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The Simchat Torah issue has been dedicated by Mr. Bernard Schubach of Columbus Ohio.

Simchat Torah 5756

"HOW I LOVE YOUR TORAH..." (TEHILLIM 119:97)

THE GREATEST OF MITZVOT

A person reaps the fruit of these Mitzvot in this world, while the principal remains for him to enjoy in the World to Come... and Torah study is the equal of all the others [Mitzvot] combined.
(Mishnah, Pe'ah 1:1)
Our Sages tell us that studying the Torah is a greater Mitzvah than any other Mitzvah of the Torah. What makes learning Torah unique among the Mitzvot of the Torah? The Rambam [Maimonides], based on Kiddushin 40b, offers the following explanation:

There is no Mitzvah which is the equal of Torah study... because study leads to performance.
(Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Talmud Torah, 3:3)
According to the Rambam, Torah study is more important than the other Mitzvot of the Torah, because in the final analysis observance of all the Mitzvot depends on Torah study. Even after one has learned the basic laws of a Mitzvah, it is only through Torah study that he will gain a better understanding of the nuances of the Mitzvah.

The Vilna Gaon in his commentary to the above-quoted Mishnah highlights another dimension of Torah study. Every single word of Torah that is learned is a new Mitzvah. If a person studies a page with one-hundred words on it, he has performed one-hundred Mitzvot; if he spends the same amount of time performing another Mitzvah, he has but a single Mitzvah to his credit for his efforts. This alone would make the study of Torah greater than the performance of any other Mitzvah.

Basis for the Gaon's reasoning can be found in the teachings of the Ran (Yoma 83b s.v. VeGarsinnan), who explains that the repeated performance of a lesser transgression is more severe than the single performance of a much greater transgression. Inversely, we may conclude that the repeated performance of one Mitzvah is more meritorious than the single performance of even the greatest Mitzvah. This alone would make the study of Torah many times greater than any other Mitzvah; when it is combined with the inherent importance of Torah study ("study leads to performance"), the Mitzvah of Torah study is seen to be truly outstanding.

II

NON-STOP TORAH

The Mitzvah of Torah study differs from the other Mitzvot in the manner in which it is executed as well.

Rebbi Yehoshua was asked, "May a man teach his son Greek wisdom (a wit-sharpening form of recreation invented by the Greeks)?" He responded, "He may do so, but only during a time which is neither day nor night, for during the entire day and the entire night one is obligated to study the Torah and there is no free time in which to engage in the teaching or practice of Greek wisdom. As the prophet says (Yehoshua 1:8): You shall ponder the Torah day and night!"
(Tosefta Avodah Zarah 1:3; cf. Menachot 99b)
Any time of the day or night that a person is not involved in the performance of another Mitzvah, he is obligated to involve himself in the study of Torah.

Similarly, the Gemara tells us (Yoma 19b) that the verse which states (Devarim 6:7), "You shall speak *those words* [of Torah]," is forbidding us to speak *anything* other than words of Torah. (As Rashi explains, the Gemara is forbidding idle pratter. Proper speech that is spoken to one's family or in the course of doing business is permitted, since earning a livelihood is a Mitzvah in and of itself, as the Gaon points out in his commentary to Pe'ah 1:1.)

Tosafot (Berachot 11b, s.v. "Shek'var") uses the Tosefta's all-day-all-night ruling to resolve an apparent contradiction in the laws of blessings. Before eating in a Sukkah, one recites a blessing. If he leaves the Sukkah to go about his daily business, he must recite the blessing once again before he next eats in the Sukkah. In regards to the blessing recited before Torah study, however, the law is different. After reciting the blessing in the morning, one need not repeat the blessing throughout the entire day -- even if he engages in business or other pursuits during the course of the day. Why is that?

Tosafot explains that the Mitzvah to study the Torah applies during every spare moment of the day. Therefore, being involved in other tasks does not cause an interruption in one's Torah study. The Mitzvah of Sukkah, on the other hand, only applies to us while eating. At times other than meal-times, a person is distracted from the Mitzvah of Sukkah. Because of this, he must recite a new blessing before performing the Mitzvah a second time.

