Page 25 - HaMizrachi Yom Yerushalayim - Shavuot 5782 USA

If You Learned

Only for Yourself…

(PHOTO: BAMAHANE MAGAZINE/DEFENSE MINISTRY’S IDF ARCHIVE)

stood at a distance” (Shemot 20:14). That is to say: when
all seven firmaments were opened on that exalted There is a Torah that I think about a lot before I begin
occasion and they saw that there was none but Him
and heard the voice of Hashem speaking from within to learn, to attach myself to Klal Yisrael.
the fire, the simple folk – “all the nation” – did not A Chassid once strolled into the beit midrash at nine
contemplate the essence, but noted only the thunder, or ten in the morning, relaxed, with a towel around
the flames, and so on. Thus the nation moved away
and afterward was left again standing “at a distance”. his neck after having gone to the mikvah. A Jew who
Therefore, this is the crux of our duty in these days: was sitting there in the beit midrash said to him: “Now
to feel the essence and to contemplate what Hashem, you’re coming? I’ve been here learning since before
our G-d, demands of you in this great hour, to arise sunrise! Do you know how many dapim (pages) of
and ascend in His Torah and His worship, and at the Gemara I’ve learned already?
same time to ask with powerful prayer that He fully
redeem us with the rebuilding of the Temple. Cast, The Chassid answered: “A Jew is obligated to learn on
L-rd, the light of Your countenance upon us, as stated behalf of all of Am Yisrael. Either way – if you learned
by the holy rabbi, the Maggid of Mezeritch by way of Torah on behalf of all of Am Yisrael, then you have
a parable: When a person arrives at the king’s palace
and requests permission to enter, the officials there also learned on my behalf, and therefore I have also
tell him that whatever he wants, they too can fulfill learned. And if you learned only for yourself – what
his request, and there is no need to enter. However, kind of learning is that? What kind of Torah is that?”
if he claims, “I do not want anything but to see the
face of the king,” then they are compelled to grant
him permission to enter. We must not succumb to the
temptation to make do with all that we have, thank
G-d, achieved. Instead we pray that “it is our wish to
see our King,” and request: “Compassionate King, have
compassion upon us… Rebuild Your house as in former
times, and set Your Temple upon its foundation… and
there we shall go up and be seen.” May Hashem help
us, speedily and in our days, Amen! n

Aaron Razel is a writer, composer and artist. His twelve albums include
songs like “Ha’Sneh Bo’er” (The Burning Bush) and “Zman Ha’Geulah”
(The Time of Redemption) that have become part of the broader cultural
landscape of Israel. He lives in the Nachlaot neighborhood of Jerusalem
with his wife and children. This essay was originally published in Hebrew
in his book “HaChayim k’Niggun” (Life as a Niggun).

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