THE IDEAL WAY TO LEARN TORAH

By Rabbi Zalman Goldberg 

Studying Torah is something that practically everybody can do, but as always, the Bitachon way of life presents a unique perspective on the relationship between one studying Torah and the Torah being studied. The way of learning Torah which is most discouraged is studying in a way that there is an emotional chasm between the subject matter and the one learning. The subject may be well understood but it is abstract to the world of the student (by choice). The student may be a very wise and accomplished  student, but if there is no internal lesson taken, then it is a sad abuse of Hashem’s Torah. As the famous saying goes, one may have studied a lot of Torah, but what’s important is what Torah has taught the student.

There is another manner of learning, which although quite good, is still not ideal. That is when the one studying really connects to the Torah. It is clear that one following this method of Limud HaTorah will most certainly take lessons from the subject studied for he wants an internal relationship with the Torah. Nonetheless, if the connection appears as if two separate entities are being united, it is not optimal.

The best approach to Torah study is when there is only a מציאות of Torah, i.e., the person has no existence of his own and the only thing that exists is Torah. Conversely, when a person relates to Torah as though it were a separate entity aside for himself, as much as the person connects to Torah, there is still an existence other than Torah, i.e., of the student.

Perhaps we can elucidate this contrast with a story about the Rebbe Maharash. A Litvishe Yid once told Reb Betzalel Wilschansky that his father was considered a big lamdan, and even authored a well-received commentary on part of Yore Deia, the second part of the Shulchan Aruch. While he was writing the seifer, he came across a very difficult question which compelled him to travel across the country in search of an answer. After much travel, he still had not found a satisfactory solution, and he decided to visit the Rebbe Maharash in Lubavitch. Immediately after posing the question, the Rebbe took a Gemara off the shelf, looked into it briefly and responded, “It’s a תוספות in מסכת כתובות.” The author immediately understood the brilliant answer and left the room with tremendous excitement.

Afterward, the great lamdan decided to travel to the esteemed Reb Aizel Charif, one of the foremost geonim in the Litvishe world at the time, to hear how he would respond to the question. Reb Aizel first gave two solutions which the lamdan refuted, and then Reb Aizel gave the answer which the lamdan had already heard from the Rebbe Maharash.

The lamdan told Reb Aizel, “Now I see the difference between you and the Rebbe. The Rebbe answered right away, but by you it took quite a while.”

One whose entire being is Torah, such as the Rebbe, will answer right away the correct meaning because he is so in tune with the way of Torah that there was no personal thought process to go alongside the Torah.

Reb Aizel, on the other hand, although an extremely accomplished Talmud Chacham and gaon and a phenomenal example of devotion to Torah, was perhaps like two separate objects uniting and this resulted in other thoughts other than the correct answer to pop in when a difficult question was posed before he was able to arrive at the truth of Torah.

There are many examples of people who were one with Torah on various levels (even if not on the level of the Rebbe Maharash). This should be the goal of every Yid. Even if one sees oneself as a being which is quite strong, if the goal is to really be one with Torah, as if the Torah was engraved into his being, and not that the Torah should be connected to him, ultimately keeping his existence intact, the effect will be much stronger.

Perhaps we can suggest that one such example of literally being one and the same with Torah was the Rogatchover Gaon, Reb Yosef Rosen. Everything he uttered was connected with a Gemara or another part of Torah. When a baby didn’t want to nurse from its mother on Shabbos, the Gaon quoted a ירושלמי which alluded to the fact that because of a change of dress on Shabbos the baby may not recognize the mother. This was great advice and remedied the problem as soon as it was heeded. When asked to pen a letter for the purpose of raising funds to keep poor homes warm during the winter, the letter consisted more of sources in the Gemara than an actual request for money, although the point was well taken. If the Rogatchover was going to respond to any question or remark, no matter how trivial, it was with a quote from our Torah.

Interestingly, it is told that an individual who received סמיכה from both of the Rabbanim of Dvinsk, the Rogatchover and the Or Sameiach, Reb Meir Simcha, was asked what the difference was between the two Torah giants. “The Rogatchover answers right away and the Or Sameiach thinks for a short while,” he responded.

Rabbi Zalman Goldberg is a well sought after speaker and lecturer on Chassidic thought. His writings and recordings on the topic of Bitachon can be accessed at http://www.gotbitachon.com. You can also receive his one minute daily Bitachon clip by sending a WhatsApp to 347.546.4402 with the word “Bitachon.”