Part 2
A person's two principle organs are his brain and his heart. The Maharal, commenting on the mishna in Avot, "May it be Your will that the Beit Ha-Mikdash be rebuilt speedily in our days, and make our portion in Your Torah," explains that there is a reference here to these two organs. Divine service is the "heart," while Torah is the "brain." A person cannot live with only a heart. How does one serve God with his brain? By studying Torah. The brain is man's most important organ - his intellect. Could we be satisfied with serving God with our hands, with all our limbs - taking a shofar and blowing it with our mouths, holding the arba minim (four species), eating matza - while only the brain would be excluded, and would not be used in our Divine service? Someone who doesn't study Torah is missing a basic component of his Divine service. Can we relegate our intellect, our brain, to the purposes of career, attaining an academic degree or conducting business, leaving our service of God to the other limbs? Indeed, Torah study is a precondition for Divine service. But there is something else. We need a little "ruchni'ut," a spiritual dimension. There are some people who are practical and pragmatic, real "doers," but their sole concern is for the strict letter of the law: "Tell me what my obligation is and I will fulfill it." Everything is done properly, but they lack the spiritual dimension. And it is Torah itself which lends that dimension - especially in a world like ours, which is materialistic, pragmatic, practical, here-and-now. I was once talking to two academics, both in the field of Jewish philosophy. The first was reminiscent of that part of Jacob's ladder "whose head reached to the heavens," while the other was the "ladder standing on the ground." What was the difference between them? The difference lay in the fact that the second, in addition to his academic status, was also a talmid chakham who set aside time for regular Gemara study. The Torah serves not only to increase a person's spirituality, but also to mould his personality in a tangible way, such that his feet are firmly planted on the ground. Torah study has great importance specifically in our times. Every profession requires education. A farmer these days cannot be satisfied with the knowledge that farmers of the previous generation had. He needs education. When I visited an agricultural plantation some months ago, I became aware of how much needs to be learned in order to know how to grow tomatoes in this day and age. We're not speaking merely of skills. Even a plumber today needs professional training and education. Divine service in our era will not endure unless its bearers have a Torah education. For this reason women, too, have to study. One cannot stand firm without education. This was not the case in previous generations. I had one grandfather who was a talmid chakham; he was involved in Torah study all his life. My other grandfather was a simple Jew who used to recite Tehillim. Even learning mishnayot was difficult for him. He wasn't an educated person; all his life he was involved in manual work. But can a person be a God-fearing Jew today without a Torah education? Today, even to be a simple Jew one has to be a talmid chakham! There is another factor. We are witness to the huge progress in all spheres of science - technology, electronics, etc. All of this leaves us with an excess of free time. Thinkers all over the world are concerned with the question of what to do with all this free time. Jobs that once occupied dozens or even hundreds of workers are completed mechanically today within minutes. R. Tzaddok Hacohen of Lublin, in his commentary on the Gemara in Sanhedrin, said that the sin of the generation of the Flood arose as a result of their culture of excess, an excess of time and leisure. They didn't know what to do with all their free time. As the Midrash describes, "They would sow once in forty years." They were technologically advanced. What will happen in another ten years? Even the leisure industry won't be able to fill all our free time. What will we do with all our time? Is this not the source of all evil? Therefore, in our days Torah study is a necessity for human existence - to give man something worthwhile to do. R. Chayim of Volozhin, in the fourth section of Nefesh HaChayim, recommends that from time to time a person should take a break, to reevaluate his priorities against the criterion of fear of Heaven, and to "place God before him always." I don't know whether we are at a level which allows us to grasp the meaning of placing God before ourselves continually. But often it's a good idea to take a break and think about the greatness of Torah, its noble messages, the mighty revolution which it has wrought in the world. From this perspective, it is easier to understand that the "ox which gores a cow" or the principle that "the mouth which prohibited is the mouth which permits" are part of a huge system. A scientist who deals with detail, with the single atom, with the gene which he has succeeded in isolating, inducts from his small sphere something of the wisdom which underlies the entire universe. He need not necessarily know much in other areas, but knowing as he does the wisdom concealed in the small detail in front of him, he learns to appreciate that this tiny thing is a part of the huge entity which is the world. The same applies in the area of Torah study. The understanding of a single detail does not end with its essence and content. Each detail is part of a way of life, part of a Torah which carries morality and wisdom, kindness and honesty. The greatness of Torah lies in its composition of many small details, the "ox which gores," the "mouth which prohibits," "migo," etc. Indeed, we need a measure of connection to Torah. The Gemara states (Sanhedrin 99b), "'He who commits adultery with a woman, with no heart' (Mishlei 6:32) - this refers to someone who studies Torah occasionally." What does this mean? A man may become close to a woman in love and affection, to the point where their hearts become intertwined. But a man may also find a woman who just happens to be there, temporarily. That is the meaning of "committing adultery with a woman, with no heart." He is interested only in momentary pleasure. Chazal are not embarrassed to compare someone who studies Torah uncommittedly to such a person. There are some people who learn for the sake of the moment. "Wow - Torah learning is magical; it's a real intellectual pleasure!" Such a person may be compared to one who "commits adultery with a woman, with no heart." He has no inner commitment. A person can learn all day and still be counted in this category! On the other hand, a person may work hard for a living all day, but the one hour at night which he spends connecting himself with Torah makes him a true devotee of the Torah, an "ish tam yoshev ohalim." Let me add that a person can preach to his children as much as he wants about the importance of Torah learning, but nothing is as effective as the personal example of a parent. Children are more perceptive than we give them credit for. If they see their parent come home and find time for all sorts of things - reading the newspaper, watching TV, etc. - but not for learning, then they understand how seriously he takes his preaching. On the other hand, if he doesn't preach to them, but opens a Gemara or Chumash or Mishna for an hour or two each night after a hard day's work, this speaks volumes. The Torah demands truth. The Rebbe of Kotzk once said that for a "little piece of truth" he'd be prepared to walk to the end of the earth. "Truth" means something genuine, with no pretenses and no hypocrisy. We, as we are, should not give up. To all the doubts, second thoughts and questions, there is an enormous power for good. Wmust connect ourselves to Torah, with all our hearts. If we only know how to use the time we have, we shall merit to see the passion of the Beit Midrash. The Torah itself can also be compared to a "measure of chumtun" which will preserve everything else. We are assured that it will bring with it, in joy, both fear of Heaven and faith.