III

LONGING FOR THE STUDY OF TORAH

The Rosh resolves the contradiction between the two blessings in a slightly different manner, revealing to us yet another aspect of the obligation to study Torah. According to the Rosh (Berachot 1:13), only people who are fully immersed in the study of Torah are justified in not reciting a new blessing after a pause in their Torah study. Even when such people tend to their everyday affairs, they are eager to finish their chores and return to the study of Torah. Because their minds are never distracted from the study of Torah, their earlier blessing is still valid upon their return to the study of Torah.

The Rosh discloses to us that a true student of the Torah finds all worldly pursuits to be no more than annoying distractions that temporarily interrupt his Torah study. The Rosh's source is undoubtedly the Gemara's teaching that (Berachot 35b) "The earlier generations considered Torah study to be their *fixed pursuit* and earning a livelihood to be a *temporary diversion*, they therefore succeeded in both." (See also Yoma 19b, "Make the study of Torah a fixed pursuit, not a temporary diversion.")

Although the Rosh recognizes that a person must take his mind off his Torah studies temporarily in order to tend to his worldly needs, some later commentaries take a more extreme position. Mishnat Avot (a commentary on Avot written by Rav Yosef ben Yehudah Ibn Eknin, disciple of the Rambam, to Avot 4:10) asserts that even *while* a person finds himself involved in non-Torah matters he should be thinking Torah thoughts in the back of his mind. The Sefer Hafla'ah, in his introduction (par. 35; see also his introduction to Sefer HaMikneh, par. 32), elaborates further. How will a person ever succeed in business, asks the Hafla'ah, if his mind is always preoccupied with Torah? The answer: "Know Hashem while you go about your ways, and He will make your paths straight" (Mishlei 3:6). If you think thoughts of Torah while you work, Hashem will see to it that your business prospers. Similarly, "Happy is the person... who desires Hashem's Torah and ponders His Torah day and night... he will succeed in all that he does" (Tehillim 1:1-3). A person need not be concerned that his concentration on Torah thoughts will cause him to fail in worldly endeavors.

In a similar fashion, Rav Chaim of Volozhin (in his commentary to Avot 2:2) contends that the Mishnah's famous statement, "Torah is proper when accompanied with worldly activity," means that even while one is involved in worldly activity, it is good to think about Torah. (See also Nefesh HaChaim, 1:8.)

A contemporary Gadol, HaGaon Rav Shlomo Fisher of Jerusalem, pointed out to me that the spiritual height to which the Hafla'ah and Rav Chaim Volozhin are referring is discussed by the early commentators. When the Torah tells us (Devarim 11:22) to "love Hashem, walk in his ways and *cleave to him*," the Ramban explains that one who is on a truly high spiritual level should dwell on the love of Hashem even as he goes about his business. While he is conversing with his fellow man, his heart should be thinking about Hashem and His ways. Similarly, the Ra'avad (end of Hilchot Teshuvah) refers to righteous individuals who perform all of their mundane activities in a distracted manner because their mind is absorbed by the love of Hashem.

However, most people will find this approach very hard to follow, if not absolutely impossible. As the Ramban mentioned, cleaving to Hashem is a great accomplishment which is practiced by no more than a few elite individuals per generation, Rav Fisher noted. The everyday working person is certainly not expected to act in such a manner. What the average Jew can and should strive for is the diligence described by the Rosh. Any free moments during the day -- such as those that pass while waiting for a customer to arrive or for some process to be completed -- should be used for Torah study and not wasted.

IV

YEHOSHUA AND THE ANGEL

In an enigmatic incident in the book of Yehoshua (5:13-14), a heavenly angel threatens Yehoshua with a sword. According to the Gemara (Megillah 3a), the angel was admonishing Yehoshua for keeping his warring soldiers on active alert throughout the night. "Night is not a time during which nations battle," says the angel, "you should have used the nighttime for the study of Torah!"

Why indeed did Yehoshua stop his soldiers from studying Torah that evening? Hadn't Hashem warned Yehoshua to "ponder the Torah day and night?" Apparently, Yehoshua believed that one should direct his full attention to the Mitzvah at hand. Since the Jews were currently engaged in the conquest of Israel, he felt that their full concentration should be devoted to the war effort. The angel informed Yehoshua that he was mistaken. As we quoted from the Rosh, no matter what kind of work a person is engaged in, he should devote any spare moments towards the study of Torah and the love of Hashem. (See Rashi Berachot 32b, who compares the effort that a working man puts into his trade to the effort that a soldier puts into fighting a war.) Since night is not a time for active battle, Yehoshua's soldiers belonged in the Beit Midrash, studying Torah!


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