Divrei Torah for the Shabbos Table
Torah, How Sweet It Is!
The pasuk tells us “V’samachta b’chol hatuv” - you should rejoice with all the good that Hashem has given you. The Ohr HaChaim says that the word tov - good is referring to the Torah (as it says in Pirkei Avos 6:3). The Ohr HaChaim writes that if people would sense the sweetness and pleasure of the goodness of the Torah, they would go out of their minds and be drawn after it. And even world's full of silver and gold would not have any value in their eyes, because the Torah encompasses all the good things that exist in the world.
What is the meaning of the Ohr HaChaim that the Torah encompasses all the good in the world? In the world of gashmiyos nothing is perfect; in order to experience one kind of pleasure, you need to give up on a different form of pleasure. For example, you open up a newspaper, and you see two advertisements for vacations. You research both and find out that one has the perfect climate but the accommodation is not all that great. The other one has beautiful accommodations, but the weather is not perfect. One will offer better food, one better entertainment, and so on. So, you will have to decide which factors are most important to you and that's how you will make your decision. But inevitably, you will be forced to give up on something. And even if you were to find that seemingly perfect vacation, it will cost you so much money that you will have to carefully consider if the pleasure you receive is worth the financial loss. That's how it is with all of the physical pleasures in this world. However, the Torah is not like that; the Torah is the ultimate pleasure. If you choose to live a life of Torah, you are not giving up on anything. Says the Ohr HaChaim, when you choose Torah, you have all the other pleasures as well. It encompasses all good of the world.
Dovid HaMelech says in Tehilim that Torah is more desirable than gold and silver. Rabeinu Avraham (the brother of the Gaon in his Sefer Maalos HaTorah) asks how can we even think of comparing Torah to gold and silver? Torah is the reason why the world was created! It's no comparison to gold and silver! Just like you wouldn't compare gold and silver to wood and stone because there's no relation whatsoever, so too the Torah has no relation to gold and silver! The answer is that besides for the ruchniyos pleasures of Torah, there is a gashmiyos aspect of pleasure that also comes from the Torah. It's obvious that Dovid HaMelech wasn't comparing the spiritual aspect of Torah to gold and silver. He is saying that even the gashmiyus pleasure of Torah is superior to gold and silver.
True Bnei Torah who are learning in yeshiva have a hard time describing the sweetness of Torah to people outside the Beis HaMedrash. A man, we'll call him Reuven, approached a yeshiva bachur and asked if he could do him a favor and make a tax payment for him, being that his yeshiva was located right next to the bank. Reuven told the bachur that the payment was due and must be paid today, or he would have to pay a big fine.
Initially, the bachur said he couldn't do it because he wasn't willing to leave yeshiva early. But Reuven prevailed on him to do the favor as the bank was very far away from his home. Finally, the bachur agreed. He went to yeshiva and he got so involved in his learning that he forgot all about the bank. By the time he remembered, the bank was closed. And now Reuven was obligated to pay a big fine and he called the bachur to a Din Torah. The Gemara says in Pesachim (4b) Abaye said that a person is not allowed to begin learning Torah from the time of bedikas chometz for fear that he will become involved in learning and forget to do bedikas chometz. Harav Zilberstein says that he has seen many times how Bnei Torah were so excited with their learning that they were literally unable to leave the Beis HaMedrash. Therefore, says Rav Zilberstein, this bachur is exempt from paying the penalty. Even though he had been somewhat negligent, he was in the category of an oines – one who is forced, and therefore he is exempt for having forgotten to make the tax payment.
Once the Ohr Sameach was learning with a chavrusa and he didn't understand peshat in a certain sugya. The Ohr Sameach said, “Let's daven for ahavas haTorah”. His chavrusa said, “No, lets daven for understanding of Torah.” The Ohr Sameach explained that if a baby is crying and a stranger walks into the room, he won't know why the baby is crying. It could be that the baby is hungry, or maybe he is sick, or perhaps he needs a change. However, when a mother walks into the room, she knows right away why the baby is crying. Why? It's because of the love that the mother has for the child. That special, motherly love enables her to understand her child's needs without any words being said. In the same way, said the Ohr Sameach, if we would have real ahavas haTorah then we would understand what the Torah wants. The fact that we don't understand a piece of Gemara must indicate that we are lacking in ahavas haTorah.
If so, why is it that at times we don't feel the geshmak that Torah has to offer? During Tefillas Shacahris we make a berachah “v’haarev na Hashem Elokeinu es divrei soirasecha b'finu” we ask Hashem that Torah should be sweet in our mouth. What does it mean “sweet in our mouth"? Isn't Torah in the mind?
R' Noach Oelbaum shlita brings a mashal that helps answer this question very beautifully. There is a sick person in the hospital, and the nurse brings him his tray of food. The patient starts eating and spits out the food in disgust! "There's something terribly wrong with this food!", he complains. So they bring him another meal and the same thing happens again. Then his wife comes to visit and brings him his favorite home-cooked food. Excitedly, he tastes it and once again he spits it out bitterly. “What is going on today?" he moans, “Everything I put into my mouth today tastes horrible!” The doctor overheard and said to the patient, "Sir, nothing is wrong with the food. It's your taste buds that are not working properly. Since you are ill, you are not able to sense the good taste of the food. The food is great. It's you who's sick."
