Torah Study for its Own Sake (Part I)

I. Torah for its own sake – for the sake of fulfilling it

 

In many places, Chazal greatly emphasized the need to study Torah for its own sake.[1] However, they did not directly clarify the meaning of this concept, and therefore the Rishonim and Acharonim offer many different explanations. What is the meaning of this requirement to study Torah for its own sake?

 

As a first step, we will trace the words of Chazal in various contexts where we find the requirement to study Torah for its own sake.

 

In the beginning of chapter Kinyan Torah in tractate Avot, we read:

 

Rabbi Meir says: Whoever occupies himself with the Torah for its own sake, merits to acquire many things. (Avot 6:1)

 

            In tractate Kalla Rabbati, we find an objection against Rabbi Meir’s words:

 

According to Rabbi Meir, rather than teach: Whoever occupies himself with the Torah for its own sake, should he not teach what Rabbi Yochanan said: "And the Lord says: Because they have forsaken My law" (Yirmeyahu 9:12) – not because of idol worship, nor because of forbidden sexual relations or bloodshed.

The Holy One, blessed is He, said: I sent Israel into exile only because they have forsaken the Torah, as it is stated: "And they have forsaken Me, and have not kept My law" (Yirmeyahu 16:11). If they have forsaken Me, what is the need to add "and have not kept My law"? From here the Sages said: A person should always occupy himself with Torah and mitzvot,[2] even if not for the sake of learning itself, for from [study] not for its own sake, one comes to [study] for its own sake. (Kalla Rabbati 5:1).

 

            And they answer there:

 

When Rabbi Meir spoke, he was speaking according to Rabbi Akiva’s opinion, as it was taught: Rabbi Akiva says: Whoever reads [from the Torah] not for its own sake, it would have been better for him had the after-birth in which he lay been turned over his face, as it is stated: "And you shall keep My commandments and do them." I gave them to be done, and not for any other purpose. (ibid.)

 

            According to tractate Kalla, Rabbi Meir follows the opinion of Rabbi Akiva who emphasizes that the primary objective of Torah study is fulfilling the mitzvot. One who studies "Torah for its own sake" studies Torah in order to fulfill it.

 

            In earlier shiurim we brought the words of the Yerushalmi in Berakhot (2, 1), according to which it would have been better for one who studies "not in order to fulfill," had the after-birth been turned over his face, preventing him from entering the world. This is the same formulation used here by Rabbi Akiva in connection with one who studies not for its own sake.[3]

 

II. Rabbi Yehuda he-Chasid and the demand that one learn in order to do

 

            According to this, one who studies Torah for its own sake directs his study to the Torah's actualization and fulfillment in the world of actions. Rabbi Yehuda he-Chasid emphasizes this idea in his book, Sefer Chasidim:

 

If a person wishes to study for its own sake, how does he do this? When he learns, he should think in his heart: Whatever I learn, I will fulfill. He who discontinues [learning] words of Torah and indulges in idle gossip will be made to eat glowing coals of juniper, as it is stated (Iyov 30:4): "They pluck salt-wort with wormwood; and the roots of juniper are their food." And if he fulfills them, it is for its own sake.

Even if he learns: "He who pays money to a woman, counting from his hand to her hand for the sake of gazing at her," he will not be saved from the judgment of Gehinom, but if he does not gaze at women it is for its own sake. But if he discontinues [learning] words of Torah and occupies himself with idle gossip, and similarly if he gazes at women, he will be punished even for that which he has already learned. This is similar to the prophet who transgressed that which was told to him, or like the person who heard the words of a prophet and transgressed them, and a lion attacked him. So too one who studies and does not fulfill. (Sefer Chasidim, ed. Margoliyot, 944)

 

            Rabbi Yehuda he-Chasid does not content himself with the demand that one study in order to fulfill. He is not willing to accept meticulous fulfillment of only the laws of Shabbat and forbidden interest. He requires internalization of all the material studied, and its full actualization in the world of action. If what he studied is not actualized in this manner, the study for its own sake is blemished.

 

            Sefer Chasidim compares between one who studies the words of Chazal and a prophet who receives a prophecy but denies it. He relates to the words of Chazal as the word of God in the mouths of His Sages (which parallel words of prophecy). Thus, one who denies these words is like one who denies God's word in His Torah.

