Kings have advantages and so do Kohanim. So why must Torah learners forfeit all that seems to be good in life? Is it all sacrifice or does the tradeoff give higher returns?

Chapter Six of Pirkei Avos known as Kinyan Torah is a fitting preparation for Shavuos the day when we renew our covenant with the Torah and demonstrate our commitment by studying through the night. It’s worthwhile to review the chapter carefully before Shavuos as it describes the essence of the Torah what makes it different from other kinds of wisdom and knowledge and particularly the characteristics of a person who can be said to “know the Torah ” who is worthy of being called a talmid chacham.

Let us analyze just one mishnah. In abundant detail it counsels us on what we need to do if we aspire to the crown of Torah. (With thanks to Rav Meir Lehman’s commentary on Avos Meir Nativ.)

The mishnah says “Torah is greater than priesthood or kingship. For kingship is acquired through thirty advantages and priesthood through twenty-four but Torah is acquired through forty-eight things…”

Note that the characteristics necessary for kingship or priesthood are called “advantages” whereas those associated with acquiring the Torah are simply referred to as “things.”

Among the thirty advantages associated with kingship a beraisa in Maseches Kallah lists: silver gold servants houses fields pleasure gardens palaces city-states princes ….” The advantages characterizing priesthood are the twenty-four privileges to which the kohen is entitled i.e. terumah tithes certain parts of korbanos and other gifts reserved for him.

Now Torah scholars have none of these advantages yet their status is above that of a king or a kohen. Or to be more precise the Torah’s superior status actually derives from the fact that it is not associated with any of these privileges.

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Few people desire to take on the heavy responsibility that rests upon a king. They may desire his honor and glory but not the hard work of ruling a kingdom. So since nobody wants the responsibility of ruling the ruler is compensated for his burden with external trappings of royalty and all the accompanying pomp and ceremony. A similar dynamic applies to the relationship between the common people and the kohen.

In contrast those who cling to the Torah and its mitzvos get none of this special treatment although they carry a responsibility that never lets up from the moment their awareness is sufficient until they take their last breath. The Torah demands of its scholars “to learn to teach to keep and to do” — every day of their lives. And no special privileges come their way. In fact their lot in this world is quite the opposite.

One who seriously wishes to acquire Torah must unhesitatingly give up a lifetime of worldly honor and pleasures – the very things that most people depend upon and long for. The forty-eight “things” by which Torah is acquired are not “advantages” at all; rather they involve giving up all the comforts to which others aspire.

Let us look at the list.

The first is called talmud learning. Is there any nation in the world or a scholarly class of any society that has absorbed the concept of “learning” so deeply into its essence as the Jewish People? Even the scholar who has learned the whole Torah still thinks of himself as a student a learner and he is honored with the title of talmid chacham a “wise student.” The rav does not teach his students he learns with them and they don’t go to hear a lecture they go to learn.

This quality of being permanently on a learning curve is the first requirement for kinyan Torah.

But how can one actively keep up this learning at all times? This is clarified as the mishnah goes on. “Listening” is the next requirement. One who wishes to learn must listen to what is being learned. The five senses are five gateways through which the world around us enters our minds. Words of Torah cannot be read as one reads a newspaper or novel. The mesorah whose acquisition is being discussed here is also known as shemu’ah that is something that one must apprehend through hearing. The verbal link between ozen ear and moznaim scales hints rather broadly that one must weigh what one hears from all sides as on a pair of scales before absorbing it permanently.” (We might add that even the physical sense of balance is centered in the ears. For balance can be reached only with a listening ear. Most people unfortunately do not listen. Perhaps they politely “hear out” the other person but they don’t always listen; they’re just waiting for their chance to respond.)

Further down the list the mishnah brings “yishv”. This refers to the knowledge information qualities and life experiences that we carefully cultivate and thus make the world into a place fit for human dwelling and perfectly suited to supplying the necessities of life. This is how the concept of yishuv is explained in the Gemara: “Anyone who does not occupy himself with Scripture nor Mishnah nor derech eretz is not part of the yishuv of civilization.”

A further requirement is mi’ut sechorah minimizing business dealings. This requirement is in complete contrast to the spirit of our times which teaches a person from childhood that the goal is to make a living that as soon as he finishes school he must dedicate himself to his livelihood leaving scarcely any time for other pursuits such as learning Torah. Yet this problem was already discussed in Talmudic times: Rabbah Bar Bar Chanah said in the name of Rabi Yochanan “Come and see that recent generations are not like the early generations. The early generations made their Torah the principal thing and their work a minor pursuit and they were successful at both. But the later generations which made their work the principal thing and their Torah a minor pursuit have not been successful at either” (Brachos 35).  

The Torah is additionally acquired through “a good heart.” In our times it is generally thought that qualities of the mind such as intelligence perceptiveness good memory and acuity are the means of acquiring not only Torah but all kinds of knowledge. Yet a good heart for all it’s considered to be worth is not considered a supreme value. The struggle for survival in our present culture doesn’t leave much room for the culture of the heart as it was in the times of our early ancestors. A good heart does not mean a heart that is open to all sorts of influences undiscerning and easily swayed. Chazal recommend a heart “that possesses a strong will to do good deeds.”

So after demanding total devotion which involves giving up the physical delights of this world (“minimizing pleasure minimizing sleep minimizing conversation minimizing laughter) the mishnah begins to enumerate the qualities that are necessary for those aspiring to the coveted crown of a Torah life. These qualities are as important as innate talent and diligence good memory and insight. By comparing the status of Torah with that of kingship and priesthood the mishnah opens a window to understanding the true character of the Torah. It does not view the Torah as a scholastic subject offering practical benefits of one kind or another but as the essence of the human soul.

The Torah is not just a collection of information however helpful but is spiritual energy which if a person’s heart is properly attuned forms a personality able to experience inestimable delights. Yet in order to achieve this the spirit must be cleansed to a degree that we scarcely ever see in our daily lives. This cleansing is characterized by the acquisition of :

Restraint a good heart faith in the sages acceptance of suffering knowing one’s place being happy with one’s portion making a fence for one’s words not taking credit for oneself being loved loving G‑d loving mankind loving righteousness loving rectitude loving reproof keeping away from honor not being arrogant in one’s learning not taking joy in giving directives sharing the burdens of others judging them favorably setting them on the path of truth setting them on the path of peace making his heart a dwelling-place for his learning asking and answering listening and adding learning for the sake of teaching and doing and making a statement in the name of the one who said it.

Each one of these traits is a world in itself; each has the power to elevate the learner’s soul to great heights. It’s up to you.

Food for Thought

The Torah begins with the letter beis

to teach you that we haven’t yet come to the alef of understanding it

(The Baal Shem Tov)

The mishnah does not view the Torah as a scholastic subject offering practical benefits of one kind or another but as the essence of the human soul