When we daven that Hashem should make the Torah sweet in our mouths we are actually davening that our spiritual “taste buds" should work properly. The fact is that the Torah is sweet. If we don't sense that sweetness, then the problem is with us. We must be sick; a spiritual illness that distorts our taste buds. We ask Hashem that we should be spiritually healthy to taste the geshmake taste of Torah. And once we are zoche to taste that sweetness, we will see the words of the Ohr HaChaim come to life: there is nothing sweeter, nothing more pleasurable than the Torah hakedosha. (R' Moshe Oelbaum shlita)
Three Interpretations of "V'heeseegucha" From Three Chassidic Masters
One of the classic ideas the meforshim (commentaries) focus on in Parshas Ki Savo are the words of the pasuk “And all these blessings will come upon you, v'heeseegucha (and will reach you) when you listen to the voice of Hashem your G-d." (Devorim 28:2). The meforshim all want to know the meaning of the word "v'heeseegucha.” What does this word add to the earlier statement of the pasuk, that the berachah (blessing) will come upon you?
There are a variety of interpretations. I will not share all of them but merely go through a smattering of different meforshim:
i) The sefer Degel Machane Ephraim (Moshe Chaim Ephraim of Sudilkov, grandson of the Baal Shem Tov) explains it based on a very famous pasuk (Tehillim 23:6) from Dovid HaMelech, which we say in Mizmor I’Dovid Hashem ro'ee lo echsor: “Ach tov v’chessed yirdefooni kol yemei chayai...” (Only good and kindness will chase after me all the days of my life). The question is that kindness and goodness do not necessarily need to "chase after” someone. A person readily accepts kindness and goodness. He doesn't flee from them, such that they need to pursue him.
The explanation that is given is that many times, a person runs away from something that he does not think is good for him – but ultimately it is very good for him. We often don't know what is good for us and what is not good for us. There are certain situations in life whether it is shiduchim, whether it is partnerships, whether it is business deals, whatever it may be – when we don't think something is good for us. As a result, we run away. This is what Dovid HaMelech is asking: If I am not wise enough to understand that something is good for me, let it chase after me.
A famous story is told about Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. He once saw a person running down the street and asked him “Where are you running?" The person answered “I am running to make parnassa (a livelihood).” Reb Levi Yitzchak then asked, “How do you know that your parnassa is in this direction, maybe your parnassa is in the opposite direction and you should be running there!" The point is that we don't necessarily know when something is good and when it is not good.
That could, in fact, be the meaning of this pasuk: All the berachah will come upon you and reach you. Even when you run away from something that is a berachah, the berachah will chase after you and catch up with you! This is why we say in Rosh Chodesh benching: May Hashem fulfill the desires of our heart for the good. So often, we don't know what “tova” is. The Ribbono Shel Olam knows what “tova” is. We pray that Hashem gives us the “tova,” regardless of whether or not that is what we have been hoping for.
ii) I saw a second interpretation of this pasuk in the name of Rav Tzadok Hakohen of Lublin, who in turn quotes it in the name of Reb Simcha Bunim of P'shischa. “V'heeseegucha” means that the berachos should reach you in the place where you are right now. So many times, wild financial or political success changes a person. He becomes a different person and moves away from the place where he was and the person who he was. The nisayon (test) of wealth, power, prestige and fame sometimes has a deleterious effect on a person. The berachah of “V'heeseegucha” is that the berachos should reach you in the place where you are and that you should remain in that place.
By Yitzchak Avinu the pasuk says, “Vayigdal haʼish” (and the man grew (wealthy)). I once saw it explained that the pasuk does not say “Vayigdal Yitzchak” (and Yitzchak grew (wealthy)). Why not? This hints at the idea that Yitzchak remained the same person. He didn't change because he now became wealthy.
iii) The third interpretation of this pasuk is an observation from Rav Yisrael (Taub) of Modzitz (the first Modzitzer Rebbe) that is brought in the sefer Imrei Baruch. The Modzitzer Rebbe understands the word “v’heeseegucha” to mean that you should have the haʼsagos (understanding) of what to do with your successes. Many times, people achieve great financial or other types of success and they don't know how to handle it. They don't know what to do with their newly acquired power. They don't know what to do with all that money. This is common by athletes and movie stars. They have all this money and they don't know what to do with it. They buy a car, they buy a boat, they buy jewelry, they buy furs. They don't know what to do with all of it. They get to be 35 years old and they are bankrupt. A person needs to have the right haʼsagos, the right concepts and the right outlook on what to do with their berachos. The berachah of v'heeseegucha is that you have the perspective and hasagos it takes to handle the tremendous berachos that you are given. (R' Frand)
