I would like to present the school of thought maintained by
Maran, Rabbon shel Yisroel, R' Boruch Ber
ztvk'l regarding Torah study which, I believe, all
other approaches accept and acknowledge.
It is told of two gatherings that took place regarding
reinforcing the study of Torah, in which Maran participated.
At one of them, the speaker dwelled on two possible ways in
life: one the Torah way and the other, life without Torah. He
expanded at length on the happiness which the Torah way
provides in this world and the next, and the misery and
unhappiness of life sans Torah, both in this world and the
next.
Maran spoke after him and said that Chazal taught otherwise;
there are not two ways. The path without Torah leads to
certain downfall into the abyss, and to sure death. Can then,
this way be called a path in life? Rather, there is only one
way, no other — the one which leads to real life.
At a second meeting, one speaker compared Torah to the air we
breathe, oxygen for the soul. One cannot live without oxygen.
It seemed that this message should have found favor in
Maran's eyes, but not so. When it was his turn, he rose and
objected vehemently, saying that Torah was not oxygen, it was
not air which is necessary for life. Torah, he stated
emphatically, is life itself!
From HaRav Yeruchom Olshin — Beis Medrash Govoha of
Lakewood
I heard a marvelous story from HaRav Schneur Kotler,
zt'l. When the Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Aharon Kotler,
ztvk'l, was hospitalized for several days right before
his death and was extremely weak, he heard R' Schneur talking
to a specialist, explaining exactly what Yeshivas Lakewood
represented and trying to impress upon him what an eminent
person the patient was, so that he would provide him with the
best care possible.
From his sickbed, Maran heard him say that Lakewood was the
biggest yeshiva in the state and so on, and he interjected,
"Did you tell him about Torah lishmah — Torah
studied purely for Torah's sake?"
This one fact reigned supreme in R' Aharon's mind; above all
the facts pointing to the importance of the yeshiva, this was
its supreme feature, and the fact that it was not mentioned,
caused him pain and made him call out in protest. This, in
fact, was the prime reason for its establishment, the very
foundation of the yeshiva. So long as this principle was not
explained, not even mentioned, one could not understand the
significance and purpose of the Lakewood Yeshiva.
We, ourselves, must stop to think deeply and try to
understand the meaning of Torah lishmah and how this
is truly the basis and main purpose of the yeshiva.
From HaRav Ben Zion Borodiansky — Yeshivas Kol
Torah
Rosh Yeshivas Ponovezh, HaRav Shmuel Rozovsky zt'l,
told of the first period after he emigrated from Poland. He
was studying in Yeshivas Petach Tikva at the time of the
Holocaust shake-up in Poland and his thoughts kept reverting
to the devastating events. What will become of Torah? he
agonized in great fear. Who will transmit it onward if it is
laid waste there?
These very thoughts spurred them to study more intensely,
with greater fervor, in greater depth. This is the yoke of
Torah which a great leader feels rests upon his shoulders.
Few of his caliber, in his generation. were privileged to
later disseminate Torah so strongly and widely.
It is true that every Torah scholar who delves into a
difficult Tosefta and exerts himself to scholastically
dispute in the give-and-take of a relatively neglected corner
of Torah which most people do not encounter in their studies -
- is verily reviving and illuminating the Torah which might
have remained obscure and forgotten. This is cause for joy
and enthusiasm.
From HaRav Dov Yaffe — Yeshivas Knesses
Chizkiyah
HaRav Aharon Kotler ztvk'l commented on the gemora
(Sanhedrin 96a) that Hashem said of Avrohom, Yitzchok and
Yaakov that they ran before Him like horses amidst boggy
waters. He explained that the Ovos labored very hard
in their service of Hashem. He compared it to a diligent
Torah scholar who toils in study for fourteen hours a day.
The first thirteen-and-a-half hours flow smoothly, but the
last half hour is extremely difficult going.
The Ovos were truly great in their service of Hashem,
but even according to their stature, they worked very hard in
serving Him. This is the meaning of "running before Me like
horses."
From HaRav Uri Weisblum — Yeshivas Nachalas
Haleviim
HaRav Aharon Hakohen zt'l, one of the roshei yeshivas
of Chevron Yeshiva, once met with the Chazon Ish zt'l;
they discussed a person's obligation to work on perfecting
his character and on breaking his desire for worldly
pleasure. The Chazon Ish said that in his opinion, when one
cleaves to the pleasures offered by the Torah, the attraction
and desire for worldly pleasures wanes and they no longer
exert any pull on him.
"I don't believe that the author of Ketzos Hachoshen
derived any gastronomical pleasure from kugel, so
immersed was he in the spiritual pleasures of the Torah,"
said the Chazon Ish.
The Chazon Ish wrote many letters to young men, to encourage
them to immerse themselves in their study. One of the central
points that repeated itself was the geshmack, the
actual sweet pleasure, that lay in learning.
From HaRav Gavriel Yosef Levi — Yeshivas Be'er
HaTorah
In my youth, I heard HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach
ztvk'l say that the best way to review one's study was
to learn one daf very thoroughly, and then to review
it in an hour. At a later time, he should review it again,
but this time, half an hour would be sufficient. He should
reach the point where he can effectively review a page in ten
minutes. One should spend all of one's days in studying and
reviewing this way.
It is well known how phenomenal his memory was. But it is
also known how much time he spent in pure review. The same
can be said for all gedolei Yisroel — as great
as was their knowledge and their memory so, correspondingly,
did they devote time to reviewing all the time what they had
learned.
I remember that in his old age, HaRav Yechezkel Abramsky
ztvk'l once went to visit a prominent scholar, a
genius who was famous for his prodigious memory. He said to
him, "R' Chaim, you are always happy that you are so well-
versed, and that for every question brought before you, you
can quote proofs and support from a wide range of places."
He then turned to the people in the room and said, "But it is
important to know that someone with a good memory can
remember for a week, a month, and one with an excellent
memory can recall for a year, or even several years. Few are
those who can recall things for up to thirty years. Beyond
thirty years — no one can call up memories, unless he
reviews and reviews. A young man asked me to test him on
maseches Bechoros which he had learned. I asked him
how many times he had studied it and he said, `Four.' "
R' Yechezkel refused to test him until he had learned it at
least twenty-four times over.
Twenty-five years ago, a group of young men went to one of
the most eminent elder roshei yeshiva of the
generation and asked him how many times he reviewed what he
learned. "What difference does it make to you?" he asked.
They replied that they wanted to learn from his example.
After much pleading, he said that if they agreed to take upon
themselves to review at least a quarter amount of times what
he invested in review — he would tell them. He then
admitted to reviewing everything forty times.
I heard from Maran R' Shach ztvk'l who said of himself
that unless he learned the gemora eight times, he did
not feel that he understoods a thing. According to his level,
of course. I asked him if he meant the first time he learned
it in his youth, and he said, "No, no! I am talking about the
very masechta which we are studying in yeshiva."
This is, in fact, mind-boggling to anyone who knew the extent
of his knowledge. How important, then, is it for us to review
without cease, again and again!
Well known is what Maran HaGra said of HaRav Chaim of
Volozhin, that eighteen times review is necessary for one to
understand, but one must continue to review for the rest of
one's life, over and again.
HaRav Yitzchok Scheiner is the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas
Kamenetz in Yerushalayim.
