The Personal Quality of Torah
TALMUDIC AGGADA
By Rav Yitzchak Blau
Shiur #24: The
Personal Quality of Torah
But whose desire is
for Gods Torah (Tehillim 1:2). Rabbi said: A man can learn [well] only
that part of the Torah which is his heart's desire, for it is said, But whose
desire is for Gods Torah. Levi and R. Shimon, the son of Rabbi, were once
sitting before Rabbi and were expounding a part of Scripture. When the book was
concluded, Levi said: Let Mishlei now be brought. R. Shimon the son of
Rabbi, however, said: Let Tehillim be brought. They overruled Levi and brought
Tehillim. When they came to this verse, But whose desire is for Gods
Torah, Rabbi offered his comment: One can only learn well that part of the
Torah which is his heart's desire. Levi remarked: Rabbi, You have given me the
right to rise.
R. Avdimi the son of
Chama said: He who occupies himself with the Torah will have his desires
granted by the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said: He who [is occupied] with
God's Torah, his desire [shall be granted].
Rava likewise said:
One should always study that part of the Torah which is his heart's desire, as
it is said, But whose desire is for Gods Torah. And Rava said: At the
beginning, the Torah is assigned to the Holy One, blessed be He, but at the end
it is assigned to the person [who studies it], for it is said, Whose desire is
for Gods Torah, and he meditates on his [own] Torah day and night. (Avoda
Zara 19a)
The second verse in
the book of Tehillim mentions desire in the context of Torah. According
to several explanations, this verse conveys that Torah study works best when a
student follows his or her inclination in learning, and is motivated and excited
to learn. Rabbi and Rava seem to have similar ideas, but the former says mimakom
shelibo chafetz (from the place that his heart desires) and the latter
says bemakom shelibo chafetz (in the place that his heart desires).
Maharsha explains that Rabbi refers to the inclination to study a specific work.
The Talmudic story in which Levi applies Rabbis interpretation to his own
frustrated desire to study Mishlei, when he is forced to study
Tehillim instead, supports this interpretation. Rava, on the other hand,
speaks about the desire to study with a specific teacher.
Ben Yehoyada makes a
different distinction between the teachings of Rabbi and Rava. Rava adds the
word leolam, conveying that a person should always study that
part of Torah which is his hearts desire. According to Ben Yehoyada, Rabbi
applied the principle only to a person learning independently, presumably
because such a person does not need to balance his own needs and desires with
those of other students. Rava extends the concept even to an individual learning
in a group context. Ben Yehoyada does not address the practicality of a group
dynamic in which each person insists on getting his way, but his comment still
underscores the importance of individual choice in education. .
According to each
interpretation, the Gemara grants great weight to personal inclination. When I
converse with students, sometimes they think that the mitzva of Talmud
Torah includes an extremely precise and detailed educational curriculum. Such
students express surprise when I ask them which aspect of study they most enjoy,
a question which assumes that inclination plays a role in educational decisions.
While we clearly must balance personal preference with the need for basic and
broad Torah knowledge, Rabbi and Rava instruct us to take student inclination
seriously, both regarding choice of work and choice of instructor.
The Levi story
humorously underscores this point. Why did Rabbi endorse his sons choice over
that of Levi? Maharsha explains that
Tehillim precedes Mishlei in the order of Scripture in Bava
Batra 14b. Secondly, Mishlei represents wisdom, whereas Tehillim
exemplifies fear of heaven, and we know that fear of heaven should precede
wisdom. Whatever the reason for the decision, this small group of one teacher
and two students start Tehillim and immediately encounter (based on the
second verse they study) Rabbis idea that education works best when students
study the work of their choice. At which point, Levi declares that he has a
right to leave. I assume that Levi did not leave; rather, all three chuckled and
then moved on to the third verse of Tehillim. Nonetheless, the
educational point is made.
