Shlomo Ha’melech says in Mishlei 3:15 – “Torah is more precious than pearls, and all your desirable things cannot be compared to it”. The gemara in Horiyos 13 explains this pasuk to mean that Torah is more precious than the kohen gadol who goes into the kodesh kadoshim. Asks Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurbach, why does the gemara have to learn the pasuk in this way? Why couldn’t the pasuk simply mean that the Torah is more precious than pearls?
Rav Shlomo Zalman answers: Being that the Torah is totally spiritual, it cannot possibly be compared to something physical, even something extremely valuable. Therefore, the gemara explains that we’re not comparing Torah to pearls, which is physically valuable, but to the kohen gadol who enters the holy of holies, who represents complete spirituality.
Dovid Ha’melech says in Tehilim 119:72 that the Torah is better than thousands of gold and silver. We have the same question on this pasuk - how can Dovid Hamelech compare Torah to gold and silver? You cannot compare Torah to the most expensive jewels, and even more than that, by comparing Torah’s value to something physical, it actually lowers the value of Torah in your eyes! So what is Dovid Hamelech teaching us?
R’ Chaim Kanievsky explains that the pasuk is telling us that Torah is so precious, that even if you took thousands of gold and silver and you did mitzvos with all that money, still Torah is better. With this understanding, says Rav Yisroel Meir Druk, we can answer the above question as to why we say that Torah is more precious than the kohen gadol who goes into the kodesh hakodoshim. Why not explain the pasuk in the simple way, that it’s more precious than pearls? The answer is that it’s true that pearls are worth a lot, but in comparison to Torah, the pearls have no value. There is no comparison at all. That’s why the gemara compares it to the kohen gadol who is the holiest of all people in the world. He separates himself seven days before Yom Kippur and makes sure that he doesn’t become impure. On Yom Kippur, which is the holiest day of the year, the holiest person in our nation enters the kodesh hakodoshim, which is the holiest place in the entire world. This is the epitome of holiness! And, says Dovid Hamelech, the chashivus of learning Torah is still greater. Nothing can compare to the value of Torah, not even the kohen gadol on Yom Kippur in the kodesh hakodoshim!
Why does Dovid Hamelech give the example of both gold and silver? Wouldn’t it be enough to say that Torah is more precious than gold, as gold is far more precious than silver?
In the Haggada shel Pesach we say, “Baruch Hamakom...” - Blessed is Hashem Who gave us the Torah, which corresponds to the four children – the chacham, rasha, tam... Says the Bais Halevi, when it comes to secular subjects, for example a math book, a first-grader receives a level-one math book and an eighth-grader receives a level-eight math book. You can’t give an eighth grader a first-grade math book and you can’t give a first grader an eighth-grade math book. However, when it comes to the Torah, it’s not that way. The pasuk Chumash that a first-grader learns is the exact same pasuk Chumash that the gadol hador learns. Of course, each one will learn that pasuk according to his own understanding, but the actual pasuk speaks to every yid, of every age and every level of intelligence. That is the gadlus of Torah, says the Baal Haggada. Baruch Hashem who gave the Torah, corresponding to all four children, each one according to his understanding.
Perhaps this is what Dovid Ha’melech is saying. Torah is more than gold and silver, meaning that the gadol hador appreciates Torah at least like gold, and a child appreciates Torah on his lower level, at least like silver. That’s why Dovid Hamelech uses both comparisons, since the Torah reaches people on all levels, the “gold” ones on a higher level and the “silver” ones on a lower level.
The gemara in Taanis 7 compares Torah to two beverages, water and wine. What is the comparison to these two beverages? The Chelkas Yaakov says that the difference between wine and water is that wine is a luxury. A person can live one hundred and twenty years without drinking wine, but water is essential for life; you can’t live without it. Therefore, the Torah is compared first and foremost to water, since Torah is life itself. It’s a necessity, not a luxury. Just as one can’t live without water, a yid cannot live without Torah. However, water doesn’t give a person joy and pleasure. Sure, it gives you life – but that’s not all the Torah gives us. Torah also gives a yid unadulterated joy and chiyus. Therefore, Torah is compared also to wine, a symbol of joy and pleasure.
Ashreinu! The source of life, the greatest pleasure and joy, and the epitome of spiritual value is right here in our hands! We need not go searching or spend money on the quest – every yid was given the priceless gift of Torah. It’s ours forever.
