However, after the Sin of the Golden Calf, we lost our clarity in understanding the Torah itself. The Sages say that when Moshe Rabbeinu broke the two luchos after the sin of the Golden Calf, this caused forgetfulness to come to the world. This forgetfulness is the source of all disagreements between the Sages of the Talmud, and because of these disagreements, it is not clear how we’re supposed to fulfill the laws of the Torah and clarify the good from the evil in all aspects of creation.
Nonetheless, there is a tikkun for this as well: the practice of studying Torah. Our ultimate goal in learning Torah is to come to clarity about what HaKadosh Baruch Hu really wants. Every single sefer reveals a particular truth about some aspect of our lives and the world around us that helps us to distinguish between good and evil. Thus, the ultimate tikkun for our past sins comes from learning Torah in a way that awakens our seichel to distinguish clearly between right and wrong.
With this in mind, we can understand the unfathomable importance of learning Shulchan Aruch. Certainly, learning the Chumash with Rashi and other commentaries gives new insight into the holy verses of the Torah. On the other hand, this is not our main practice, since it isn’t possible to know how to fulfill the Torah only through the written tradition (Torah sh’b’ksav). So, we mainly learn the Oral Torah (Torah sh’baal peh)– the Mishnah and Gemarra, which expound upon the verses in the Torah and discuss the specific ways in which we perform Hashem’s mitzvos.
However, at the end of the day, this study of Mishnah and Gemarra is also not enough, since it doesn’t reveal to us the precise halachah – the specific actions that Hashem wants us to do. There is still a lot of ambiguity in the Gemarra due to all the different opinions that it brings down.
Therefore, the ultimate tikkun for our sins is learning Shulchan Aruch. Each halachah in the Shulchan Aruch is an unbelievable revelation of G-dliness, since it teaches to us the exact action that Hashem wants us to do regarding all the mitzvos of the Torah that we’re able to perform without the Beis HaMikdash. This not only gives us clarity in how to practically fulfill the laws of the Torah, rather, it also is an incredible tikkun for our minds. The study of Shulchan Aruch awakens our thoughts to distinguish between the aspects of good and evil in all areas of our lives, even those that are outside the beis hamidrash. It gives us the seichel to discard the exterior shell that hides the light of kedushah that is within every object in this world, every person on the planet, and within ourselves as well.
This seichel of clarifying the precise halachah changes the way we sleep, eat, do business, relate to other people, and every aspect of our existence. Through this seichel we’re able to find the good in every place and situation. We’re able to see the deeper meaning of things that happen in the world and in our personal lives as well (see Likutei Mohoran I, 1). We are able to find Hashem in everything that we’re going through and we realize that He’s very close to us at all times (see Likutei Mohoran II, 2). Thus, it is through learning Shulchan Aruch that we complete the process of teshuvah and fix the mixture of good and evil that was caused by our sins.
