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words is that the principal value of a person’s Torah learning is Chapter Three:
his intent. The concept of “learning in order to do” means that
a person learns with the intention to fulfill. This type of Torah
learning is the most meaningful and elevated level that can exist (as The Secret of Life
will be discussed in Chapter Seven).
At this point, you have come to recognize the importance of
In accordance with this, we may understand the following intent and to recognize that the essence of your freedom of choice
dispute recorded in the Gemara: “When Rabbi Tarfon and the lies in your intent, and I have urged you to want to possess intent.
elders were reclining in the penthouse of Beit Nitzah in Lod, the But you still lack the tools and practical framework to apply what
following question was posed to them: which is greater, learning or you have learned. This chapter will discuss the practical framework
deed? Rabbi Tarfon answered, ‘Deed is greater,’ and Rabbi Akiva that will make it possible for you to choose correctly with the power
answered, ‘Learning is greater.’ [In the end,] everyone answered, of your intent.
‘Learning is greater, because learning leads to deed’” (Kiddushin
40b). But would it occur to us to say that the principal element is Presumably, everyone will ask the difficult question: “Everything
learning? Of course not! The principal element is the deed! The that I have read so far is fine, but how do we attain intent? It is
Torah commands us how to behave. What value is there to learning easy to speak about intent, it is pleasant to speak about it, and it is
the Torah without implementing its teachings? The answer is that inspiring. These words fill my heart with unbounded hope—but in
a person’s principal deed is his intent. Therefore, in his learning the end, all I remain with is the words….”
he fulfills the deed more than he does in his action itself! That is
because his learning arouses his intent, which leads to the deed (in And one could raise another question: Earlier, I cited the Imrei
keeping with the statement that “in the way that a person wishes Emet’s interpretation of the common saying, “Nothing can stand
to go, he is led”). before the will,” as meaning that nothing can prevent a person
from possessing will. But that is not the simple meaning of this
And we may accordingly understand the passage in the evening saying. The simple meaning is that with the power of his will a
prayer (in the blessing of Ahavat Olam): “You have taught us person can do anything. When a person wants something, nothing
Torah and mitzvot. Therefore…” The phrase should apparently can stand in his way. Also, Rabbi Nachman states that free choice is
have continued, “Therefore, we must fulfill Your laws and Your exactly what it sounds like: if a person wants something, he does it.
mitzvot.” But instead it states, “Therefore, we will speak about But we see that this is not so simple. There are many things that we
Your laws and we will rejoice in the words of Your Torah, because cannot accomplish. The Gemara itself speaks about a person who
they are our lives, and we will meditate on them….” Why? Because intends to do a mitzvah but is thwarted. Thus, there is a reality that
the essence of our existence is the will, and the essence of learning a person can be thwarted. There is a reality of difficulties. There is
the Torah is to arouse our will. a reality of obstacles.
We find a great many authorities who discuss the concept that And there is another problematical statement in the Gemara: that
the will to fulfill a mitzvah is considered equal to the deed itself. a person is led in the way that he wants to go. But there are many
Since that supports the extraordinary concept expounded by Rabbi people who want, yet who nevertheless are not led. Why is that?
Tzadok that the principal element that Hashem asks of us is our will,
I will cite some sources from other great Torah leaders of various In this chapter, with the help of heaven I will answer these
schools and backgrounds who have commented on this topic. 2 questions. There yet remains hope…!
