Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach zt’l, who just recently passed away, was the undisputed leader of Torah Jewry. Every moment of his one hundred and seven years on this earth was dedicated to the study of Torah and the service of G-d. He did not care for worldly pleasures, as he was completely devoted to his spiritual endeavors. Rebbitzin Shach would shut the lights in the house late at night and urge her husband to get some rest. In deference to her, he would head to bed only to wake up an hour later and sneak back to his seforim to continue his learning. One time the Rebbitzin pulled the fuse on the electricity to ensure that he would get his much needed rest. She woke up a few hours later to find her esteemed husband sitting near the boiler holding a sefer up to the little red flickering light. When Rav Shach’s eyes began to fail him, a doctor was summoned to assess his eyesight. The Doctor brought a K’tzos Hachosen and asked Rav Shach to read what he could. Immediately Rav Shach rattled off the entire page. His grandson, who was present at the time, turned to the doctor and said, "That will do you no good. He knows the entire K’tzos by heart." The Doctor went back to Rav Shach’s seforim collection and pulled out a Shev Shmaytsa and again asked Rav Shach to read a page at random. Again Rav Shach instantly read the page. His grandson nudged the doctor again, "He knows the Shmaytsa by heart too." Finally the doctor brought that day’s newspaper and Rav Shach struggled to read the words. Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer zt’l once commented that if one were to cut the skin of Rav Shach, instead of blood oozing out, Ritva’s, Rashba’s, Tosfos and Rabbi Akiva Eigers would come pouring out.
     After the sin of the Golden Calf, Hashem forgave Klal Yisroel and told Moshe to command Klal Yisroel to build a Mishkan for him to placate and atone for their sin. The first vessel Hashem told Moshe about was the Golden Ark. This magnificent vessel was actually composed of three boxes. The main component of the Ark was a wooden box made from shitim wood. A solid box of gold was placed inside that wooden box, and both of those boxes were placed inside a larger box that was also made of pure gold. Thus, although the Ark appeared to be a solid work of gold, everyone knew that the gold was merely a veneer and that the true Ark was the wooden one in the middle although it remained concealed from sight. Chazal say the Ark represented the Torah. If so, shouldn’t it follow that the holy Torah be represented by gold and not by wood? What was the purpose of having a wooden box inside at all? Rabbi Dovid Feinstein shlita explains that wood is taken from a live substance. It is cut off from a tree that grew and had the capability to reproduce. Although gold has a far greater inherent beauty, it is still inanimate and lifeless. The Torah was not given to angels who are not subject to temptation and an evil inclination. Rather the Torah was given to man with all of his desires and imperfections. The Torah was not given to stare at and marvel at its beauty from a distance. A set of Shas that still looks brand new after twenty years has no real beauty. The beautiful set that brings honor and glory to the Torah is the set that looks old and worn from repeated usage. The true representation of the Torah can only be with a form of life to signify the idea that, "It is a tree of life for all those who hold on to it." The Torah was given specifically to human beings who can grow and reproduce. Nevertheless, the ultimate goal of a Torah scholar is to improve himself to perfection. Therefore the Torah was coated inside and outside with a layer of gold, to show that it is possible for a Torah scholar to achieve perfection in the depths of his soul as well as in his outer behavior. But it can only commence with a living piece of wood. Only then can it develop a coating of pure and stunning gold.
