Shavuos- Supremacy of Torah
Background
The first Mishna in Maseches (Tractate) Peah, famously says that ‘talmud Torah k’neged kulam’, the study of Torah is equal to all of them (the other Mitzvos). The Gemara in Yerushalmi says that what this means is that all of the mitzvos in Torah combined are not as great as learning even one word of Torah. In fact, the entire world is not as great as one word of Torah.
Question
Why is this so?
To say that the entire world is not as great as the learning of Torah would seem to make sense, since Hashem made the world in order that Man should have an opportunity to improve themselves and become G-dly, and the Mitzvos of the Torah are the way that one goes about that, it would follow that the entire world is not worth one word of Torah, which is a Mitzvah.
But how are we to understand that one word of Torah is greater than the fulfillment of all of the mitzvos of the Torah? The mitzvos are the way that Man molds himself into the image of G-d, it is the path towards greatness and becoming a perfected person- and learning Torah is but one of those Mitzvos. Why would learning Torah be greater than all of them, and how are we to understand how even one word of Torah is greater than the fulfillment of all of the mitzvos?
Answer
There are at least two different ways to explain this:
The Ramchal in his sefer (book) Mesillas Yesharim, in the Chapter on the different aspects of Chassidus (not referring to the Hasidic sect, but rather to a certain lofty level of spiritual attainment) mentions one of the most important aspects of someone being a Chassid is- ‘dveikus’ or ‘clinging to G-d’.
How does one do this? The classical understanding is that this is when one focuses their thoughts and mind on G-d and the different attributes of G-d: that Hashem created the world and continues to oversee and orchestrate all of the events in it, etc. Interestingly though, that is not what the Ramchal says.
The example the Ramchal gives of someone who is ‘clinging to Hashem’ is that of a great Rebbi who would become engrossed in learning Torah. How is that clinging to Hashem? There are many ‘absent-minded professors’ who are engrossed in all sorts of mental pursuits!
The Ramchal is teaching us a very important piece of information- learning the Torah is itself clinging to G-D! It is not a means through which the person becomes more G-dly and therefore becomes more like Hashem, rather it is Hashem Himself. When one learns Torah, when one toils in Torah, the person’s neshama, their soul which resides in their brain, is thinking and grappling with the ‘thoughts’ and thinkings of Hashem.
Learning Torah, toiling in Torah, attaining any merit with regards to Torah learning- supporting it, enabling it, helping those that learn it to be able to do so better and more easily, is not just the greatest of the Mitzvos of Hashem, rather- it is closeness to Hashem.
As the Zohar famously says ‘the Torah and Hashem are one’.
On a more basic level, we were created and put on this world in order to improve ourselves and become better people- to struggle against the desires, lusts and pulls of the physical world and transcend that to become more noble, refined and of perfected character. As we see in the world around us- the more educated people are, the more uplifted and improved they are in totality, not just with respect to certain behaviors.
So too in the spiritual realm- one can train certain behaviors to be proper and correct, or one can educate the person and train their thinking in the right way which would improve them in totality.
Lesson
How valuable and precious is the Holy Torah of Hashem that he gave us on the Yom Tov (holiday) of Shavuos! It behooves us to take the opportunity of this Yom Tov to reflect on our performance with regards to our own learning of Torah. Every man, woman and child should learn Torah- in the different ways which are appropriate for them- and also be engaged and involved in helping others learn Torah and supporting, in whatever way possible, the learning of Torah.
As a result of that, we will all- individually and collectively- become closer to Hashem and fulfill our job and purpose on this world.
Wishing you and your family a wonderful Shabbos and Yom Tov!
