The following is an excerpt from a sefer called
Leket Reshimos Be'Inyonei Tefilloh (Notes About
Prayer)
Assistance Must Train to Self-Reliance
The Mashgiach frequently said that when parents teach a small
child to walk, they firmly hold his hand, escort him, and
place chairs around him so he can hold on to them and not
fall. All this is done so the child will later make his first
independent step. After that breakthrough, we let him walk
alone.
Any assistance that we provide him is for the ultimate goal
of his later being able to walk without anyone helping him.
It is worthless if his whole life he will need someone to
hold his hand and put chairs around him. He must become self-
reliant.
Being Self-Reliant
HaRav Nosson Meir Wachtfogel zt'l would underscore the
need for a person to realize that the above example applies
to matters of ruchniyus as well — to all sorts
of spiritual achievements.
When a boy studies in a yeshiva he finds himself in an
environment particularly conducive to his spiritual
advancement. He has top-grade friends who are excellent
models of how a ben Torah should look, and he is
surrounded by a whole circle of yeshiva students who study
diligently and deeply and daven with kavonoh
and seriousness. This most-fortunate boy is enveloped in an
atmosphere of striving for advancement in Torah and yiras
Shomayim. We should, however, keep in mind that this is
merely a preparatory stage and no more! Our aim is that he
become independent so that eventually he will not need such
extensive external reinforcement.
"Noach walked with Elokim" (Bereishis 6:9).
Rashi explains that Avrohom's madreigoh was basically
different from that of Noach. About Avrohom, the Torah
writes, "Hashem before whom I have walked" (Bereishis
24:40). Noach needed Hashem's support to be virtuous but
Avrohom Ovinu walked before Hashem, so-to-say. Our Patriarch
was self-reliant, and constantly advanced in tzidkus
through his own unrelenting efforts.
Man's Goal in Life
Man should aspire to be like Avrohom Ovinu in not needing to
be supported by others. He must constantly strive to be
independent and to make even an extreme effort to advance
himself in all spiritual areas.
A person needs to understand that he must study mussar
without being prodded to do so by a mashgiach; that he
must study Torah diligently without being urged to do so; and
that he must strictly follow the yeshiva's study schedule for
his own benefit. The yeshiva offers a talmid a
framework and ideal environment in which to shtieg
— a tangible golden opportunity — and lends a
helping hand to assist him to take his first crucial step.
If, Rachmono litzlan, that first step never takes
place, all of the yeshiva's investment of time, planning and
earnest attempts to improve its talmid, will
unfortunately have been wasted.
Aim of Creation
Who knows what Hashem did "behind the scenes" in order that
this boy will end up studying in a yeshiva and also continue
to study there? How much covert and even overt Hashgochoh
Protis was involved until this boy sat before an open
gemora? How few bnei Torah are there in the
whole world. Each yeshiva bochur is unique!
Nonetheless, the aim of all this is that in the long run he
will be able to choose of his own accord to follow the ways
of Hashem, and will aspire to elevate himself in pure
avodas Hashem.
The objective of the Creation is for a person to utilize his
power of free will properly. If a person cannot choose the
right way on his own, then all is, chas vesholom,
lost!
Many Are Lost
When he would tell us that many bnei Torah become lost
to Klal Yisroel we would feel his tangible pain. What
happened to these precious bnei Torah?
They left the yeshiva and entered a somewhat different life
situation, another environment, and they changed
dramatically. They feel they cannot daven properly and
they stop studying mussar. Even though they surely
remain Torah observant, studying Torah and performing
mitzvos, but they are lost. They are no longer true bnei
Torah! The reason for their downfall is that when they
were talmidim in the yeshiva they did not learn to be
independent, to walk on their own in the path of life.
Building Klal Yisroel
Once, in a shmuess, the Mashgiach told us that we all
know that Avrohom Ovinu was the one who built Klal
Yisroel. How was our illustrious people, Hashem's Chosen
Nation, founded? It was through Avrohom Ovinu's independent
tzidkus, as mentioned above, his personal aspirations
to achieve excellence in emunah.
Closing Gemora Only After Asking Rachamim from
Hashem
Parshas Vayeiro relates to us how Avrohom Ovinu was
engaged in hachnosas orchim. "My Lord, if I have found
favor in Your eyes, please do not pass away from your
servant" (Bereishis 18:3). The Targum Yonoson ben
Uziel explains that this was not only a request from
Avrohom to Hashem, it was an entire text of tefillah
emitting from the depths of his pure heart: "And he said, `I
ask for pity before Hashem. May I find favor before You.
Please do not remove the glory of Your Shechinah from
Your servant until after I take care of the guests.' " (This
commentary is similar to Rashi's second explanation that
Avrohom is addressing HaKodosh Boruch Hu and not the
most honored of the guests, and that he is requesting Him to
wait until he takes care of his guests. See Peirush
Yonoson, ibid.)
Avrohom Ovinu was talking with the Shechinah, but
hospitality to guests is more important than greeting the
Shechinah (Shabbos 127a) and therefore he must stop to
take care of his guests' needs. Nonetheless, when such a
situation arrives, one must offer a fervent prayer to
HaKodosh Boruch Hu that the Shechinah not
disengage Itself from him.
