The gemora in Shabbos 88: brings from R’ Yehoshua ben Levi the following: When Moshe ascended to get the Torah, the Malachim asked, 'Why is there a person among us?’ Hashem said, ‘He came to get the Torah’. The Malachim said, ‘Will You give Your treasure, which You stored away 974 generations before creation, to flesh and blood?! Give it to us instead!’ Hashem told Moshe to answer them. Moshe said to Hashem, ‘What is written in the Torah that you are giving to me? Anochi Hashem Elokecha Asher Hotzeisicha me'Eretz Miztrayim"! Moshe said to the Malachim, ‘Were you in Mitzrayim?’ It says "Lo Sirtzach, Lo Sin'af, Lo Signov" - Do you have envy and a yetzer hara which bring a person to sin?’ The Malachim then admitted to Hashem that the Torah should be given to man.
Rav Yechezkal Abramsky asks, how did Moshe Rabeinu’s answer quiet the Malachim? While it’s true that angels cannot perform mitzvos since they don’t have parents to do kibud av v’eim and they don’t have hands to put on tefillin etc, they still could have learned Torah! The angels wanted the chochmas hatorah, and for that, one just needs to study the Torah, not necessarily perform its mitzvos. Why would they have to be able to perform mitzvos in order to receive the Torah?
R’ Yechezkal Abramsky brings a yesod from Rav Chaim Brisker that chochmas hatorah can only be amassed and understood by someone who is able to fulfill the mitzvos. If one can’t fulfill the mitzvos, he won’t be able to understand the Torah. Therefore, since the Malachim have no connection to fulfilling the mitzvos, they won’t be able to understand the chochmas hatorah either and there’s no point in them receiving the Torah.
Says Rav Reuven Karlinstein, the pasuk says in Tehilim 111:10 “Seichel tov l’chol osehem” – only one who performs mitzvos acquires the chochmas hatorah. Notice that the pasuk doesn’t say that by learning Torah one acquires the “seichel tov”, but by fulfilling the mitzvos. Again, we see this concept that only through fulfilling the mitzvos does one come to truly understand Torah.
Rav Yechezkal Abramsky adds that this is the idea of “Naase v’nishma”. Through the “naase” – by doing the mitzvos, “nishma” - one can understand the chochmas hatorah. Doing the mitzvos brings us to understanding Torah.
In Ahava Rabba we say, “V’sen b’libeinu lehavin... lishmoa...” - Place in our hearts to understand... to hear”. Why do we ask first to understand Torah and only then to hear? Shouldn’t the order be reversed? The Meforshim say that lishmoa doesn’t mean simply to hear, but to be zoche to an understanding in Torah. Once we merit to understand Torah properly, then we can go onto “lilmod ulilamed”, to learn and to teach, and then “lishmor v’laasos ulikayem”, to fulfill the mitzvos of the Torah. And only after we fulfill the mitzvos can we ask Hashem “v’haer eineinu bisorasecha”, that Hashem should light up our eyes with the special light of Torah. We can only receive the ohr hatorah once we fulfill the mitzvos.
Rav Abramsky was a rav in London for many years. Once, a Jew who wasn’t frum approached him and said, “I am ready to put on tefillin, but before I do, I want the Rav to explain to me what is tefillin all about. After I receive an explanation, I will start wearing tefillin”. Rav Abramsky answered him, “I will IY”H explain to you everything you want to know about tefillin, but before I do so, I have one condition: you must put on tefillin for one whole month without understanding anything about the mitzva. Just have in mind that when you put on the tefillin you are fulfilling the mitzvah de’oraysa of tefillin. After a month, come back and I will explain everything to you. The yid then asked, “But let’s say that after the month is up I won’t be satisfied with the reason you give me, then it will be that I put on tefillin a whole month for nothing!” Rav Abramsky told him, “Don’t worry. I promise you that you will be satisfied with the reasons I give you”. The yid agreed to the deal. Rav Abramsky taught him how to put on tefillin and he left. After two weeks, this yid knocks on Rav Abramsky’s door. The Rav asked him, “Why did you come now? We made a deal that you will return after a month!” The yid told him that he didn’t come for explanations for tefillin. “First of all”, said the yid, “I’d like to buy these tefillin from you. And secondly, I don’t need any explanations. After putting on tefillin for this short while, I feel such a deep spiritual connection that I feel I must continue. No explanations are necessary”.
That is “seichel tov l’chol oseihem” – through doing the mitzvos we receive seichel tov and we recognize the value of Torah. Fulfilling the mitzvos are indeed our key to Torah.
