וַיִּגַּשׁ אֵלָיו יְהוּדָה וַיֹּאמֶר בִּי אֲדֹנִי
יְדַבֶּר נָא עַבְדְּךָ דָבָר בְּאָזְנֵי אֲדֹנִי וְאַל יִחַר אַפְּךָ בְּעַבְדֶּךָ כִּי כָמוֹךָ כְּפַרְעֹה.
“Yehuda approached him
and said, ‘Please, my lord. Let your servant speak some words in the ears of my
master, and do not be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh.’”
The simple explanation of “Bi adoni” is an address to
Yosef, meaning, “Please, my lord.” However, some interpret it on another level
as a statement, “Bi Adoni,” meaning, “Hashem is within me.” Since the
Divine Presence was within him, Yehuda had nothing to fear from Pharaoh or from
his viceroy, Yosef.
The truth is that every Jew has the potential of carrying the
Divine Presence with him wherever he goes, but how do we reach this level?
The Midrash comments on the verse, וְיִקְחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה “Take for me” (which was stated in
regard to the donations offered for the construction of the Mishkan), that when a person takes the Torah, he “takes”
Hashem together with it. Thus וְיִקְחוּ לִי is interpreted to mean, “Take Me,” - take
Hashem Himself, since the Torah and Hashem are one.
The Midrash explains with a parable to a king whose only
daughter got engaged. The king told his
daughter’s groom, “I cannot withhold my daughter from you, since she is your
wife. Nor can I bear to be separated from her.
Therefore, make a place for me in your home, so I can come and visit
you.”
Hashem gave the Torah to Bnei Yisrael. He cannot bear to separate Himself from it.
Nor can He deny the Torah to Klal Yisrael. Instead He asks us to make for Him a
place wherever we go, so that He can be together with us and the Torah, as is
written “Make a Mikdash for Me.”[1]
The Toldos Adam explains that the Beis HaMikdash is not just
a physical structure. Even after the
physical Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, there remained a Beis HaMikdash inside
every Jew, that travels with us throughout the Golus. “Make for Me a Mikdash to stay in every
Jewish soul, so that I can be with you and the Torah.” This is the “Bi Adoni”
of which Yehuda spoke, the Divine Presence within every Jew.
But how to we make this place inside of us that Hashem asks
of us, so that He can dwell with us?
Tavlin for the Yetzer Hara
The Gemara tells us that Hashem created the yetzer hara, and
He created the Torah as its “tavlin.”[2]
In context, the word “tavlin” is used to mean a cure. Since Hashem Himself created the yetzer hara,
He best understands how to treat it. The only cure for the yetzer hara is
Torah.
However, the word “tavlin” literally means a spice
that gives good taste to food. Not only can Torah be used to combat and defeat
the yetzer hara, it can also be used to give the yetzer hara a good taste, so
to speak.
Everything in creation can be used towards good purpose,
even the yetzer hara. The Tanya and Toldos Adam distinguish between one who
defeats the yetzer hara, and one who subdues it to use it for good. Using the
yetzer hara for good is an even greater achievement than just defeating it.
For example, conceit is a bad thing, but a person must have a
sense of pride and self-respect. He must believe in himself, in order to overcome
the challenges he will face in his religious observance. Through Torah, even the negative aspects of a
person’s being are turned to good. Every aspect of his being becomes good, and
he becomes a fitting dwelling for the Divine Presence.
Laboring in Torah Study
The Gemara states as follows:
אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי: המהלך בדרך ואין עמו לוייה
- יעסוק בתורה, שנאמר כי וכו'. חש בראשו - יעסוק בתורה, שנאמר וכו' . חש בגרונו - יעסוק
בתורה, שנאמר וכו'. חש במעיו - יעסוק בתורה, שנאמר וכו'. חש בעצמותיו - יעסוק בתורה,
שנאמר וכו'. חש בכל גופו - יעסוק בתורה, שנאמר ולכל בשרו מרפא.
R’ Yehoshua ben Levi taught: If a person walks
alone and has no one to accompany him, he should study Torah as he goes. If his head aches, he should study Torah. If
his throat aches, he should study Torah. If his stomach aches, he should study
Torah. If his bones ache, he should study Torah. If his whole body aches, he
should study Torah, as is written, “It cures all his flesh.”[3]
As we walk through the hardships of this world, and have no
one to accompany us and give us encouragement, we should study Torah. The Torah
will give us strength. If a person has a
headache in a physical sense, or in a spiritual sense - if bad thoughts keep
entering his mind - he should study Torah. Torah is the cure for all life’s physical,
emotional and spiritual ailments.