The guests arrive and Avrohom Ovinu must help them to the
best of his ability. But he asks for rachamim that the
Shechinah will not distance Itself from him—"If
I have found favor in Your eyes." Avrohom Ovinu is actually
saying to the Ruler of the World: "I am not going away; I am
not diverting my attention from Hashem; Temporarily I am
fulfilling the mitzvah of hachnosas orchim [and this
will occupy my attention], but I will immediately return, so
therefore, `Please do not pass away from Your servant.' "
Torah Study is Greeting the Shechinah
We must understand that the presence of the Shechinah,
being engaged in Torah study and the revelation of the
Shechinah is all one. The Bach writes as follows: "The
Torah was given to His nation Yisroel so that they will cling
to its kedushoh and to His blessed
Shechinah.
"This is the meaning of the brochoh before studying
Torah that reads: `Who chose us from all the peoples and gave
us His Torah.' Hashem chose us at Mount Sinai and gave us His
Holy Torah that He takes joy in daily, so that our
neshomos will cling to the essence of the Torah's
kedushoh and ruchniyus, and to make the
Shechinah descend to the earth and reside among us.
"If we engage in Torah study with such intents, the outcome
will be that we would be a vehicle (chariot) and temple for
His blessed Shechinah. The Shechinah would
actually be among us since we would be a temple for Hashem.
The Shechinah will dwell permanently among us and the
whole world will radiate from His honor. This would be a
sanctification of the Heavenly entourage with the entourage
of below, and `the Mishkan would be one.'
"However, since we do not act like this and we only engage in
Torah study for our material needs — for our own
pleasures, merely in order to be knowledgeable of the laws
concerning our business affairs, to pride ourselves in our
knowledge — and we do not intend to intensify our
connection to the holiness and spirituality of the Torah and
cling to it — to make an effort that the
Shechinah will descend to the earth so that our
neshomos will ascend to a higher level after their
demise — the result is that we have severed the
Shechinah from the Land and It has ascended to its
place Above . . . " (Bayis Chodosh, Orach Chaim,
Chapter 47).
Closing the Gemora
Accordingly, the Mashgiach argued that since studying Torah
is actually a dwelling of the Shechinah, how can we so
easily stop studying and, even for a limited time, disconnect
ourselves from the Shechinah? This does not refer to
foolishly discontinuing the study of Torah because of some
nonsense, but to someone who closes the gemora to
engage in a mitzvah. Even such a person must ask for abundant
rachamim from HaKodosh Boruch Hu that the
dwelling of the Shechinah caused by his Torah study
will not cease.
What are our thoughts when we must engage in a mitzvah,
something that necessitates that we stop studying Torah? What
is our outlook about doing such a thing? Do we know that we
must offer an entire tefillah to Hashem — "My
Lord, if I have found favor in Your eyes, please do not pass
away from your servant" (Bereishis 18:3) —
before closing our gemora? Even if doing so is
undoubtedly permitted and justified, even if we must
temporarily leave off from our Torah learning and absolutely
have no choice in the matter, our approach to such a
situation must be altogether different. We must realize that
such an interruption from our studies is a terrible
churban, and we must ask rachamim from
Hashem.
Merit of Studying in Yeshiva
When the Mashgiach would say the following he would burst out
crying: "Who knows how many zechuyos, how many
tefillos of our grandfathers and grandmothers,
tefillos said over the many generations, were needed
so that we merit to study in a yeshiva? How can one possibly
know how many untold and unrevealed miracles HaKodosh
Boruch Hu performed so that someone can sit next to a
gemora and study Torah?
How unfortunate it is that to take care of every small matter
a person stops studying Torah and shuts his gemora.
For performing mitzvos such as attending a wedding or doing a
vital chessed one surely must cease studying —
but where is our fervent tefillah of, "My Lord, if I
have found favor in Your eyes, please do not pass away from
your servant." Choliloh vecholiloh — we might
remain without a zchus and without any connection with
the Torah. A person correctly connected with the Holy
Shechinah cannot, chas vesholom, possibly want
to disengage himself from the Shechinah.
Dearth of New Gedolei Torah
Gedolei Torah are not developing today because of the
interruptions in our Torah study. We have the same capable
roshei yeshivos as we had in the past. We recite daily the
brochoh, "Who teaches Torah to His people Yisroel,"
and through our current roshei yeshivos, that brochoh
has certainly materialized. Our lack of developing new Torah
giants is because the talmidim interrupt their
studies.
Undeniably, one must rest well so he will have enough
strength to study properly and that is not considered an
interruption because it is a necessary preparation for future
study. We must strive to be considered one who "is
zocheh [and] it becomes a potion of life for him"
(Yoma 72b). For this reason, one must be fearful of
interruptions in our Torah study and must ask for abundant
rachamim before such inevitable interruptions, "Please
do not pass away from Your servant."
HaRav Nosson Meir Wachtfogel, zt'l, was the
mashgiach of Beis Medrash Govoha of Lakewood.
