical advice is given regarding preparations for learning: We should contemplate Hashem’s greatness. We should reflect on our deeds, determining what must be corrected and what could use improvement, and we should confess our past sins and resolve to stop doing them. These preparations will enable our Torah study to bring us to deveikus to Hashem.

The Chazon Ish would say that since Torah study has such a profound effect on us, we must never let a day go by without it. Each day that we learn Torah makes an inestimable difference in our lives.

An avreich in Bnei Brak would travel weekly to Ramat Gan to give a shiur. Once, there was a severe storm, and he asked the Chazon Ish if he could cancel the shiur. It would be a difficult trip, and it was doubtful in any case how many people would attend.

The Chazon Ish queried, “Is there anyone who will definitely be there for the shiur?”

“Yes,” the avreich responded. “There is one person who lives on the shul premises. He will definitely be there.”

The Chazon Ish insisted that he go, saying, “One day of Torah learning can have a tremendous effect on that person.”

The Chazon Ish has commented that he was able to see on people’s faces if they had learned that day. In other words, every day of Torah study makes an indelible imprint on us, and a tzaddik is able to see it.

Rav Gedalia Schorr points out a different lesson we can learn from here. When someone sells a business, he generally stays on for a month or two to show the buyer how to run it successfully. Here too, Hashem remains with His Torah, and He is ready to help us whenever we have a difficulty while learning it. The Chazon Ish (Kovetz Igros 3:51) advises us to daven to Hashem that He help us understand. He even guarantees that Hashem will help us if we reach a state of actual crying, with tears in our eyes.

After reaching Eretz Yisrael, Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz joined in the rebuilding of Mir Yeshivah in Yerushalayim. Once, he was looking for a quieter atmosphere, and went to learn in a quiet shul in the Zichron Moshe neighborhood. There, he was overheard saying, “Tatte (Father), I don’t understand what Abaye is saying. I simply cannot understand. . . .” Sometime later, he was overheard saying, “Thank you, Tatte. Now it is clear. Thank you so much.”

May our Torah study bring us to deveikus to Hashem!

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