The mitzvah of Torah study is equal to all the other mitzvot * The reward for the mitzvah of Torah study is equal to the reward of all the mitzvot * Every person of Israel who engages in Torah sustains the world * Even dissenting opinions that were not established as halakha express a true aspect of the Torah * The multiplicity of opinions brings peace, for there are various facets in the Torah and in the world, and consequently various opinions * Torah innovations, which are born out of deep immersion in the Torah or from questions that arise from life in the land, develop and advance the world
Our Sages said: “Sabbaths and festivals were given only for engaging in words of Torah” (Jerusalem Talmud, Shabbat 15:3). Included in festivals is also Chol HaMoed. And on Shemini Atzeret, we even celebrate the completion of the Torah, therefore we will dedicate the column this time to the great value of the mitzvah of Torah study.
The Value of the Torah
Our Sages said that the mitzvah of Torah study is equal to all other mitzvot, and the reward for the mitzvah of Torah study is equal to the reward of all the mitzvot (Peah 1:1, and in the Jerusalem Talmud there, and Babylonian Talmud Moed Katan 9b). There are two reasons for this.
First, without Torah study, it is impossible to know how to fulfill the mitzvot of the Torah and live according to its values. Therefore, the most basic mitzvah is Torah study (Maimonides in his commentary on the Mishnah Peah, 1:1). This is what our Sages said: “Study is greater, for study leads to action” (Kiddushin 40b).
Second, the mitzvah of Torah study is the most exalted mitzvah, as it is fulfilled with the highest part of man – the intellect. For all practical mitzvot are fulfilled by the body, and all mitzvot fulfilled with emotion are fulfilled by the heart, and the body and heart are limited within the frameworks of this world. Whereas the mitzvah of Torah study is performed by thought, which is connected to the eternal spiritual world beyond the limits of this world (Maharal, Netiv HaTorah 1). Furthermore, since the mitzvah of Torah study is fulfilled in the highest part of man, through it, a person merits to rectify their soul, thought, and ideas, which in turn influence all their emotions and actions.
The Blueprint According to Which the World Was Created
Our Sages said that in the order of creation – the Torah preceded the world, and after the Holy One, Blessed be He, created the Torah, which includes within it all the ideals and values in the world, “the Holy One, Blessed be He, looked into the Torah and created the world” (Genesis Rabbah 1:1). Like the way of a king who wants to build a palace, who first prepares a plan for building the palace, so God first created the Torah, and according to it, created the world.
As our Sages said: “Happy are those who endeavor to engage in the Torah, because when the Holy One, Blessed be He, created the world, He looked into the Torah and created the world… because all the matters and actions of all the worlds are in the Torah… as it is written in the Torah ‘In the beginning, God created the heavens’, He looked at this word, and created the heavens. In the Torah it is written ‘And God said, let there be light’, He looked at this word and created the light, and similarly with every single word written in the Torah, the Holy One, Blessed be He, looked and made that thing…” (Zohar, Terumah 161a, in translation).
Israel, the Torah, and the Sustenance of the World
Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin explained in ‘Nefesh HaChaim’ (4:11), that the Divine revelation (the Holy One, Blessed be He), the Torah, and Israel are one matter, “that everyone of Israel, the root of his supernal soul is attached and grasped to one letter of the Torah, and they became literally one” (see Genesis Rabbah 1:4; Rashi on Genesis 1:1). That is, Israel expresses the supreme will of the Creator to create a world and bestow goodness and blessing upon it, for the entire desire of the Assembly of Israel is to bestow good upon the world (Orot Yisrael 1:4). Following this, God created the Torah, which is the blueprint of the creation of the world, and in it is explained the path by which Israel will rectify the world.
Our Sages said that every Jewish person who engages in Torah sustains the world: “Once the world was created, nothing was sustained until it arose in His will to create man who would engage in Torah, and for his sake the world would be sustained. And now, anyone who looks into the Torah and endeavors to engage in it, as it were, sustains the whole world. For just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, looked into the Torah and created the world, so a person who looks into the Torah sustains the world. It turns out that the act of creating the world and the sustenance of the world is the Torah, through which the abundance is drawn for the sustenance of the world. Therefore, happy is the person who engages in Torah because he sustains the world” (Zohar, Terumah 161a. And also in Zohar, Genesis 47a; Leviticus 11b).
He added according to this in ‘Nefesh HaChaim’: “And the truth, without any doubt whatsoever, is that if the entire world, from one end to the other, were empty, Heaven forbid, for even one literal moment of our engagement and contemplation in the Torah, immediately all the worlds, upper and lower, would be destroyed and turn to nothingness and void, Heaven forbid. And likewise, the abundance of the world or its diminishment, Heaven forbid, is all only according to the matter and extent of our engagement in it” (Nefesh HaChaim 4:11).
