Learning Complete Torah


By Rabbi Berach Steinfeld

The posuk in this week’s Parsha teaches us in that one should teach the Torah to his children. An interesting question may be asked in connection to this. If someone finished Shas and learned all of Shulchan Aruch; he had the opportunity to learn other topics but did not, will he be punished?

Reb Yochanan says in the Midrash in Mishlei, Perek Yud, “Look and you will see how tough the day of judgment will be.” If a person will arrive to the Judgment Day and he will know all of Chumash, but will not know MishnaHashem will turn away from that person and the pain of Gehinom will grab that person etc. The scenario continues: If a person has only two or three sedarim of Mishna, Hashem will ask the person, “Why did you not learn Halacha?”  The Midrash gives many different examples of what a person may be missing in learning thereby causing him to be punished in the World to Come.

The Biur Halacha in Orach Chaim, siman kuf nun heh brings down the Midrash and summarizes this by saying that if a person is not “Kovea Ittim LaTorah” every single day, he will be left with no defense when it comes to the World to Come. The Biur Halacha finishes off with the words “HaChochom Einav Be’Rosho.”

The Midrash in Parshas Metzorah, Perek Yud Tes describes two different types of people. One who is a fool says, “Who could learn thirty perakim in Kailim and thirty perakim in Nezikin?” and he therefore just gives up hope. In contrast, a wise person says I will learn two halachos today and then two moretomorrow until he ends up learning Kol HaTorah Kula.

Reb Akiva Eiger explains the posuk in TehillimPerek Kuf Yud Tes, posuk kuf chof bais that says “sas anochi” (I was happy for your words) “Kemotzei Sholol” (like finding a lot of spoils of war.) He compares this posuk to someone who is on his way through a forest and finds a huge treasure but he does not have any receptacles to put the treasure in. He takes as much as he can manage to carry, but leaves behind two or three times the amount that he took. He is happy upon finding the treasure and excited to take it with him, but on the other hand he is sad that he needs to leave that much over. This is the comparison Dovid HaMelech uses to describe learning Torah. We are happy that we are able to learn; however we are sad that there is that much more, which we are not zocheh to learn.

In any case we see the great “chashivus” of learning Torah. We need to learn without interruption. Let us hope that by learning Torah we will merit to do so in the Bais Hamikdash. Amen.

Do you have a topic or discussion you want to read about? Please send comments or questions to hymanbsdhevens@gmail.com or Berachsteinfeldscorner@gmail.com


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