Staying Inspired- Shavuos
Shiur Delivered By The Rosh Yeshiva Maran Hagaon Rav Ahron Walkin ZT”L
Transcribed by Shlomo Walkin
In reality, learning Torah is not easy, but very difficult. While learning Torah, from an outside view, seems easy and can be inspirational, in reality, it is very hard to sit through a Seder of learning. Nonetheless, once you overcome this difficulty of toiling in Torah you experience true Simcha. The Mishnah in Avos says: “כך היא דרכה של תורה, פת במלח תאכל ומים במשורה תשתה ...אשריך בעולם הזה” this is the ways of Torah: you will eat dry bread you... These things are difficult. Yet, the Mishnah finishes “אשריך בעולם הזה” You will be happy in this world.
The obvious question is, why does this bring happiness if this will be a difficult life? The answer is, despite being difficult, happiness is achieved once you overcome the hardships of toiling in Torah. Moreover, these difficulties need to be expected and foreseen to stay motivated. As we see, the Yidden were inspired and motivated for Matan Torah, however, three days later, they didn’t get up on time with an obvious lack of motivation. Chazal called the event “תינוק הבורח מבית הספר.” “Kitinak” means a child, and the reason Chazal uses the word Kitinak is to demonstrate the Yidden did not foresee past the motivation. As is the way of a child; a child gets excited but the moment there is no more excitement the interest is over.
Chazal tells us, אם פגע בך מנוול זה משכהו לבית המדרש. Pagah means he came to you. But it can also mean “it is in your way” as to challenge, constant bickering. This bickering is referred to as The Yetzer Horah constantly bothers us. The Yetzer Haroah is referred to as a מנוול - disgusting. A person who takes away from someone who doesn’t have anything and does not derive any benefit from it, this person is called a מנוול. In his actions, The Yetzer Harah is stopping us from learning and at the same time derives no gain from it. As a result, The only solution is to go to the Beis Medrash and learn. that is the meaning “אם פגע בך מנוול זה משכהו לבית המדרש” when it the Yetzer Horah begins to bicker, you should go to the Beis Medrash-משכהו לבית המדרש and as a result, the bickering will stop. Moreover, if you argue with the Yetzer Harah it will continue to bother you.
Now, Shavuot is coming and we are excited, but it won’t last. However, if this is foreseen and we are prepared, we will be able to sustain our motivation even after Shavuos. In this, the only way to continue this motivation is by learning. In Tehillim, it states: “עבדו את ה' בשמחה”. This means to serve Hashem with joy. However, this can be explained differently. The word עבדו is from עבד. An עבד doesn’t question, but just does what he has to do. In this world, we are Avodim of HaShem and we need to do without asking any questions, that is to learn. As a result, we will be בשמחה - happy. That is what it meant when it says עבדו את ה' ,בשמחה.
Interestingly, we find Matan Torah was כאיש אחד בלב אחד. Before Matan Torah, the Yidגen were fighting. What happened that there was an abrupt change and they came together as one? People only fight when they are not happy, and when we don’t learn we are not happy. Then, by Matan Torah, the Yidden received the Torah, became Happy, and in result, stopped fighting.
The biggest argument that a person has is with his Yetzer Harah. When it says “פסקה זוהמתן” (the spiritual decay stopped) the Torah was given, first, then there was פסקה זוהמתן זוהמתן was created when the snake bit Chavah. The snake was an outside influence convincing Chavah and to distract her from her ways. Kabbalahs Hatorah stops all of this outer influence. On this Rav Chaim from Voloshin adds, when it starts from the outside it eventually becomes from the inside where your mind begins to tell you what you need.
When a person learns Torah, he goes back to Gan Eden Mekedem.
Adam got a curse because he ate from the Etz Hadas בזיעת אפך תאכל לחם. The people who sit and learn are exempt from this? One answer is that their learning is hard work. However, Tosfos says that Talmidai Chachomim go back to Gan Eden before the sin, therefore the curse does not apply to them. On the contrary, Rav Naftly Trop said that before he became a Rav his Chidushim came to him easy, however, once he became a Rav It had to be difficult Because of בזיעת אפך תאכל לחם
The bottom line is: we have to be inspired and learn, but we have to sustain our learning. We don’t want to have the mountain on top of our heads if we don’t learn קפל עליהם הר כגיגית. n the contrary, we want to go up on the mountain “מי יעלה בהר השם”, moreover, we need "ומי יקום” to sustain. Possibly, this is why there are seven days after Shavuos of Melium. Being, that there should be at least seven days to keep the shavuos inspiration going.
