Part I
Torah study serves as an antidote to the yetzer hora.
The yetzer hora is always active and does not cease
his work, even for a moment. It has to be countered with a
constant opposing force, and that is by occupying oneself
with Torah. However, the Torah is an antidote to the
yetzer hora but it is only effective when one's Torah
is up to the required level, including being without
interruptions. If there are periods of bittul Torah
then, "if you abandon Me for a day, I will abandon you for
two days", and if for two days, then [I will abandon you for]
four days, and if for several weeks or more, the estrangement
from Torah gives a lot of power to the yetzer hora,
and much more Torah is required to return to one's original
state.
There are interruptions, which are not bittul Torah
but for the sake of Torah, because there are essential
things, which, when they are taken care of, come within the
category of bittulo zehu kiyumo, and that is also part
of occupying oneself with Torah. But if the interruptions are
due to idle matters, to matters constituting bittul
Torah, then the Torah does not act as an antidote and the
yetzer hora becomes reinforced.
This is the reason why, even though many people want to
improve themselves, but since they have periods of bittul
Torah, the whole benefit of kedushas haTorah
becomes nullified and it ceases to act as an antidote to the
yetzer hora.
There is a Mishna in Pirkei Ovos, which says the
following: "He whose deeds exceed his wisdom, his wisdom
shall endure. But he whose wisdom exceeds his deeds, his
wisdom will not endure." It is implied here that if a
person's wisdom exceeds his deeds all of his wisdom will not
endure — even the wisdom which has deeds corresponding
to it — because his wisdom [as a whole] exceeds his
deeds.
The explanation for this is simple: "wisdom" refers to Torah,
and "deeds" are the actions commanded by the Torah. If a
person's deeds are not compatible with his Torah, meaning
that his wisdom (Torah) does not entail action, then the
Torah will not be fulfilled in him at all. He will have no
success in Torah because his deeds will not correspond to his
level in Torah.
That is why we sometimes encounter the phenomenon whereby
bnei Torah with lesser abilities succeed more than
those with greater abilities. They acquire more knowledge of
Torah, they create more chidushei Torah, and their
[all- round] level of Torah is greater. The reason for this
is that in the case of very talented people it is easier for
their wisdom to exceed their works, because the more talented
a person is, the greater are his obligations, everything
being based on the extent of a person's talents and wisdom.
And if one's wisdom exceeds his deeds — each person
according to his level — his wisdom will not endure and
he will have no success.
"Deeds" include actions connected to the Torah itself, to the
eisek haTorah. If there is bittul Torah his
wisdom exceeds his deeds, and his Torah will not endure.
There are also other deeds. The main category of deeds relate
to the duties of the heart, there are many mitzvos relating
to these duties, including permanent mitzvos which are
mide'Oraiso which must be observed, and if they are
not, one is lacking in deeds.
Rav Chaim once said about the duties of the heart that they
indicate to a person what his heart should look like, what
his aspirations and thoughts should consist of. They are a
Shulchan Oruch of Yiddishkeit, and anyone
failing to observe them infringes the halocho.
These too are [part and parcel of] a person's deeds, and if
one's deeds are lacking chas vesholom then that
person's wisdom will not endure.
Good character traits in our interpersonal relationships are
also of paramount importance, and are amongst the 48
prerequisites for acquiring Torah. Without them Torah is
lacking and cannot be acquired. It says in Rav Chaim Vital's
Shaarei Kedushoh that although the Torah writes only
very briefly about good and bad character traits, that is
only because they precede the Torah. Anyone who has not
perfected middos tovos has not perfected all his
Taryag mitzvos, and it is well known that a person is
not aware of his faults, but only his good traits.
Rabbeinu Yonah writes about middos: these are amongst
the most severe [mitzvos] about which it says, "What does
Hashem require of you?" They are a requirement and an
obligation. Elsewhere he says about the mitzvah of
tzedoko, that it is written, "your heart shall not be
grieved," we are required to have a good heart, to implant
within ourselves the desire to give, to develop a heart that
aspires and loves to do chesed. Hashem asks us to do
mishpot but to love chesed, because it is the
natural state of the heart to love chesed.
Another area requiring improvement is the study of
mussar. In yeshivas a fixed seder is reserved
for such study, but everybody is obligated to set aside a
fixed time to learn mussar, as it says in the
poskim. The Mishna Berurah states in siman 1
that there is a duty to study mussar every day, and to
deal in mussar matters and to improve one's
deficiencies every day, because nobody knows what they are
lacking and so we must study mussar books. This goes
against a person's nature and behavior patterns, because he
possesses a trait of hating rebuke and he thinks that it will
not help in any case and so he goes into despair. But it is a
proven and experienced fact that anyone who studies mussar
seforim, for however long but regularly, improves in the
course of time, as HaRav Shach ztvk"l wrote in his
will "one thought of mussar," because even one genuine
thought adds a lot.
Studying mussar teaches us to distinguish between
truth and falsehood, because a person, being prejudiced, does
not perceive the truth. Bribery blinds the eyes of the wise,
and a person does not see his own drawbacks, thinking that he
is not lacking perfection — this is a very great
shortcoming. The Semag (siman 9, parshas Eikev)
lists a positive commandment: umaltem es orlas
levavchem — to love rebuke and the reprover. Also
in the gemora, "Which is the path a person should
take? To love rebuke," because if a person loves rebuke that
is a means for improving himself all the time, each person
according to his abilities.
There is also a negative commandment — "be no more
stiff- necked" — which applies to someone who does not
listen to rebuke. This is the obligation of learning
mussar, an obligation which reaps great benefits,
since everyone who learns mussar over the course of
time feels happy and satisfied that he is excelling and
improving himself.
It is a proven fact: anyone who learns Chofetz Chaim
and Shemiras Haloshon improves himself by learning the
words of chizuk and mussar in these books,
which have a great effect on a person, and whoever does this
will be successful.
End of Part I
Next part: Derech Halimud.
