As the Chag of Matan Torah, Shavuos, rapidly approaches, every year we all have the same thought, which is, “What can I do differently this year to actually acquire the Torah I learn and really feel that I am Mekabel the Torah, even as I am busy at work and well past my Yeshiva days?”
The Tosher Rebbe ZT”L in his holy sefer, Avodas Avodah, offers beautiful and practical insight relevant to every Jew, especially during these days. It says in Pirkei Avos, 6:4 (ו:ד)
כַּךְ הִיא דַּרְכָּהּ שֶׁל תּוֹרָה: פַּת בְּמֶֽלַח תֹּאכֵל, וּמַֽיִם בִּמְשׂוּרָה תִּשְׁתֶּה, וְעַל הָאָֽרֶץ תִּישָׁן, וְחַיֵּי צַֽעַר תִּחְיֶה, וּבַתּוֹרָה אַתּ
עָמֵל, אִם אַתָּה עֽוֹשֶׂה כֵּן, אַשְׁרֶֽיךָ וְטוֹב לָךְ, אַשְׁרֶֽיךָ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, וְטוֹב לָךְ לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא.\
Such is the way of Torah: Bread with salt you shall eat, water in small measure you shall drink, and upon the ground you shall sleep; live a life of deprivation and toil in Torah. If so you do, "fortunate are you, and good is to you" (Psalms 128:2): fortunate are you in this world, and it is good to you in the World To Come.
There is an obvious repetition in the Mishna. First it says “אַשְׁרֶֽיךָ וְטוֹב לָךְ” which seems to be all encompassing that if you live this life described in the Mishna of no Gashmiyus and only pure Kedusha, then good is to you. So why does the Mishna now specify immediately afterwards that you will be “blessed in this world and the next world?” If the second and third clause refer to bracha in both worlds, in what world does the bracha in the first clause come into effect?
The Rebbe answers with a beautiful insight that is relevant to all of our lives. He doesn’t read that first clause of אַשְׁרֶֽיךָ וְטוֹב לָךְ as a bracha, but rather as a condition to receive the blessing in both this world and the next as mentioned right after.
In our generation, we are beyond pampered in comparison to every other generation since the beginning of the Jewish people. The 21st century brings us blessing unimaginable to even Jews 70 years ago. Air conditioning in a beis Midrash in the middle of July? I can imagine a bochur from 70 years ago asking me, “You mean you don’t sweat pools of water on your gemara while trying to get through a tough sugya in the middle of the Eretz Yisroel heat in the middle of summer?”
As the Mishna describes, the way to acquire Torah is to: “Bread with salt you shall eat, water in small measure you shall drink, and upon the ground you shall sleep” But what is the chiddush here? For thousands of years, our people toiled in Torah while sleeping on the floor and eating bread in scarcity because that’s what a regular life in the villages was! It wasn’t a righteous choice to eat scarcely, but rather the only option! So who is the Mishna talking to?
The Tosher rebbe unbelievably explains that The Mishna is talking specifically to our pampered generation. When it says אַשְׁרֶֽיךָ וְטוֹב לָךְ, or good is to you, it means to read as follows: “Such is the way of Torah: Bread with salt you shall eat, water in small measure you shall drink, and upon the ground you shall sleep; live a life of deprivation and toil in Torah. If so you Live your life like this, when EVEN good is to you (Psalms 128:2): fortunate are you in this world, and it is good to you in the World To Come.
He teaches that the Mishna is explaining that the real test of Torah is actually stronger against a generation who has so much goodness in life, and a million reasons not to learn. Back in the day, there was not much else to do other than learn Torah. In our generation when we feel like we have so many things to do and focus on other than Torah, the Yetzer Hara attacks us x10000 to keep us involved in every possible distraction outside of Limud Hatorah.
In order for us to acquire Torah this year at Matan Torah, when we all take a break from our computers and jobs to just learn, we have to take a deep breath and internalize the message of the Tannaim to our generation, that the reason it is so hard for us is because of what we have, not what we lack, as opposed to the other generations, and this challenge is even harder to overcome. So while the Mishna doesn’t literally mean for us to start “Sleeping on the floor” in our generation, the way to attack the Yetzer Hara and attach ourselves to Torah is to find times to disconnect for even a few minutes during our day from our luxurious jobs and endless food to eat from the true source of all life: The Torah Hakedosha.
Chag Sameach
Rav Ari Solomon
Comments