Chazal in Brochos 32 said: Four things require
reinforcement, and they are: Torah, good deeds, prayer and
derech eretz. How do we know this is true regarding
Torah and good deeds? Because it says, "Just be most
fortified and courageous to guard and to do the entire
Torah." Fortified -- in Torah, and courageous -- in good
deeds.
Rashi comments that they need reinforcement to the extent
that a person actually employ all of his resources towards
that end. This is baffling, for it was precisely of Yehoshua
that it was said, "A youth who did not budge from the tent."
Indeed, in the merit of that great perseverance he became one
of the great transmitters of Torah from the generation of
Moshe Rabbenu to the next generation. Why did Yehoshua need a
boost in the area of Torah?
To what can this be compared? To an outstanding masmid
who does not budge from the yeshiva but toils at his study by
day and by night. And along comes the mashgiach and
urges him to strengthen himself and apply himself in Torah
study!
We find in Ohr HaChaim a commentary on, "And they
traveled from Refidim and they came to the Sinai Desert,"
that the Torah is teaching us the primary prerequisites to
receiving the Torah. The first is to rally and fortify
oneself with effort in Torah study, for laxness is the very
antithesis of acquiring Torah. This we learn from the words
that tell us that they traveled from Refidim [refeih
yodayim -- slackness of hands] and then picked themselves
up to prepare themselves actively and energetically to assume
the yoke of Hashem's service. And thus did they arrive at the
Sinai desert.
We learn from here that Torah study requires constant
prodding, encouragement and a self-aggressive attitude.
Without cease, pause or distraction. One must courageously
surmount impediments and reinvigorate oneself with new
strength in studying Torah and keeping it.
It is written in Mesillas Yeshorim (Chapter 6) that
man's nature is heavy, ponderous and leans towards inertia.
He prefers inaction, and shuns exertion and toil. But one who
wishes to merit to serve his Creator must overcome this
nature and fight it through alacrity and action, for if he
allows himself to wallow in inaction, he can never hope to
attain what he desires.
Now we are better equipped to understand why Yehoshua
required chizuk in Torah, even though he never budged
from the beis medrash, neither by day nor by night, as
is testified, "For he [figuratively] killed himself from his
youth in the tents of wisdom and acquired a good name in the
world" (Rashi, Ovos). Nevertheless, even he needed
reinforcement and encouragement.
And we can only infer from this particular example that if
he, the most diligent of students, needed that boost, what
shall we say of ourselves? We need it many times over! We
must prod ourselves to toil diligently all the more, and
apply ourselves indefatigably to Torah. How then, does one go
about doing this?
The basis of this, according to the Vilna Gaon in
Mishlei 6:6) is to, "Go to the ant, you sluggard." Go
and learn from the ant's tirelessness. It gathers huge stores
of food, even though it only needs a little. The Midrash
tells us that all an ant consumes is a mere grain-and-a-
half of wheat in a year, and its whole life span is no longer
than twelve months! Nonetheless, three hundred kur
measures were once revealed in a single ant heap. Just by
studying the ant's actions, we cannot help but being
impressed and motivated to follow her example and be
energetic."
The words of the Gra are analyzed in depth. From the ant we
not only learn the trait of zerizus, but also the
insatiable acquisitiveness, the ravenous appetite to
accumulate more and more and never to be satisfied with what
one has.
Thus must it be with Torah study. One needs alacrity and an
acquisitive appetite to strive to increase our Torah study,
our toil and exertion, and never to sit back and be
satisfied.
Perhaps we can thus understand why in our days we are not
witness to the same measure of success in Torah study that
was enjoyed by previous generations, and how it can be that
people actually possess leisure time that is not utilized in
study. Take the bein hazmanim recess which is almost a
whole month, or during the zman itself when there are
Fridays, Shabbosim, motzei Shabbos which, to our
regret, are not properly utilized, and when those who
actually populate the botei midrash are rare and
few.
We have become so inured to this that even in the Yom Kippur
vidui we fail to be contrite for not having studied
during these intertimes. This is a terrible state of affairs!
It is a scandalous bitul Torah which similarly applies
to the long summer evenings. Why do people look for
distractions and entertainment instead of going to learn
during these times?
The answer is simple. We lack the aspiration, the driving
ambition to increase our Torah study, to learn more and more
and more. We suffice with a minimum and don't even feel we
are obligated to do more. It follows that during the days
that are stressful, we certainly don't feel the duty to
study. This is the reason why in yeshivos they begin a
masechta but don't always finish it. And if someone
does already complete it, he is considered unique and
outstanding.
I remember in my youth how in the yeshiva where I studied,
every one of us had the goal of completing all of
Shas, of knowing it thoroughly. We studied many, many
dapim and constantly reviewed them, for we had a
voracious appetite to learn. But today, due to our sins and
faults, even if one has already completed Shas, he is
not motivated to review it again and again.
We must be hungry for Torah and be possessed by a ravenous
appetite for it. As the Chovos Halevovos says in
Shaar Hakniya, Chapter 6: One should be of grasping
spirit and an aspiring, acquisitive soul with regard to the
World to Come and not say: `Enough, I will do whatever I can
[cavalierly, without overdue exertion].' On the contrary, he
should have an insatiable appetite, a burning drive and
consider that whatever he has accomplished is nothing
compared to what he could have achieved. He must set high
goals and constantly strive upward. Only thus can one achieve
greatness in Torah.
It is written in Kiddushin 30: A son and his father, a
master and his disciple, can be so totally immersed in their
study that they become enemies, but they do not budge from
their place of learning until they become reconciled and
loving, as is written, "Ess voheiv basufa" (Bamidbar
21:14). In the end, they become beloved to one another. How
do they become enemies in study unless they are so totally
engrossed, and each is so convinced that his way of study and
interpretation is the right one that he is willing to go to
battle, as it were, for his conviction. One must be totally
caught up, so wrapped up in the study as to forget who his
sparring partner is -- his master or his father.
It is known that the disciples of Maran HaGaon R' Yisroel
Salanter ztvk'l once made a resolution to study Torah
purely for its own sake. When R' Yisroel came in and saw each
one ensconced in his own corner studying quietly alone, he
said, "I can see the lishmoh, for the pure sake of
Torah, but I don't see the Torah . . . "
When the avid desire to increase Torah wisdom is deeply
imbedded in us, we will not find it difficult to rouse
ourselves energetically and be vigorous in our Torah study at
all times and hours, even during the days that are conducive
to laxness, like bein hazmanim etc. The strong impetus
should not give us any peace and we should forever strive to
apply ourselves and to strengthen ourselves in Torah and the
toil in Torah.