The above Gemara implies that in addition to the general
cure of Torah study for all life’s ailments, there are aspects of Torah that
are specifically suited to curing individual issues. Each Masechta of the Gemara has its own
special segulah. When people would come to Rav Shmuel Saks, the rav of
the city of Biala, for a beracha, he would instruct them to learn a certain Masechta,
as appropriate to their needs.
The Torah is indeed a great segulah for all forms of
blessing, but there are conditions for this segulah to wok. Sometimes we
find people who learn Torah, but it does not resolve for them these issues.
The best medicine won’t help if the patient doesn’t swallow
it. The body needs to absorb the medicine for it to work. So too, to the extent
that a person absorbs the Torah, making it one with himself, it is able to help
him.
Conditions for Absorbing the
Torah
The verse from Shema that commands us to study Torah uses
the word, “shinantam,” which in context means study, but it also means
“sharpen.” Our Sages learn from here
that we must achieve such understanding and memory of our Torah studies that it
becomes “sharp upon our tongues.” When asked a question about our studies, we
should be able to answer quickly and articulately, without having to stutter or
fumble about for an answer. The Torah we learn must be clear in our minds, and
quick on our tongues.
There is Written Torah - the written Tanach, and also a Torah
She’baal Peh - the Torah we are meant to memorize. Although permission was granted
to write Torah She’baal Peh in the form of the Mishna and Gemara, the essential
Torah She’baal Peh still remains that which we have absorbed inside of us, not
that which is written.
When we have a clear, articulate and well organized
knowledge of the Torah we have studied, it becomes a part of us, absorbed deep
within us. This is a product of laboring
to understand it, and reviewing it again and again until it becomes an
inseparable part of us. This is a condition for receiving the healing segulos
of the Torah.
Two more conditions can be found in the Gemara, which
compares Torah to a kind of necklace that was worn loosely around the neck, and
often beneath one’s beard. Rashi explains two aspects of this metaphor. First, the necklace is loose. It does not choke the wearer. So too, a Torah scholar must be pleasant and
friendly to those around him, and not “choke them”, so to speak, with an overbearing
or belligerent nature. Secondly, Rashi explains, it is worn under the beard and
rarely seen, unless the wearer chooses to lift his chin. So too, the Torah scholar spends most of his
time in the yeshiva, and is rarely seen outside in the market. The Gemara
concludes that if a person fulfills these conditions, he will be successful in
his Torah study.[4]
Derech eretz precedes Torah. In order to absorb the
Torah, and let it become a tavlin and a cure for the yetzer hara, a
person must have the middos tovos, bein adam l’chaveiro, and pleasant
behavior that are prerequisites for Torah. He will be able to review the Torah
again and again, until he knows by heart hundreds or even thousands of pages of
Gemara. Then the Torah can become a part of him, and a cure that spreads throughout
his body.
This is what Hashem said, “Make for Me a place to dwell
within you.” Hashem wants to be with us and with the Torah that we learn, but
we have to prepare for Him an appropriate dwelling, through good middos,
bein adam l’makom and bein adam l’chaveiro, and by toiling in
Torah study. But if a person learns superficially, does not really labor to
understand what he learned, and does not review it until he remembers it, then
the Torah cannot be a tavlin for his yetzer hara.
The Belzer Rav zt”l once told me in the name of his
grandfather, Rebbe Yehoshua of Belz zt”l, who said in the name of Chozeh
of Lublin, that review (“chazarah”) is not just a means to remember. It
is also a segulah for remembering.
The essence of Torah is to know it well, by working hard on
it, and by preparing ourselves with the middos and derech eretz
that allow the Torah to become a part of us.
Joy of Torah
The Gemara tells us that a person who rejoices with a
chassan and kallah at their wedding merits to receive the Torah. The commentaries
explain that the joy of Torah is a fitting reward for those who help others
rejoice.
Joyous occasions need to be shared. In hard times, G‑d forbid, a person can cry
alone, but a person can never dance alone. He needs others to share his joy.
May we merit to achieve clarity and joy in our Torah study. May there be many joyous occasions in Klal
Yisrael. And may we merit the greatest
joy, with the coming of Moshiach soon and in our days.
