The Secret of Sweetening Judgments: The Immense Power of Learning Gemara

Lesson No. 31 | Part 1 - Thursday Morning, Parashas Matos, 22 Tammuz 5755, at the Yeshiva

In Order to Merit the Level of \
"I Have Set Hashem Before Me Always"

"One should strengthen himself like a lion to arise in the morning for the service of his Creator, so that he awakens the dawn... 'I have set Hashem before me always' is a great principle in the Torah and in the virtues of the tzaddikim who walk before God."

When a person sits in his home, he must feel that he is standing before a great King. If a person sees the King right before his eyes, he will not speak mundane words or open his mouth for no reason; rather, he will remain silent and elevate his thoughts upward. This is the spiritual level of the days of Bein HaMetzarim (the Three Weeks of mourning for the Temple), during which all sins are forgiven. Therefore, we begin the days of Bein HaMetzarim by reading Parashas Pinchas, which details all the festivals. Immediately after the breaking of the Tablets, all of Israel's sins were forgiven, and during the Three Weeks, the light of all three pilgrimage festivals, of Rosh Hashanah, and of Yom Kippur shines brightly. All of this is in order to reach the level of "I have set Hashem before me always."

The Path to the King Passes Through the Shas (Talmud)

However, the main problem is that a person struggles to constantly set the name of Hashem before him because he does not know the Shas (Talmud) and is not immersed in learning. It is told about Rav Chaim of Brisk zt"l that he merited righteous sons whose faces shone like the sun. Rav Chaim Ozer zt"l explained why Rav Chaim of Brisk merited this: during the pogroms and wars, Rav Chaim of Brisk never looked at the newspaper headlines to see what was happening; rather, he was completely immersed in Torah, and therefore he merited such sons.

They also told a story about Rav Chaim of Brisk, that when he was a boy of about seven, his father asked him to bring one stamp from the post office. On his way, he passed by a grocery store. The grocery store owners asked him in Yiddish, "Where are you going?" and he answered, "Father told me to bring a stamp from the post office." They told him, "You can buy stamps at the grocery store too!" But the boy refused: "Father said the post office. It is forbidden to deviate from Father's word, not a single utterance and not a single letter."

He took a Gemara with him, went to the post office, and there he had to stand in line for half an hour among the non-Jews. During this time, he placed the Gemara in front of his face and learned an entire tractate. At the grocery store, he could have bought the stamp in a single second, but since his father said "at the post office," he exhibited mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice) to fulfill his words with absolute precision.

Litvish Hearts

Our holy Rebbe, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, explicitly said (as brought in 'Siach Sarfei Kodesh'): "I wanted my matter to spread within the hearts of people who are diligent in their service like the Jews of Lithuania... I wanted you to first be Litvaks" ("Ikh hab gevolt mayn zakh zol zikh leybn oyf litvishe hertser" - I wanted my teachings to live in Litvish hearts).

It is impossible to be a Breslov Chassid without knowing the entire Shas. What is there to discuss with a person who does not know Shas? There is nothing to talk to him about at all. The Sage of Brisk said that before one learns the entire Shas a thousand times in bekius (broad, rapid study), there is no point in even beginning to learn in iyun (in-depth study). In the yeshiva, one must learn for long hours every day in iyun, and additional hours in bekius.

The Secret of "Tanu Rabanan" and the Sweetening of Judgments

The Admor of Komarno brings in Parashas Masei (in the name of the book 'Bris Olam') awesome secrets about the virtue of learning. When a person learns Gemara, he needs to know how to make yichudim (spiritual unifications). For example, when we say in the Gemara "Tanu Rabanan" (Our Rabbis taught) – the word "Tanu" (תנו) has a gematria (numerical value) of 456. This number corresponds to drawing down the souls of Yaakov, Rachel, and Leah (Yaakov = 182, Rachel = 238, Leah = 36. Together: 456). The entire Gemara and all the instances of 'Tanu Rabanan' are meant to draw down the souls of Yaakov, Rachel, and Leah.

If a person does not learn, how will he be attached to Hashem? From eating cake or drinking cola? From eating an omelet or just wandering around? The Komarno explains that in order to reach the illumination of "I have set Hashem before me always," the only way is through the 32 Paths of Wisdom, which is the study of Gemara. This study draws down wisdom from the World of Atzilus (Emanation). From there, the 32 instances of the name "Elokim" that appear in Parashas Bereishis are drawn down.

Through learning Gemara, one sweetens the name Elokim (which represents the attribute of strict judgment) and loving-kindness spreads all the way to the end of the World of Asiyah (Action). When a person learns Gemara, he sweetens all the judgments in the world.

The Komarno brings the words of the Zohar:

"The Holy One, Blessed be He, rejoices in pilpul (analytical Torah debate)."

When you engage in pilpul, when you reveal novel Torah insights and learn in-depth, you bring joy to Hashem. And if Hashem is joyful – all the judgments and harsh decrees in the world are sweetened. Therefore, for anyone who wants to sweeten judgments, the only way to do so is through learning Gemara, with the knowledge that every letter is a yichud (spiritual unification), every word in Rashi and Tosafos is composed of holy names, and through this, one merits to cleave to the Infinite Light (Ohr Ein Sof).

Part 1 of 2 — Lesson No. 31

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