Page 8 - Hamizrachi #30 USA 2021 Yom Yerushalayim - Shavuot

TORAT MIZRACHI MIZRACHI EDUCATORS

Rabbi Reuven Taragin

The Three Blessings on Talmud Torah

hy Three Berachot? expressed His love for us. We show them to ‘know Hashem’ through His
The mitzvah of Talmud our appreciation of this love and how Torah, the Torah needs to be sweet for us
Torah is unique in that Torah enriches our lives and we commit so we can relay that sweetness to them.
we recite three berachot ourselves to taking full advantage of the We ask Hashem as the eternal teacher
Wbefore performing the opportunity to learn it by reciting the (not just the giver) of Torah to teach us
mitzvah each morning. The Raavad beracha before Kriyat Shema (during that sweetness.
explains that reciting all three does not Ma’ariv):
constitute berachot levatala because תוצמו הרות -תבהא ךמע לארשי תיב םלוע תבהא The Flow of the Three
each bracha relates to an independent, .תדמל ונתוא םיטפשמו םיקוח Our relationship with Torah begins with
indispensable aspect of the mitzvah. ךיקוחב חישנ ונמוקבו ונבכשב וניקלא ’ה ןכ לע our recognition of the mitzvah to learn.
.דעו םלועל ךיתוצמבו ךתרות ירבדב חמשנו Our personal commitment to Torah
The First Beracha: .הלילו םמוי הגהנ םהבו ונימי ךראו ונייח םה יכ learning precedes and leads to a greater
The Mitzvah of Talmud Torah appreciation of it and gives us the right to
We begin the berachot with the classic Before we recite Kriyat Shema, which ask Hashem to help us get there.
formulation we use for berachot on other mentions the mitzvah for us to love We see this idea in the beracha of
mitzvot: קוסעל ונוצו ויתוצמב ונשדק רשא Hashem, we emphasize how much Ahava Rabba before Kriyat Shema in
הרות ירבדב. Before relating to the unique Hashem loves us, as evidenced by His Shacharit (which, like that of Ma’ariv,
aspects of Talmud Torah, we relate to it having given us His Torah and mitzvot. presents Hashem’s giving us the Torah as
as a mitzvah. The first and basic reason They are a gift which makes our lives an expression of His love for us):
we learn is because Hashem commanded meaningful and our days ‘long’ because ,וניקולא ’ה ונתבהא הבר הבהא
us to do so. It is critical that our learning they give us the ability to use our time .ונילע תלמח הרתיו הלודג הלמח
be lishma – done with the intention to in a meaningful way. One who spends םדמלתו ךב וחטבש וניתובא רובעב ונכלמ וניבא
fulfill Hashem’s commandment. his time learning Torah can look back .ונדמלתו וננחת ןכ ,םייח יקח
on his days and years and feel like they ונבלב ןתו ונילע םחר םחרמה ןמחרה באה וניבא
The Third Beracha: were truly valuable as time he used to רומשל דמללו דומלל עומשל ליכשהלו ןיבהל
The Gift of Torah accumulate meaningful knowledge and to הבהאב ךתרות דומלת ירבד לכ תא םייקלו תושעלו
Reciting only the first beracha would grow as a person. דחיו ךיתווצמב ונבל קבדו ךתרותב וניניע ראהו
be ignoring the added significance םלועל שובנ אלו ךמש תא הארילו הבהאל ונבבל
of Talmud Torah. The third beracha The Second/Segue Beracha: .דעו
expresses our appreciation to Hashem Praying For Torah Growth
for having chosen to give the Torah to Not everyone has had the opportunity to Because of our ancestors’ faith in
us: ,ותרות תא ונל ןתנו םימעה לכמ ונב רחב רשא learn Torah on a meaningful enough level Hashem and his Torah, they merited
הרותה ןתונ ’ה התא ךורב. Torah enriches to appreciate its beauty and significance. Hashem teaching them Torah. May our
the lives of those who learn it. By giving This is why we have the second/middle birchot HaTorah do the same!
us the Torah, Hashem gives our lives beracha which asks Hashem to help us
meaning and direction. appreciate the Torah’s sweetness: Rabbi Reuven Taragin is Educational
Like the rest of creation, human beings תויפבו וניפב ךתרות ירבד תא וניקולא ’ה אנ ברעהו Director of Mizrachi and Dean of the
are created for the glory of G-d. Most לארשי תיב ךמע Yeshivat HaKotel Overseas Program.
people struggle to identify and realize לארשי תיב ךמע יאצאצו וניאצאצו ונחנא היהנו
their destiny. Hashem separated us from .המשל ךתרות ידמולו ךמש יעדוי ונלוכ
those ‘wandering’ by giving us the Torah, .לארשי ומעל הרות דמלמה ’ה התא ךורב A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau
which offers us eternal life by teaching us mizrachi.org/speakers
the truth about the world and our place Our view extends beyond that of our
within it. own lives to those of our children and Scan here to join Rabbi Taragin’s
By giving us the Torah, Hashem future generations. We realize that for WhatsApp group with daily Divrei Torah

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