פרשת בהר-בחוקותי
In this week’s parsha we are told to choose whether we want the Torah’s blessings or its curses. If we keep the Torah we merit the grand promises of peace and prosperity. If we fail to do so, we face exile and near annihilation. According to Rashi, the entire focus of our existence and the precondition for our earning Hashem’s protection is exertion in Torah study. It is specifically toil in Torah that is the center of Jewish existence, and the actualization of Hashem’s master plan for creation. We must delve into why this is true. What makes ameilus in Torah so fundamental? Does ameilus in Torah summarize the totality of Jewish existence?
Rav Yechezkel Levinshtein says that when one is fully engaged in Torah it is impossible for bad midos to take hold of him. As the gemara in Kiddushin 30b says, “I created the yetzer hara and I created Torah as an antidote for it.” If one fully engrosses himself in Torah, the yetzer hara has no room to enter one’s consciousness and a person can escape the onslaught of sins that threaten him every day. Instead of one’s negative side influencing his actions, the Torah takes over and acts as one’s spiritual engine. Such a feat can only be accomplished through tremendous exertion. Without effort, the natural whims and inclinations of a person will inevitably overtake him. One must labor in Torah in order to free himself from his natural urges. Only by attaching one’s self to the Torah’s holiness can one render all the enticements of the world to be meaningless. This is a constant fight. The challenge of staying committed to Torah, despite our natural desires trying to pull us away, is the main purpose of our existence. The Gra says in Mishlei that every moment we are alive there is some personal issue that we have an obligation to deal with. There is no such thing as a person who doesn’t have problems. If it were possible for a person to achieve perfection in this world and attain flawless character traits, the Gra asserts, his existence would be futile. To prevail over our challenges and invest more and more of ourselves into Torah is the reason we are alive.
In Michtav M’Eliyahu, Rav Dessler gives another reason why intense exertion in Torah is so fundamental to Jewish existence. Rav Dessler writes that the only way one can truly cleave to G-d is through the Torah, and the only way to cling to the Torah is by investing one’s entire self in it. As the gemara (Shabbos 83b) says, “Words of Torah are only retained by one who kills himself over them.” Only by virtue of our labor of love does the Torah become a part of us, and one has to fully devote himself to what he learns to be able to cling to the word of G-d. This is the purpose of life. Rav Avigdor Miller says that while working on one’s midos and learning mussar is essential to living Jewishly, cleaving to the word of G-d is actual living itself. It is gemara learning in particular that allows us to cling to Hashem, and the Bach writes explicitly in siman 47 of the Tur that this is really the whole purpose of learning Torah. When one exerts himself to appreciate every word, letter, difficulty, resolution, line of reasoning, etc., he is bringing the Shechina down to earth. This is the essence of learning Torah – to connect to and understand Hashem’s will in such an intimate way that we can truly feel His Presence.
Rav Aryeh Leib Shteinman says that a person has a constant obligation to find new ways of applying himself more fully to Torah. One must contemplate where he is being lax in his learning and work on areas that require strengthening. The gemara in Menachos 7a ironically chronicles the tale of how Rav Avimi once forgot masechet Menachos. In order to relearn the tractate, Rav Avimi travelled to his former student Rav Chisda, even though Rav Avimi was much older than Rav Chisda and also was his rebbi. The gemara asks incredulously why Rav Avimi would do such a thing. Isn’t such behavior unbefitting Rav Avimi’s dignity? Rav Avimi should have called Rav Chisda to him, not the other way around! The gemara answers that Rav Avimi reasoned that this extra exertion would grant him success in his studies. We should learn from Rav Avimi’s example and appreciate how important it is to exert ourselves. Even though it was completely unnecessary and even violated conventional practice, Rav Avimi still exerted himself to travel a long distance to learn Torah from Rav Chisda. We too should look for ways that we can sacrifice for Torah and show Hashem how much we care about our learning.
There is a story told of the time when a new edition of the gemara was presented to Rav Shach in order to receive his haskama. This particular publication was considered to be a very celebrated breakthrough, presenting a clear translation of the text and satisfying explanations encircling the borders of the page. Big talmidei chachamim had been involved with the project and many hoped that the work would encourage those disassociated from gemara learning to give it a try. However, Rav Shach emphatically refused to offer any approbation for the book and strongly discouraged others from supporting its publication. Those close to Rav Shach were puzzled – why was the Rav so opposed to a book that had the potential to mekarev thousands of Jewish men to gemara learning? Rav Shach answered with tremendous resolve, stating, “It’s not a mitzvah to mekarev the Torah to people! It’s a mitzvah to mekarev people to the Torah! We have to reveal to others the beauty of the Torah and the great value that it has to offer. If we water down the learning of Torah we are losing the very essence of what the Torah is all about! Where is the ameilus???!!!”
May we all be zoche to strengthen our ameilus in Torah!!!