This practice also gives us incredible peace in all aspects of our lives. Rebbe Nachman reveals (Likutei Mohoran I, 62) that the source of all types of negative arguments is the disagreements between the Sages of the Talmud. Although these are very holy disagreements that are purely for the sake of Heaven, nonetheless, this aspect of conflicting opinions trickles down into the darkness of the material world and takes the form of other arguments that are not for the sake of Heaven. These are the arguments that we have with other people – with family members or strangers in the street. These are also the “arguments” between our bodies and souls – that our bodies want to fulfill their desires and cravings, while our souls want to serve Hashem.
Thus, without resolving the disagreements between the Sages of the Talmud that are the source of all other conflict, we simply can’t find peace in our lives. We struggle to get along with other people, and we aren’t able to feel at ease within ourselves. We can't settle the fight between the yetzer tov that yearns for kedushah and the yetzer hara that wants the opposite. We have suffering and confusion, since our minds are not in their proper order. We feel disconnected from Hashem.
Therefore, it is extremely important for us to learn the Shulchan Aruch every single day of our lives, as Rebbe Nachman says in this sichah: “And [Rebbe Nachman] said that every Jew is obligated to learn halachah every day, without fail. And even if a person is unexpectedly preoccupied and he doesn’t have any time, at the very least he should learn one halachah from any section of the Shulchan Aruch.”
Through this, we acquire the seichel of how to make peace in all aspects of our lives. By studying the different opinions of the poskim on the Shulchan Aruch – which are based on the different opinions in the Gemarra -- and then coming to a clear resolution of these opinions (the pesak halachah), we train our hearts and minds to be able to resolve all types of conflicts that we face on a daily basis, whose source is the disagreements in the Torah. We receive the awareness of how to organize and settle our thoughts, and we gain the intellect of how to connect two different things together.
These are two reasons why it is very important to learn Shulchan Aruch every day: to attach ourselves to the seichel of clarifying the good from the bad, and to attain the awareness of how to resolve all sorts of conflicts and disagreements. However, in order to truly receive these benefits, we should remember not to learn Shulchan Aruch without any intention. Rather, we should remind ourselves of the incredible tikkunim that take place with every halachah that we study, and learn with the intention of achieving the amazing virtues of this practice.
Now, we can understand why the study of Shulchan Aruch is one of just a couple things that Rebbe Nachman warns us very much to fulfill. We can grasp why Rebbe Nachman made it an obligation for each one of us to learn at least one halachah of Shulchan Aruch every day. So, we should take this on and try to do it at the beginning of the day. Through this, the whole day will be different. We will have a good life. Instead of being confused, mixed up, and feeling far from Hashem, we will have true clarity of mind that will help us to find the goodness and kedushah in all aspects of this world. We will know exactly what Hashem wants from us and we will be able to find peace within ourselves.
G-d willing, next week in Part Two of this sichah, we will discuss the different methods of learning Shulchan Aruch.
