מַתַן תוֹרָתֵינוּ זְמַן
The Happiest Days of The Year
We are looking forward to the indescribably wonderful Yom Tov of Shavuos, when we will show Hashem how happy we are that we have His Torah. The more you celebrate Shavuos with Simcha, the more Nachas you give Hashem; and He will reward you with tons of goodness and Schar for showing how much you appreciate His holy Torah.
There Is Nothing More Precious and Beautiful as Our Holy Torah
Shlomo HaMelech in Mishlei says: וָאֶה יֶה אֶצ לוֹ אָמוֹן וָאֶה יֶה שַעֲשֻעִים יוֹם יוֹם מְשַחֶקֶת לְפָנָיו בְכָל עֵת משלי ח ל before Hashem created the world, He was full of enjoyment with His Torah. There is nothing as beautiful and as precious as our holy Torah, especially when you learn it! וְתַלְמוּד תוֹרָה כְנֶגֶד כֻלָם Learning Torah is equal to all the other Mitzvos together. At the turn of the 20th century, millions of Yidden left Europe to come to "Der Golden’e Land" of America. Unfortunately, they left the Derech HaTorah, and had their own great ideas how to have a good life, without the Torah, Rachmana Litzlan.
Yiddishists, Zionists, Communists, etc. Yidden were very involved in these fake gods. They were smart and good-hearted, and they relied upon their inborn qualities (that only Hashem gave them) to decide how to live. Your Sechel can be a form of Avoda Zara if you aren't trying to go according to the Heilige Torah. They thought they had all the answers without our holy Torah.
Getting Involved in Learning Gemara Is the Solution to All Problems
STORY
In 1915 there was a Lithuanian Jew who started off in a Yeshiva, and who had a good head for learning. But like so many others, he went off the Derech. Later, he went to America and he was overjoyed. He got married, and he was extremely happy with his wife. Then he went into business with her brother. When a fire broke out in his store, his own relatives stood witness (falsely) that he set fire to the store in order to collect insurance. He sat in jail for two years and 9 months for no reason. And then he found out that his own wife was among those who plotted his downfall. After divorcing his wife, he lost all interest in life, and he wanted to throw himself in the river, or to become a drunkard, to forget his Tzaros.
In the end, he went back to work, but "No jingling of silver, or glitter of gold, would ease my pain". After four years that he was out of prison, the only thing that gave him consolation was the blatt Gemara. He told his non-religious friends about this, and he said: “I'm sure you think I'm crazy. But the Talmud takes me away from all earthly things, and makes me forget everything they did to me."
"When I am absorbed in the Talmud, I forget my loneliness and sorrow, and my room turns into a palace where I am king. I am a man in my thirties, and I am thinking of returning now to my remote Lithuanian town, to bury myself in the Talmud in a corner of the old shul, and there live out my years." This is a totally non-religious Jew, from the lowest of those Yiddishists who did: כָל דָבָר אָסוּר the worst even before they came to America.
All The Brachos in The World Are in A Blatt Gemara
Chazal say: חָשׁ ב רֹאשׁוֹ ,יַעֲסוֹק בַתוֹרָה עירובין נד א if your head is hurting, get involved in learning Torah; and even חָשׁ ב כָל גוּפוֹ ,יַעֲסוֹק בַתוֹרָה if your entire body is hurting, get involved in learning Torah. I have heard of Yungerleit who claim that after a hard day's work, there is nothing like a blatt Gemara which can alleviate your stress, and even lower your blood pressure! These are the days that we need to constantly daven for more and more Geshmak and Hatzlacha in learning and in Mussar. A certain Yungerman in BMG who was a big Masmid once asked R' Matisyahu Solomon Zatzal if he should go to Eretz Yisroel to Kevarim (graves of Tzadikim) to daven, since he needed Shiduchim for his family.
R' Matisyahu told him that all the Brachos in the world are in a blatt Gemara. In general, Shavuos is a time to appreciate everything in Yiddishkeit. The Torah gives a person restrictions and guidance in all areas of his life. I am familiar with many Yidden who left Yiddishkeit. I’m Dan L'kaf Zechus, because so many Russian Jews suffered from the Czar, and they fled to Treife America. It's a Rachmanus, because nothing really works except the Torah.
The Pain of a Life Without Torah
The simple reason is, because our Creator, whom we owe our very existence to, wants us to keep the Torah. This is due to the fact that Hashem is: מָלֵא רַחֲמִים full of compassion, and gives us only what's good for us. I know stories of Yidden who dumped their Tefilin in the ocean as soon as they came to the Statue of Liberty. "Now we'll be free!"
And when Elul and Yamim Nora’im came around, the better ones couldn't make peace with themselves. They were often the worst of the outspoken "free thinkers", and they kept zero Mitzvos. Yet, they had a longing for a shul, and to hear Selichos is like music! They got depressed, and as the years went on, they worsened. Sometimes, the wife or friends caused their deviation from the truth.
I know of such a blatant "free thinker", who found solace only when he entered a lonely old Bais Medrash. He sat down and cried. Their friends only ridiculed them. The sweet memories of their youth and authentic Yiddishkeit tormented them for the rest of their lives.
All Those Who Were Zoche to Be Part of The Chareidi World Should Dance
On Shavuos, all those who were Zoche to be part of the Chareidi world should dance and dance, and he should sing with his whole heart: בָרוּךְ הוּא אֱלֹקֵינוּ שֶבְרָאָנוּ לְכְבוֹדוֹ וְהִבְדִילָנוּ מִן הַתוֹעִים וְנָתַן לָנוּ תוֹרַת אֱמֶת Blessed be Hashem who created us for His glory, and set us apart from those who go astray, and has given us the Torah of truth. Especially being in such a Torah community as Lakewood. Rabbi Forcheimer Shlita told me, that many, many times when he has a Din Torah, each party is afraid that he is wrong, and each person wants to be sure that the other person isn't getting any kind of injustice!
You have no idea how much pain there is in a life without Torah. Imagine living in a society where Lashon Hara is okay! Or when people are free to their whims, and go do all kinds of Aveiros, like Ka'as and Arayos. It's a different world. We thank Hashem for giving us His holy Torah! And we aren't Jihad-niks, who get a thrill out of killing themselves and others (and these are super "religious" people!)
I heard that when R' Baruch Ber Zatzal said the Bracha of: שֶלֹא עָשַנִי גוֹי Thank You for not creating me as a Goy, he would look outside the window, and say: “I don't mean Davka that lowly water carrier. I mean that clean-cut university student." And during the Holocaust, the world witnessed how the top, top German doctors specialized in torturing people.
The more Torah’dik we are, the happier we are. Yet, you don't Davka keep the Torah to make you happy. We left Mitzrayim as: צְבָאוֹת ה' the army of Hashem. We are soldiers who have no say; we follow Hashem and we have Bitachon.