     The Gemarah (Shabbos 88b) relates a very intriguing story: "Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: At the time Moshe ascended to the heavenly heights to receive the Torah, the ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed is He, "Master of the Universe! What is someone born of a woman doing among us?" G-d said to them, "He has come to receive the Torah." They said before Him, "The coveted and treasured Torah that was stored by You as a treasure for nine hundred and seventy four generations before the world was created, You intend to give that to flesh and blood? What is a mortal that You should remember him or the son of man that You should remember him? Hashem, our Lord, how grand is Your name in all the earth (already) that You (should rather) bestow Your glory upon the Heavens." The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to Moshe, "Give them an answer!"Moshe said before Him, "Master of the Universe, the Torah that You are giving to me, what is written in it? "I am Hashem Your G-d who has taken you out of the land of Egypt." Moshe said to the angels, "Did you descend to Egypt? Were you enslaved to Pharaoh? What else is written, "You shall not commit murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal". Is there envy among you? Is there an evil inclination among you?" Immediately the angels conceded to the Holy One." What is the meaning behind the angel’s strange complaint? Why did they want the Torah in the first place? Did they not know that all of those commandments do not apply to them? The Maharsha explains that the angels did not want the Torah as we know and understand it. The Torah, which is so-to-speak the ideas of an infinite G-d, possesses an infinite amount of knowledge. Our understanding of the Torah can hardly scratch the bare surface of its vast and endless depth. The angels have an appreciation of the Torah far beyond our comprehension. Therefore they did not want the Torah to fall into the hands of humans, for so much of its beauty and depth would be unknown and incomprehensible to our finite minds. [In the introduction to his commentary on Chumash, the Ramban explains that the entire Torah is composed of the names of G-d. Our format of the letters that forms the words of the Torah as we know it, is only one way to read the letters. However the letters can be revamped to compose names of G-d from beginning to end.] If this was true, how did Moshe answer them; they didn’t want the Torah anyway due to its commandments against adultery and stealing? Rabbi Shlomo Harkavi zt’l explained that Moshe countered to the angels, "You have no evil inclination and therefore to you the Torah is merely a luxury. True, you may have a far deeper understanding of the Torah than man could ever achieve. Nevertheless if you do not have the Torah you will still remain on your same spiritual and holy level. You will still be able to sing praise before the Throne of Glory and carry out your spiritual tasks in complete purity. We however, who are flesh and blood and subject to the temptations and pitfalls of our evil inclination, do not stand a chance at having a closeness to G-d without the Torah. It is only through dedicating our lives to the Torah that we have a remote chance at feeling some level of sanctity and purity. To you the Torah is a luxury but to us it is a necessity. You may have a much deeper understanding of the letters that appear to us as, "I am Hashem your G-d who took you out of Egypt." But we need those words to teach us the premise of faith and belief in G-d." When the angels heard Moshe’s response, they were forced to concede to G-d that the Torah should indeed be given to Klal Yisroel. The Gemorah in Shabbos also says that when Klal Yisroel was congregated around Mount Sinai waiting to accept the Torah, G-d lifted the mountain over their head like a barrel and proclaimed, "If you will accept the Torah, good! If not, this will be your burial place!" Tosafos asks why G-d had to force Klal Yisroel to accept the Torah if they had already proclaimed, "We will do and we will hear"? Part of the reason was that G-d was signifying to Klal Yisroel that even though you have already agreed to accept the Torah, you must understand that the Torah is not merely a luxury that you have accepted upon yourself. Rather it is your only hope at attaining closeness with Me. You must always view the Torah as a mountain hanging over your head with your life in the balance forcing you to follow its every command.
     There was a girl from Monsey searching for an apartment in Brooklyn where she could reside while in school. She saw an advertisement in one of the local papers and decided to pursue it. The first time she was in the apartment, her new landlady invited her upstairs. As she was walking through the hallway upstairs she noticed a picture of her grandfather, Rabbi Papermen zt’l, along with another man on the wall. She turned to her landlady and asked about the picture. The landlady was surprised, "You mean that’s your grandfather? The other man in the picture is my grandfather." After some research the beautiful story of the union between their grandfathers emerged, At the end of World War II, Rabbi Papermen became a chaplain in the U.S. Army. At the time, a chaplain was granted the same status as a Captain and was free to come and go as he pleased. Rabbi Papermen used his power to go around the D.P. camps and help surviving Jews. In one camp he found a religious-looking man who was pale, gaunt, and sickly. Rabbi Papermen asked if the man needed anything. "Yes," the man replied, "there is something I need. I need a Gemarah Bava Kamma." Rabbi Papermen was stunned, "Maybe you need some food or water. Perhaps you would like a bed to rest in for some time until your strength comes back." The man shook his head, "You asked me what I need. I need a Gemarah Bava Kamma! During the war I promised G-d that if I survived I would complete Bava Kamma and now I must fulfill my vow." The two went from town to town searching for a Gemarah. After traveling a distance of one hundred kilometers they finally found a Bava Kamma. They danced and sang together and it was there that the picture was taken.
     Torah is the very life and breath that has ensured our survival during the centuries of exile. Klal Yisroel needs only one thing to endure: Bava Kamma, Bava Mezia, Nedarim, Yevamos etc. The Torah is our life above all else! May we learn it well!
     As I prepare to walk down to my own Chupah with my Kallah iy’h on Sunday night, may Hakadosh Boruch Hu grant me the ability to appreciate the words I have written and to always remember that the main component in the life of a Jew is Torah and immersing oneself in its ways. [Portions of Stam Torah on Parshas Terumah were adapted from a shmooze by Rabbi Chaim Z. Levitan shlita just prior to Shavuos 5761]