 

            These words echo and penetrate exceedingly deeply. The duty upon one who studies Torah for its own sake is to fulfill the Torah that he learned in close connection to the words that he studied, and to see them as if he had heard them from the mouth of God. This is the deeper meaning of the comparison drawn between Torah study and words of prophecy. They are both the words of the living God, and when one denies them it is as if he removed his ear from listening to the words of God. On the other hand, one who obeys them and actualizes them cleaves to the living God.

 

III. Tosafot: Three levels in Torah study

 

            This point which we learned from the words of Rabbi Yehuda he-Chasid is emphasized and intensified in the wake of the words of Tosafot, who struggle with a certain tension between a passage in Berakhot (17b) and a passage in Pesachim (3b).

 

            The Tosafot in Pesachim distinguish between two levels of Torah study not for its own sake:

 

The Ri says: We are dealing with a case where he studies in order to brag, or to rebuke or to overwhelm his colleagues with [quoting] halakhot, and he does not study in order to do. But here we are dealing with a case… where he has no bad intentions, but he is lazy. Even so, "Your mercy is great unto the heavens." (Pesachim 50b, s.v. ve-kan be-osin)

 

            One who does not study in order to fulfill the mitzvot, but rather in order to rebuke others with what he has learned, would have been better off had he not been born. However, one who studies but does not fulfill the mitzvot out of laziness, even though he studies Torah not for its own sake, will nevertheless receive great reward. Of course, his reward will not be equal to that of one who studies Torah for its own sake, for God's mercy is great above the heavens.[4]

 

            The words of the Tosafot expose us to an important principle regarding Torah study for its own sake. It is not only the question of the objective – fulfilling the mitzvot or not fulfilling the mitzvot – which concerns us. The explanation offered by the Tosafot emphasizes the great importance of the forces that operate deep inside a person and lead to the non-actualization of a person's study in the world of actions.

 

            One who studies Torah and deeply identifies with the subject matter of his study; one who internalizes that he is occupied with God's Torah that shows him how to build a life of service to God; will want and aspire to fulfill all that he has learned. On the other hand, the more partial and superficial a person's identification with the material that he is studying, the less he will aspire to actualize this study in practice. He will be too lazy to fulfil the more difficult and demanding mitzvot, he will be less meticulous about the details and minutiae, and he will content himself with the general principles. The quality of his execution of the mitzvot will also lessen, the intention that accompanies his action will be reduced, and the joy of performing the mitzvot will weaken.

 

            In a case where there is no identification whatsoever, and there may be alienation instead, there might even develop rebuke and scorn.

 

            As stated, the words of Tosafot are based on a contradiction between a passage in Berakhot and a passage in Pesachim. This is what is stated in the Gemara in Berakhot:

 

One of Rava’s favorite sayings was: The goal of wisdom is repentance and good deeds, so a man should not study Torah and Mishna and then despise his father and mother and teacher and his superior in wisdom and rank, as it is stated: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, a good understanding have all they that do thereafter" (Tehilim 111:10). It does not say: "that do," but: "that do thereafter," which implies, that do them for their own sake and not for other motives. If one does them for other motives, it were better that he had not been created. (Berakhot 17a)

 

            One who studies Torah based on negative motives is liable to exploit the knowledge that he acquires to rebuke and to reject. As Rava often said, one who studies Torah and whose internal world seeks to identify with the Torah and wisdom that he learns, has a strong basis for all study. The test for such a foundation lies in the practical consequence of observance of mitzvot.

 

            From the words of the Tosafot, it appears that there are three levels:

 

1. One who studies out of identification – in order to fulfill the mitzvot. The first level is a person who studies Torah in order to fulfill, based on full identification with the word of God and His mitzvot. Such a person, who wishes to understand the roots of the words of the Torah, their details and minutiae, merits connection and communion with God. He merits the level mentioned in the passage in Pesachim: "Your mercy is great unto the heavens." He acquires an inheritance that has no boundaries, that bursts forth above the heavens, above the uppermost barrier.

 

2. One who studies Torah out of partial identification – laziness. The middle level is one who studies Torah out of partial identification, and as a result he is lazy about fulfilling some of the mitzvot. He lacks the aspiration to achieve full actualization, but there is still hope that his partial identification will broaden, deepen, spread and conquer his heart in all areas of action. As Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav in the Gemara in Pesachim (ibid.): "A man should always occupy himself with Torah and good deeds, though it is not for their own sake, for out of doing good with an ulterior motive there comes doing good for its own sake." For the time being, such a person merits the important worldly level of "Your mercy is great unto the heavens," with the hope that he will breach this barrier.