R. Yaakov Reisher (Iyyun
Yaakov) comments that the necessity for the left hand pushing away while
the right hand brings close (Sota 47a) applies even to the evil
inclination. The first verse in Tehillim praises the person who does not
follow the counsel of the wicked and who avoids the gathering of scorners, a
person who does not blindly follow appetite and inclination. The second verse,
which links desire with Torah, endorses inclination. The same person who subdues
inclination regarding more mundane pursuits, lets inclination have freer reign
in the world of Torah study. While R. Reisher phrases this idea in terms of the
yetzer ha-ra, one could formulate the point in a more positive fashion.
There is nothing selfish about being drawn to a particular aspect of Torah,
since that specific drive and connection reflects an authentic connection to
Gods word. Thus, this gemara endorses inclination, but a highly positive
one, not a yetzer ha-ra.
A later section of
the gemara says that the Torah first belongs to God, and then the person
studying Torah takes ownership of it through the process of study. Maharal
connects the idea of libo chafetz with the concept of making Torah
ones own. After all, both ideas appear in the same Talmudic discussion, and
both emerge from exegesis of the same verse in Tehillim. If we value
personalizing and internalizing Torah, then we should also enable a certain
freedom of choice for those studying. Personalization does not work smoothly
with a curriculum fully coerced from above; it depends upon finding ones own
place in the world of Torah based on proclivity and free choice.
In what sense does
this acquisition of ownership take place?
Anaf Yosef connects our source with a gemara (Berakhot
35a) about birkot ha-nehenin (blessings on deriving benefit) which says
that the world belongs to God until we make a blessing, and then belongs to us
after the blessing. God allows humanity to achieve ownership of an apple or
Torah once we acknowledge, through the medium of blessing, that God provides us
with the raw materials. This interpretation appears difficult since Avoda
Zara 19a says nothing about making a birkat ha-Torah (blessing on the
Torah).
R. Reisher suggests
a potential resolution to the conflict between Gods Torah and our Torah; the
former relates to the written Torah, whereas the latter refers to the oral law.
Certainly, the oral law incorporates far more human contributions, and it makes
sense to speak of that component of Torah as belonging to humanity. Nonetheless,
the Gemara seems to speak of the same Torah undergoing a transfer of title. In
R. Reishers approach, each phrase speaks of distinct aspects of Torah, not of
one Torah whose ownership changes over time.
We could accept R.
Reishers idea about the creative human element in Torah study, without drawing
the same dividing lines. When a person gives a novel interpretation of a verse
in Shemot, he makes that verse his own in a profound fashion. At first,
he simply encounters information at the surface of the Divine Torah. Striving to
comprehend the depth of Torah and arriving at new insights enables a person to
make the Torah his or her own.
Yet we should not
identify the personalization of Torah solely with coming up with an idea never
said before. R. Shalom Carmy makes an important distinction between creativity
and originality:
Being original
entails saying something that nobody has said before
Creativity, by contrast,
reflects the inner experience of the individual overcoming a challenge.
Creativity is not diminished when one achieves by strength and submission,
what has already been discovered, by men whom one cannot hope to emulate. To
contend with a sugya (Gemara passage) or a passage of Tanakh and
forge in the smithy of ones consciousness the same understanding that animated
Ramban or Seforno or R. Shimon Shkop, is a triumph of human creativity. (Tradition
Winter 2000, p. 26)
A person who fully
appreciates and internalizes an interpretation of Ramban engages in a creative
and personalizing process, even though the idea has circulated for centuries. In
a deep sense, he makes this Torah his own.
Malbim on Tehillim identifies Gods Torah with the world of study,
and our Torah with the world of practice. Indeed, human individuality is often
made manifest in the application of Torah ideals to the unique issues involved
in a particular human life. Orthodox Judaism certainly believes in a good deal
of Divinely and rabbinically mandated rules and structure. At the same time,
this Talmudic source emphasizes the great value we grant to personal voices,
individual inclination, and human creativity. In the realms of both study and
practice, we strive to make the Torah our own.
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