Page 86 - 20780

Chapter Three: | 83 86 | A New Light Chapter Three: | 75

that Hashem, Who teaches Torah to His nation Israel, has given me doesn’t my Torah learning help me?” I tell them, “Know that even proper work they could have attained very high levels, And woe
over the course of the years: the practical work of translating these if a person learns Torah 40 years on the highest level, if he does for the shame that they will feel!
elevated ideas and bringing them down to comprise tools of action not take hold of one element that he wants to change, devoting
that are accessible to everyone, from the person sunken into the at least half an hour a day to the work of the will, he is unable to This is a first principle in life: that with the passage of years a
49 gates of impurity to the refined rabbinical scholar who seeks a make choices. He will not change, he will not fulfill his mission, and person must progress. A child learns in school, moves ahead every
practical way to transform himself and rise from level to level. he will not reach his rectification. And should he be tested, he is year and increases his knowledge; a university student receives a
in terrible danger of falling to the lowest level of Sheol, and even new degree every few years; a soldier rises in the ranks; a person
You must be aware that even if you learn 1,000 books on the lower, God have mercy!” progresses in every field of endeavor. A normal human being does
importance of the will, if you do not devote specific time to this, not remain in one place, but progresses, increasing his knowledge,
everything will remain theoretical and will not lead to any practical Do you think that this is exaggerated? This is no exaggeration experience, and seniority.
change. Therefore, if you want to attain true will that brings about whatsoever. I know of tens of thousands of such scholars, from the
real change, you must set aside all of your activities, all of your most outstanding kollels in the entire world, who learned from the It is true that the Torah is not like other systems, because it has
industriousness, all stimuli, everyone you know, everything! At the greatest masters of the generation, and yet who did not change. no end. There is no conclusion to a person’s years of learning.
very least, for half an hour every day, devote time to the work of I am not exaggerating. Are you surprised? Know that you know Torah learning does not conclude with a pension or retirement.
the will. During this time, think about your life, think about what them as well…. But precisely for that reason we would expect to see much more
kind of a person you would want to be. Consider how you want to progress among those who learn Torah—primarily, in their level
progress, and begin to want: to want, yearn and pray for progress A Perfect Situation of Torah knowledge. As Tosafot state, “In the course of things,
in those areas that are truly important to you, in accordance with when a person goes to learn, he becomes a great person” (Ketubot
your state of being and your situation. The main thing is that, of the For 40 years, the generation of the desert learned Torah in 63a). A person who goes to learn has an obligation to change and
most significant and important matters that are the foundations of perfect circumstances. If only every scholar in our days could enjoy grow. That is the normal course of events. That is what a person’s
your life, you choose one item that is especially urgent and resolve such conditions! They were taught by the best teacher in history, situation should be.
firmly that you will devote half an hour of intentions and prayers Moses, who was the mentor of all the prophets. They were free of
to it every day. every burden and every distraction. They did not have the onus of There Is No Difference

earning a living, nor the burden of this-worldly concerns. They did
You will certainly see a difference! You will see changes great But that does not yet address the central transformation that must
and small. You will attain achievements that you had thought not need to pay rent, mortgage and property taxes. They did not take place in a person. Our sages state that a person who learns
go to work or shopping, and they had no obligations to fulfill. They
to be impossible. And in consequence of seeing results, you will did not need to travel to visit relatives or to take their children to Torah “rises” (Avot 6:1) and “goes from strength to strength”
feel encouraged to continue working in order to acquire and (end of Berachot), that he receives the presence of the Shechinah,
attain additional achievements, because there is nothing more school. Similarly, they weren’t exposed to the rushing river of the increases peace in the world, and more. Someone who learns Torah
desires of our generation. There were no malls, no bakeries, no
encouraging than seeing results! This work of the will brings restaurants and no theatres; there were no stock exchanges and no must change inwardly. He must be transformed into a different
results. It has real consequences. When we see results of our banks, no clothing stores and no shoe stores, no furniture stores, person. And this must occur not only once; he must change and
work, that gives us tremendous confidence: it strengthens our no electric appliance stores, and no pharmacies. There were no rise from day to day. It is possible for every person to say, “I
faith in Hashem, our faith in ourselves, our faith in the power of am different today than I was yesterday.” That is called “going
repentance, and our faith in the power of prayer and in the proper newspapers, no radios, no cellular phones and no smart phones. from strength to strength.” As Rabbi Nachman states, “We must
600,000 scholars were entirely freed from every yoke. Never
way of service—the service of the will. As a result, we receive a before were there and never again will there be scholars as free to increase in holiness and knowledge with every day.” That means
tremendous impetus to continue this work until we attain every learn Torah, with an entirely clear head. that every day a person must be holier, must believe more deeply
exemplary trait. in Hashem, and must be more profoundly connected to Hashem.
And in these perfect conditions they learned in the finest and
And doing so will in fact be easy. Hashem did not give the Torah But sadly, very sadly, every day we see instances of successful
to the ministering angels. He did not send us here powerless. Rather, most prestigious kollel in the world: the Kollel of Those Who Eat