The Secret of Heart Transplants: The Power of Studying Shas to Build the Temple
Lesson No. 104 | Wednesday morning, Parashas Shoftim, 2nd day of Rosh Chodesh Elul 5757 Monday morning, Parashas Eikev, 18 Menachem Av 5757
Studying Shas (the Talmud) in depth is not merely a mitzvah, but the primary vessel for subduing the wisdom of nature and building the Divine image within a person. Through praying with intention and studying with a quick and sharp mind, we "transplant hearts" for those who err on their path, and thereby actively engage in building the Beis HaMikdash (the Holy Temple).
The month of Elul is beginning, and these are days of mercy and supplication. The custom of the Geonim, as cited by the Tur in the name of Rav Hai Gaon, is to rise in the early morning watches to recite Selichos (penitential prayers) and supplications from Rosh Chodesh Elul onward. Fortunate is the one who fulfills this and wakes up as early as three in the morning to recite Selichos with a minyan (prayer quorum).
From Rosh Chodesh, we also begin blowing the shofar during the Shacharis (morning) prayer, in order to sweeten the strict judgments. The word "shofar" (שופר) is composed of the letters Shin (ש), Vav (ו), and the word "par" (פר - bull). Our spiritual work is to transform the "par" of strict judgments into the letters Shin and Vav, which equal the numerical value (gematria) of "devash" (דבש - honey). In this way, we sweeten the judgments and turn them into honey, and this is the secret of the "barrel of honey" mentioned in Tractate Gittin.
The Divine Image is Acquired Through Studying Shas
The word "shani" (שני - scarlet, as in the scarlet thread) has the same gematria as "Shas" (ש"ס - 360). The meaning is that the entire year (shanah) must be dedicated to studying Shas. For someone who does not study Shas, it is a pity on his years and his days that pass in vain. If a person does not study Shas, he is lacking in his Divine image, because the essence of the human form is built through the study of Shas.
However, superficial study is not enough; one must study in depth. Rebbe Nachman teaches that only a person who studies in depth is called a human being. The study must activate the intellect, so that a person develops a quick and sharp mind. A person might think he can be a Breslov Chassid without studying Gemara—there is no such thing. The essence of a person's Torah is studying Shas in depth.
Through Torah study, all prayers and requests are accepted. When we do not increase in holiness and knowledge, the "forehead of the snake" (the source of impurity) draws sustenance from this. Every person is obligated to add an increment of holiness every single day (such as guarding one's eyes and maintaining personal purity) and an increment of knowledge.
When there is a lack in the study of Shas and the addition of knowledge, all the great heretics draw their sustenance from there, and the wisdom of nature grows stronger in the world. People begin to believe in nature and run to doctors, but the truth is that there is no nature at all—everything is Divine Providence and everything depends on prayer. If a person were to engage in Shas properly, he would not need any doctor in the world.
The Parable of the Donkey: Discovering the Lost Heart
The Torah commands us to sharpen our intellect, as it is stated, "Know what to answer a heretic." The intention is not to go and argue with heretics, but rather to reveal the Divine spark within them. Heretics are people who were born "without a heart."
To what can this be compared? To a donkey that refused to let a lion pass through customs. The lion struck the donkey and killed it, and asked the fox to dissect it and prepare a feast from it. The fox, wanting to save the lion from the prohibition of "do not muzzle an ox while it is threshing," ate the donkey's heart himself. When the lion looked for the heart, the fox answered him: "My lord the king, if the donkey had a heart, he would not have demanded customs duty from you!"
So too are the heretics—if they had a heart, they would not deny Hashem. They do not have the strength in their hearts to contain the immense intellect that descends to them.
An Institute for Heart Transplants
Instead of throwing stones at heretics and cracking their heads open, we must perform a "heart transplant" on them. How do we do this? Through praying with intention.
When a Jew prays with intention, letter by letter and word by word, from every letter he creates a new heart for a heretic. Prayer with emunah (faith) rectifies the hearts of the researchers and philosophers, and creates for them a heart capable of containing the Divine intellect. This is an institute for heart transplants—through the intention of the heart in prayer, we bring them back in teshuvah (repentance).
The True Faithful of the Temple Mount
The verse states:
"The foundation of Your dwelling place that You, Hashem, have made, the Sanctuary, my Lord, that Your hands have established" (Shemos 15:17).
Chazal (our Sages) expound that great is the Temple, which was placed between two Names of Hashem, and likewise, great is knowledge (da'as), which was placed between two Names ("For a God of knowledge is Hashem"). From here we learn that anyone who possesses knowledge, it is as if the Beis HaMikdash was built in his days.
In order to merit this Da'as (spiritual knowledge), a simple intellect is not enough. A person needs an intellect of Chochmah, Binah, and Da'as (Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge), and his mind must constantly sparkle with Chiddushei Torah (novel Torah insights). Whoever truly wants to be among the "Faithful of the Temple Mount" and work toward the building of the Beis HaMikdash (Holy Temple), must know that the strongest material for its construction is the letters of the Gemara and prayer.
When a person immerses himself into a page of Gemara, literally dipping into it, and acquires for himself a quick and sharp mind—he is actively engaged in building the Beis HaMikdash. This is the secret of "A man diligent in his work shall stand before kings" (Proverbs 22:29)—whoever is sharp in his mind and engages in the labor of Torah, nullifies all the decrees of kings and brings the Geulah (Redemption) closer.
Part 1 of 4 — Lesson No. 104