The Manifestations of the Torah and the Differing Opinions
Since the Torah expresses the supreme Divine plan, it is impossible for it to be fully expressed in one type of study. Therefore, its initial appearance is in two forms: the Written Torah, and the Oral Torah. The Written Torah expresses the heavenly Divine illumination that is above man, and the Oral Torah expresses the Divine illumination that is revealed by the Sages of Israel, who are required to interpret the Written Torah while providing answers to questions that arise from life on earth. The beginning of the Oral Torah is in the tradition of interpretation that Moses received from Sinai, and its continuation is in the interpretation by the Sages of Israel of the Written Torah and the tradition of the Oral Torah, with all the implications resulting from that. And thus, it is said: “One thing God has spoken; two things have I heard” (Psalms 62:12). And thus, it is said: “Is not My word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29). Our Sages expounded: “Just as this hammer splits into many sparks – so too every single utterance that emerged from the mouth of the Holy One, Blessed be He, split into seventy languages” (Shabbat 88b). “Just as this hammer splits into many sparks – so too, a single verse yields many meanings” (Sanhedrin 34a).
Opinions That Were Not Established as Halakha
Even dissenting opinions that were not established as halakha express a true aspect of the Torah, since every opinion is based on the Torah itself. As our Sages said regarding the dispute between the House of Shammai and the House of Hillel: “These and those are the words of the living God, and the halakha is according to the House of Hillel” (Eruvin 13b). And thus, our Sages expounded on the verse “The words of the wise are like goads, and like well-fastened nails are the masters of assemblies, given from one Shepherd” (Ecclesiastes 12:11): “Masters of assemblies – these are Torah scholars who sit in assemblies and engage in Torah, these declare impure and these declare pure, these prohibit, and these permit, these disqualify, and these render fit. Perhaps a person will say: How can I learn Torah from now on (since I do not know who represents the Torah)? The verse states: They were all given from one Shepherd – one God gave them, one Provider said them, from the mouth of the Master of all deeds, blessed be He… You too, make your ears like a funnel, and acquire for yourself an understanding heart to hear the words of those who declare impure and the words of those who declare pure, the words of those who prohibit and the words of those who permit, the words of those who disqualify and the words of those who render fit” (Chagigah 3b).
The Multiplicity of Opinions Brings Peace
Seemingly, the multiplicity of opinions in the Torah causes division, but in truth, the multiplicity of opinions brings peace, for there are various facets in the Torah and in the world, and consequently various opinions, and when one opinion is not given room, a dispute develops from it. However, when within the framework of Torah study the truth in every opinion is clarified, and the learner sees how the different opinions clarify and enrich one another, true peace is made in the world. And as the words of our Sages: “Torah scholars increase peace in the world, as it is stated: ‘And all your children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children’ (Isaiah 54:13), do not read ‘your children’ (banayikh) but ‘your builders’ (bonayikh)” (Berakhot 64a). These are the Torah scholars who build Israel, and the world. And this is what is stated: “Great peace have they who love Your Torah, and there is no stumbling block for them” (Psalms 119:165) (Ein Ayah, Berakhot 9:361).
Torah Innovations
Our Sages said: “Even that which a veteran student is destined to teach before his master was already said to Moses at Sinai” (Jerusalem Talmud, Peah 2:4). That is, all true Torah innovations are a direct continuation of the Divine revelation at Sinai. And this is what is stated: “Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new’?”, his friend answers him and says to him: “It has already been for ages which were before us” (Ecclesiastes 1:10). And so it must be, because since the source of the Torah’s illumination is in the infinite light, there is no limit to the innovations that emerge from it, and as the words of our Sages: “It is impossible for the study hall to be without innovation” (Chagigah 3a).
The Sustenance and Advancement of the World
It turns out, then, that Torah study with correct understanding for the sake of Heaven sustains the world, and Torah innovations, which are born out of deep immersion in the Torah or from questions that arise from life in the land, develop and advance the world (Nefesh HaChaim 4:12; Yesod VeShoresh HaAvodah 6:6). And as our Sages said: “How much must a person toil in the Torah day and night, because the Holy One, Blessed be He, listens to the voice of those who engage in Torah, and with every word that is renewed in the Torah by that person engaging in Torah, He makes one firmament… and He calls them the new heavens… and all other words of Torah that are renewed stand before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and ascend and become the lands of the living… and everything becomes a new land… And regarding this it is written: ‘For as the new heavens and the new earth which I make stand before Me, says the Lord’ (Isaiah 66:22), ‘I made’ is not stated but ‘I make’, that He makes continuously, these are the innovations and secrets of the Torah. And regarding this it is written: ‘And I have put My words in your mouth, and have covered you in the shadow of My hand, to plant the heavens, and to lay the foundations of the earth, and to say to Zion, you are My people’… (Isaiah 51:16) Do not read ‘My people’ (ami) but ‘with Me’ (imi), to be a partner with Me, just as I made the heavens and the earth with My words… so you too” (Introduction to the Zohar 4b. And also, in Zohar Vayechi 243a; Shelach 173a).
This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper and was translated from Hebrew.
