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Introduction to םייח ץפח רפס
Sefer Chafetz Chayim ערה ןושל ירוסיא תוכלה
Aseen - A12 א הכלה - א ללכ

Mekor Hachayim ליכר ךלת אל רמול דומלת 'וכו הכזמ ינא רמאי
I have seen a commentary written by the Vilna Gaon (in the newly קרפ ימלשוריבו םישודק תשרפ ארפסבו ,ךימעב
revised Kol Eliyahu-in the third perek of Avot) where he explains
what is the definition of “judgment” and what is the definition תוליכרו ערה ןושל לע ואלה אידהב אתיא האפד 'א
of “accounting.” “Judgment” refers to the actual sin committed. ןייעו .הזל הזמ םירבד ןיעטמש לכורכ אוהש שממ
“Accounting” refers to a reckoning of the time spent in committing קר ,'ח ןטק ףיעס םייח םימ ראבב 'א ללכ 'ב קלחב
that sin that could have been used instead to perform mitzvot. Woe
unto us on the day of our judgment, what can we possibly answer איצומד ןכש-לכמב אוה תובותכב ארמגה תנווכד
in our defense as HaKadosh Baruch Hu reckons with us all of the .אקפנ אל הז ואל ללכמ ער םש
wasted time spent in idle conversation criticizing other people or
nonsense or Lashon Hara or gossip, all of that time that instead ןכש-לכד ותנווכו םש ם"במרה בתכ ןכ .הזו )ד(
should have been spent learning Torah. The Vilna Gaon writes in תוגשהב ד"בארהלו ,הז רופיסב והזבמש ןויכ אוה
his commentary “She'naut Eliyahu” (the first perek of Peh’ah, the
first mishnah in the unabridged edition) quoting the Yerushalmi that רמול לכונ ערה ןושלמ רומח תוליכרד רבוסש
the truth is for every single word of Torah learned one earns another ,אשת אלד ארקמ ערה ןושל היל אקפנ הידידלד
mitzvah by fulfilling the positive commandment to learn Torah and ומכ ערה ןושל רפסמל הרהזא ,אישת אל היב ירק
that if one learns a chapter of Mishnah or a page of Gemara he has
earned for himself several hundred mitzvot. Then understand the רוראד ארקמ םגו .)א"ע ח"יק( םיחספב בותכש
thousands of words of Torah, each one representing another mitzvah, ומכ ערה ןושל לע יאק אוהש רתסב והער הכמ
that were lost because of time that was squandered in nonsense and השע רשא תא רוכזד ארקמו .שמוחב י"שר שריפד
in place of these mitzvot substitute the thousands of sins (missed VOL-1
learning) that were created by that squandered time. (Please see the ערה ןושלמ רהזנש ידכ אוהש םירמל ךיקלא 'ה
second Hagahah below) וא .החיתפב ליעל ונראיבש ומכ ירפסב אתיאדכ
ימ ירקמ לכורהד ,שמוחב י"שר שוריפכ רבוס

nd
2 Hagahah רבד עמשי וא הארי ילוא לגרל והער תיבל ךלוהש
Rabbeinu Yonah wrote in his commentary in Shaare Teshuvah (1 sha’ar,
st
th
7 notation) that if someone purposefully, repeatedly, commits an action
that is against the Torah, each occurrence is counted as an independent
sin. The proof to this comes from Gemara Makot (21a) regarding a Nazir
who was told: “Don't drink (wine)!, Don't drink (wine)!” The Nazir is
culpable for each time he drank wine (since each drink is a separate sin). though the remarks are true. However, one who lies is called a “slanderer.”
The parallel to this topic is that he is also culpable for each moment that Regarding the habitual speaker of Lashon Hara who sits and says Plony
he did not learn Torah. This Aseh of learning Torah is unlike the Aseh of did such-and-such or his fathers were this-and-that or “I heard such-and-
shaking the Lulav or hearing the blowing of the Shofar or other similar such about him” and these remarks are all denigrating, regarding this type
mitzvot Aseh. Because for these other mitzvot Aseh G‑d commanded us to of person David HaMelech teaches in Tehilim ( :4) “Hashem should
perform them only once on each day of the holiday, but learning Torah is a 10 excise all smooth talkers, those who speak boastfully.”

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