04 Jun TORAH STUDY IS NOT LIKE CALCULUS

As we make final
preparations for Shavuos,
including a fervent
desire to come away
from the Yom Tov with a
renewed commitment to
the “learning” of Torah,
we need to understand
a unique aspect about
Torah study. In the sixth perek of Pirkei Avos
we are taught “HaTorah niknis b’mem ches
devorim – The Torah is acquired through 48
qualities.” The Rachmastrivka Rebbe asks
why the Mishna did not state more directily,
Konin haTorah b’mem ches devorim – One
should acquire the Torah with 48 tools. He
answers with a comparison to a Gemora in
Kedushin which says, Ha’isha niknas, a wife is
acquired. There also, the Gemora poses the
question why doesn’t it say, Konin es haisha,
one should acquire a woman, and the Gemora
answers that this language would imply that
she can be acquired even against her will. So
too, concludes the Rebbe, haTorah nikneis
conveys that the Torah can only be acquired if
It, the Torah itself, is agreeable to mesh with the
person who is studying it, and the conditions to
be compatible with the Torah are the 48 traits
mentioned in the Mishna.
This is an anomaly for when it comes to
acquiring Torah knowledge, one of the 48 traits
is a lev tov, a kind heart. Now, one doesn’t need
a kind heart to study calculus or learn a new

language. But, if one wants to truly absorb the
Torah, one needs to have a character makeup
that the Torah agrees to join with. This is
the meaning of the famous Talmudic adage,
Derech eretz kodma l’Torah, developing a
refined character has to precede a Torah career.
Or, as the Mishna puts it in the third perek of
Pirkei Avos, “Im ein derech eretz, ein Torah –
Without proper behavior there can be no Torah
success.” As the Rav explains on this Mishna,
if one’s dealings with their fellow man are not
pleasant, eventually they will forget their Torah
knowledge. This explains why sometimes the
very bright and promising boy in yeshiva, with
an acute mind for Talmudic didactics and who
asks the best questions in class, never amounts
to anything. This is because the boy in question
is not well behaved and the Torah shuns he who
does not practice the ways of mentchlichkeit.
In a telling posuk in Devorim, it says, Lo
meirubchem mikol ha’amim, I did not choose
you, because you were the largest of all the
nations – ki atem ha’m’at mikol ha’amim,
because, to the contrary, you were the smallest
of all the nations. The simple understanding
of this verse is that selections many times are
made based upon what most people do. The
most popular car is a Camry, so let me buy one.
That’s the restaurant that everyone goes to, so
let’s go there. Hashem says, That is not why I
chose you.
However, Rashi cites a different interpretation

from a Gemora in Chulin. There the Gemora
explains that I (Hashem) chose you because
you do not aggrandize yourselves. Rather, you
practice humility and minimalize yourselves.
Thus, we see that we were chosen by Hashem
because we have the noble character trait of
being humble. This is also a prerequisite for
successful Torah study for this is why, when
Hashem gave the Torah, He shunned the
majestic Mt. Carmel and the towering Mt.
Tavor and gave the Torah instead on the lowly
Mt. Sinai. So too, He gave the Torah through
the agency of Moshe Rabbeinu, about whom
the Torah testifies, “He was the most humble of
all men.” It is therefore imperative that when
we send our children for a Torah education,
we make sure that their yeshiva has a solid
curriculum of mussar study, that they will be
well grounded in mentchlich behavior, for it is
only then that they will have a hope of becoming
true talmidei chachomim. Likewise, it goes
without saying that if a husband is a brute at
home to his wife, no matter how smart he is, his
Torah ambitions are doomed to failure.
When we think this Shavuos about the
revelation at Sinai, let’s remember that the
Torah was given surprisingly in the midst of
billowing smoke and blackness. This is strange
since the Torah is the True Light of the world.
But, the Tosfos HaRosh says that since the
B’nei Yisroel would sin with the heinous crime
of the golden calf, they weren’t able to enjoy
the true radiance of the Torah. So, as we make

new commitments to Torah study this Shavuos,
let’s also make a renewed effort to refine our
behavior and in that merit may we be blessed
with great Torah success, good health, and
everything wonderful!