 

3. One who studies Torah with no identification – not in order to fulfill the mitzvot. The lowest level is one who learns not in order to fulfill, without identifying at all. Such a person is filled with a sense of self-importance, and rejects everything that is not a part of himself. About such a person it was stated: "It would have been better had he not been born," because he is totally unaware of his mission in the world.

 

The Tosafot in Berakhot propose a different solution regarding the relationship between the two passages:

 

It may be suggested that here we are dealing with one who studies Torah in order to rebuke his colleagues, whereas there we are dealing with one who studies so that others will honor him. (Tosafot, Berakhot 17a, s.v. ha-oseh)

 

            According to this understanding as well, the highest level is that reached by one who studies Torah with total identification, one who nullifies himself and his personality before God, His Torah and His mitzvot. Here too, the other extreme is one whose entire experience is his personal position, one who feels no obligation to external commands or instruction.

 

            In the middle, according to the Tosafot in Berakhot, stands a person who wishes to fulfill God's commands, but has not yet reached the level of self-effacement and cleaving to the will of God. We are dealing with a person who studies Torah so that others who see him while he is engaged in study or fulfilling mitzvot will honor him. There is hope for such a person, and about him it is stated: "For out of doing good with an ulterior motive there comes doing good for its own sake," and that "the light within it will bring him back for the better." The light of the Torah will shine for him on the pure truth, and he will understand that his imagined honor is a lie, and that he will achieve true honor by honoring his Maker.

 

            This combination of aspiring to fulfill God's mitzvot as the objective of Torah study ("one who learns in order to do") together with the desire for identification which spurs a person to action places Torah study in the center. Torah study is what creates and deepens one's connection and experience, which in the end is expressed through the practical fulfillment of the mitzvot with all their particulars and minutiae.

 

IV. The Ideal course of study

 

            The combined objective that we have presented dictates a course of study with a twofold goal. Torah study must include two fundamental components: practical halakha, and deepening one's sense of identification and personal connection.

 

            A person must study material related to practical halakha. But at the same time he must delve into material that intensifies his identification and personal connection, and thus this can include the entire expanse of the word of God.

 

            It seems, then, that a course of study which combines material concerning concrete and practical issues, together with material that expresses God's word as reflected in the entire expanse of the Torah (e.g., Kodeshim and Taharot) will magnify, expand and deepen the word of God and lead to broad and comprehensive identification.

 

            Such a course of study will develop a personality who spreads its wings over the word of God in its entirety, and whose fiercest aspiration is to fulfill God's demands and commandments at all times and in all places. The living spirit that fills such a personality, by virtue of the grand and broad Torah that flows vitally through his arteries, aspires to fulfill God's will and commandments wholeheartedly. "All of my bones shall say," all of my bones shall do, "Let everything that has breathe praise God."

 

            In light of this, one should not restrict his Torah study to practical matters. The expanse that is required to develop a deep connection to the word of God, which will in turn develop a strong yearning to fulfill the mitzvot in this world, necessitates a broader and deeper spectrum of study.

 

            In his introduction to the first volume of Yabi'a Omer, Rav Ovadya Yosef, ztz"l has sharp things to say about this matter:

 

There is a holy obligation upon the Torah authorities of Israel and on the Roshei Yeshiva everywhere to guide those studying in Yeshivot about the course of their studies, and to train them in the paths of ruling, and the way of upright examination, to understand and to rule, for now and for future generations. About this Chazal said (Kiddushin 40b): "Great is Torah study that leads to practice." And to occupy themselves with the halakhot about which every Rabbi in Israel is asked.

How painful it is to see so many young men of Israel spending all their time in vain sophistry, without examining whether their words accord with the Halakha and simple logic. It is a great pity that their glowing talent, which could have been used for understanding and clarifying real-life problems, is instead invested in sophistry, which provides them with fleeting spiritual joy. About them it is fitting to say: "They forsake eternal life, and occupy themselves with ephemeral life" (Shabbat 10a). Such a person, even when he has to rule on a matter, will follow a crooked path…

The objective and essence of Torah study is to infer practical halakhic ramifications. As Chazal wrote: "Great is Torah study, for it leads to practice." Therefore, the main part of one's learning must be in matters relating to Orach Chayyim and Yoreh De'ah, which apply even in our time, so that one knows how to fulfill the mitzvot properly, and will also avoid transgressing Torah and rabbinic prohibitions.

This is  not like the practice of certain Torah students in certain Yeshivot, who spend all their time on sophistry connected to the orders of Kodeshim and Taharot, which do not apply at this time, but are halakhot for the Messianic period, which are in the category of "study in order to receive reward" (as is explained in Zevachim 45). Whereas they show no interest in matters that apply in our time, and they are not even proficient in the laws of Shabbat and the laws of prayer and blessings, which are matters that apply all the time. Often they stumble in matters known even to ordinary Jews who set aside time for Torah study in the areas of Orach Chayyim and Yoreh De'a. (Yabi'a Omer, vol. 1, Introduction)

 

            This approach, which restricts Torah study to practical matters, exhausts the objective of study, in order to do, in the most direct manner. It does not, however, take into account the second principle which we mentioned (based on the words of Rava in Berakhot), according to which it is necessary to develop the connection and the appropriate traits to be counted among those who study and do. In order to fulfill this goal, a broader course of Torah study is necessary.

 

            At the beginning of this shiur we mentioned the expression, "it would have been better for him had the after-birth in which he lay been turned over his face," stated with respect to one who studies Torah not in order to do. As may be recalled, this expression is found in the Yerushalmi, tractate Berakhot, and in the words of Rabbi Akiva in Kalla Rabbati. Despite the identical expression, the point of departure and the message conveyed are different in the two cases.

 

            The Yerushalmi concerns Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who did not want to interrupt his learning for the sake of fulfilling the mitzvot of Keri'at Shema and prayer. The Yerushalmi objects that Torah study must lead to actualization and fulfillment of mitzvot in the world of action, and cannot remain in the world of connection to God.[5] The full spiritual connection that Rabbi Shimon felt when he occupied himself with God's Torah with unique and unparalleled intensity must find concrete expression in earthly life.[6]

 

            Rabbi Akiva, on the other hand, speaks of a person who studies Torah not in order to fulfill, but in order to rebuke others, as his words were understood by the Tosafot.

 

            The common denominator between these two perspectives is that with respect to Torah that remains in heaven and is not actualized on earth,[7] like Torah that is used as a tool to taunt those who toil in study, it would be better if the bearers of this Torah not exist, and that they not have been born in the first place. Only Torah that connects man to the word of God, and purifies him, and together with that is actualized and fulfilled in practice on earth, is Torah for its own sake. This Torah purifies the body and actualizes its ideas in the world of action.

 

(Translated by David Strauss)

 

 

 

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[1] It is not our intention to exhaust this broad topic in this framework. We will emphasize certain principles which in our opinion are important for the service of God in the context of Torah study. A comprehensive study of the issue is found in Rabbi Norman Lamm’s important work Torah li-Shema and elsewhere.

[2] Here, emphasis is placed on the phrase, "Torah and mitzvot." At this stage we are discussing studying Torah for its own sake. As for fulfilling the mitzvot not for their own sake, see below.

[3] At the end of this shiur, we will discuss the significance of this formulation.

[4] See Pesachim, ibid.

[5] Regarding this point, I once heard in the name of a certain Chassidic master (I don't remember which one) with respect to the verse in Parashat Tetzaveh, regarding the High Priest who enters the Holy with his robe, on the skirt of which hang golden bells and pomegranates. The verse states: "And the sound thereof shall be heard when he goes in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he comes out, that he die not" (Shemot 28:35). According to this Chassidic master, while entry into the Holy is exceedingly important, the sounds remind the High Priest that he must leave the Holy and return to the earthly plain. It is there that man's true mission is found. If a person remains in the Holy he will die. Therefore the verse emphasizes: "And when he comes out, that he die not."

[6] See the Yerushalmi (ad loc.) which explains that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai actualized his study in the practical world, and that his position related exclusively to Keriat Shema, as both Keriat Shema and Torah study involve reading words of Torah, and we do not set aside one reading for another.

[7] As the Kotzker Rebbe said about the verse: "And you shall be holy men unto me" (Shemot 22:30) – God wants us to be holy men, as He created enough angels in heaven.