YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
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PHILOSOPHY OF HALAKHA
By Rav Chaim Navon

Lecture #9b: THE PLACE OF TORAH STUDY IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD
Part 2

ONTOLOGICAL-MYSTICAL UNION

Rav Chayyim of Volozhin, founder of the Lithuanian yeshiva world, strongly rejected these approaches. Rav Chayyim denounced the followers of the Chassidic movement, who forsook the study of the Talmud and the halakhic codes:

Some of the people who desire that God should be near choose to set as the primary subject of their constant study books dealing with the fear of God and ethics. They do not set our holy Torah, the Scriptures and the many Halakhot as the primary subject of their study. They have never seen the light, nor has the light of the Torah ever shone upon them. May God forgive them, for their intentions are good. But this is not the way the light of the Torah will dwell among them. (Nefesh ha-Chayyim, gate 4, chap. 1)

Note should be taken of Rav Chayyim's basic sympathy for the Chassidim – "who desire that God should be near." As a matter of principle, however, he rejected their approach to the worship of God in general and to Torah study in particular. Rav Chayyim argues that the most important element is the study of the Talmud and the codes, i.e., the study of Halakha. It was Rav Chayyim who focused the discussion of the topic on the meaning of the expression "Torah for its own sake":

As for the matter of "Torah for its own sake," the clear truth is that "for its own sake" does not mean "communion," as most of the world now thinks. For surely, our Rabbis of blessed memory stated in the Midrash that King David, may he rest in peace, requested of God that he who occupies himself in [the reciting of] Psalms should be considered as if he were occupying himself in [the study of] Nega'im and Ohalot. You see then that studying the talmudic laws with scrutiny and exertion is loftier and more loved by God than reciting Psalms. But were we to say that "for its own sake" means "communion," and the whole essence of Torah study depends upon it alone, surely there is no more wonderful communion than that attained through the proper recitation of Psalms all day long … Moreover, for communion, one tractate, or one chapter or Mishnah, would have sufficed, that one should study it all his life with devotion. (Nefesh ha-Chayyim, gate 4, chap. 2)

Rav Chayyim proves his point both from the midrashim of Chazal and from the internal dynamics of study. Rav Chayyim notes that those who study Torah aspire to advance and develop themselves within the context of the study itself, and they appear to be totally detached from any goal external to it. Those engaged in Torah scholarship do not set as the goal of their study the strengthening of their religiosity, but rather the enhancement of their Torah knowledge. What then is meant by the requirement to study "Torah for its own sake"?

The truth is that "for its own sake" means "for the sake of the Torah … for the sake of the words of the Torah, that is, to know and understand them, adding learning and modes of argumentation. (Nefesh ha-Chayyim, gate 4, chap. 3)
 
According to Rav Chayyim, Torah study must be directed towards the Torah itself, its development and perfection, and certainly not towards psychological-experiential communion with God. What, however, is the value of such study?

When a person is occupied in the study of Torah, he certainly has no need for communion whatsover, as was mentioned above. For the occupation and study themselves involve communion with the will and the word of the Blessed One, and the Blessed One and His will and His Word are all one. (Nefesh ha-Chayyim, gate 4, chapter 10)

Rav Chayyim argues that psychological communion is totally marginal, and that the true intimacy gained through the study of Torah is far superior to it. Rav Chayyim proposes a revolutionary claim: Mystical intimacy with God, even if we do not feel it whatsoever, is far more important than the feeling of communion.

It should be clarified here that the discussion relates to three different plains (which, obviously, are not totally independent of each other): the subjective intention of the Torah student, the nature of the learning process as it manifests itself in actual practice in the beit midrash, and the objective goal of study, that is, its significance for the religious world. Rav Chayyim discusses the intention of the Torah student, asserting that it must be focused on the Torah itself. Hence, the learning process itself must also be cut off from external aspirations, and should not be directed at their achievement. According to Rav Chayyim, the supreme and ultimate goal of Torah study is miraculous ontological union with the will of God, a union that is more elevated than the psychological feeling of intimacy with God proposed by some of the Chassidic masters.

It should be noted that regarding this last point there is an astounding similarity between the position of Rav Chayyim and that of Rav Shneur Zalman of Lyady, author of the Tanya:

When, for example, one understands and comprehends a particular halakha in the Mishna or Gemara, clearly and thoroughly, his intellect grasps and encompasses that halakha … Now, this halakha is the wisdom and will of God. It so arose in His will that if, for example, Reuven would claim thus and Shimon thus, such and such should be the verdict between them. Even if it never did nor ever will come to pass that litigation occur over these arguments and claims … Yet, since it arose thus in God’s will and wisdom that if one person would claim this way and the other that way, the verdict be such and such, therefore when one knows and comprehends this verdict as a halakha set forth in the Mishna or Gemara or halakhic codes, he then actually comprehends and grasps the will and wisdom of God. (Likutei Amarim, chap. 5)

According to this approach, the study of Halakha has value on the mystical level in that it contributes to the miraculous union of man with God, a union that is executed not on the psychological, but on the ontological level.

PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT

According to yet another approach, the study of Halakha has an enormous effect on a person's personality. This approach accepts the Chassidic outlook, though with certain changes, that the goal of Torah study is to shape the personality of the God-fearing man. Unlike the Chassidim, however, the proponents of this approach support speculative study that is focused on the Halakhic sections of the Torah, rather than study of Jewish philosophy and ethics. Moreover, they advocate study that is intellectual in nature, and not emotional. It is precisely such study that is capable of perfecting one's personality and elevating it. Already Chazal taught us: "An ignorant person cannot be sin-fearing, a man lacking instruction cannot be pious" (Avot 2:5). Rav Hai Gaon was quite explicit on this matter:

The fear of Heaven, the fear of sin, alacrity, humility, purity, and holiness are only found among those who study Mishna and Talmud. (Rav Hai Gaon, cited in Responsa of Rivash, no. 45)

But why should this be so? Why does the study of Halakha have such a significant psychological influence? We shall examine the words of the Hazon Ish on this point:

Toil in [the study of] Torah can purify the soul, refine and polish it, drawing to it the pleasant feeling of purity and holiness, and deeply implant within the heart an abhorrence of frivolity and vain pleasures. In addition, toil in [the study of] Torah can stir up excessive love and self-sacrifice to fulfill the details of the mitzva he is toiling over, his reins admonishing him to know that he has been created for that purpose.
While, indeed, toil in the study of Halakha firmly implants a special love for the particular law that he is studying, it adds general love for the study of the law with respect to the entire Torah. For belief in the details of the commandments must be acquired; it is not something that comes naturally. Superficial reason makes it difficult to believe, for example, that shaking out a garment on Shabbat is an offense that obligates a sin-offering, whereas chopping wood is only a rabbinic prohibition, or to believe that utensils sold to a non-Jew before Pesach require ritual immersion after Pesach. It is even more difficult for a person to accept the monetary laws when he is involved in a dispute with his neighbor, when an entire host of qualities are stretched out against his neighbor, and he sees nothing wrong in himself … then he must subdue his heart to recognize justice and to see a blemish in himself, when he sets his nights like days in study of the law and balancing judgment in the books of the commentators and codifiers who outlined for us the way of the Oral Law which is broader than the sea. This exertion serves as a shield in his hand against rivalry with others and love of wrongdoing, and fills him with the love of justice which is dearer to him than all riches and money. (Chazon Ish, Emuna u-Bitachon, chap. 3, 7-8)

The Chazon Ish emphasizes the psychological effects of the study of the halakhic portions of Torah. In contrast to the Chassidim, however, he does not speak of the sweeping emotion of ultimate communion, but rather he stresses something altogether different. We have already explained (in our lecture on "The Place of Halakha in the Worship of God") the enormous importance that the Jewish outlook attaches to Halakha. The Chazon Ish argues that only one who toils in the study of Halakha can foster true devotion to Halakha and truly prepare himself for sacrifice on behalf of the observance of Halakha. The Chazon Ish also views practical Halakha as the goal of study, but in a very different way than that of Rabbenu Bachya. He does not claim that the goal of Torah study is to clarify practical Halakha, but rather that the goal of such study is to arouse devotion to Halakha and commitment to a life of Halakha. The study may consist of theoretical speculation that focuses on the basic principles of the law, rather than on the practical details, provided that it will affect the student's personality in the manner described above.

The Chazon Ish limits the influence of Torah study to the fostering of devotion to Halakha. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik greatly developed this line of thinking, claiming that Torah study is the key to the development of the personality of the God-serving man, and not only in the specific area of commitment to Halakha. This applies mainly (but not solely) to the worship of God through fear, the goal of which is service of God, rather than intimacy with Him. The constant occupation with God's laws implants within man's personality the trait of fear and total commitment to God. There is here a certain affinity with the Chassidic position, but the Hazon Ish and Rav Soloveitchik are not speaking about some sweeping excitement that is aroused in the course of study, but with a slow, accumulative effect on the development of the personality of the God-serving man. Rav Amital, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, frequently notes that those Jewish communities that were unsuccessful in developing a tradition of Torah study focused on Halakha disappeared, the primary example being the glorious Italian Jewish community. Torah study has an irreplaceable effect on the personalities of those who study it, and Jewish communities were unable to survive without this blessed influence. We are dealing here, as was stated above, with the "dry" study of Halakha, which focuses on the abstract intellectual study of God's laws.

Rav Soloveitchik's two most important articles, "Ish ha-Halakha" and "U-bikashtem Misham," deal primarily with this issue, how the speculative study of Halakha develops and enriches the personality of the God-serving man, primarily in the area of fear, but also in the area of love. We shall examine some of what Rav Soloveitchik said in this context:

Halakhic cognition does not remain pent up in the intellect … The idea turns into a boiling and stormy experience; knowledge – into the fire of religion; meticulous and particular halakhic obedience – into craving love that burns with a holy fire; tens of thousands of black letters - squeezed into which are heaps and heaps of laws, explanations, objections, problems, concepts, and rules - descend from the cold and serene mind, which rests on its subtle abstractions and systematic orders, to a quivering and trembling heart, and roll in the sparks of the fire of a great experience that sweeps man to his Maker. (Rav Soloveitchik, Divrei Hashkafa, pp. 245-246)

The approach to God is also made possible by the Halakha. Primarily, halakhic man cognizes God via His Torah, via the truth of halakhic cognition. There is truth in the Halakha, there is a halakhic epistemology, there is a halakhic thinking "the measure thereof is longer than the earth" (Iyov 11:9). There is Torah wisdom "that is broader than the sea" (ibid). And all of these are rooted in the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, the revealer of the law … It is via the ideal world, in which creation and the norm blend together, that man approaches God. We require neither miracles nor wonder to prove the existence of God, for the Halakha itself bears witness to its Creator. To be sure, we can also find in the Halakha a practical approach to God, an approach to God through the performance of the commandments in a concrete fashion. But this approach only follows in the wake of the first approach. The primary approach to God is the ideal-normative-theoretical relationship that prevails between God and halakhic man. (Halakhic Man, pp. 85-86)

When a person immerses himself in the clarification of God's eternal laws, he internalizes the recognition of God's sovereignty and the duty to fear Him and observe His commandments. The study of God's laws – His laws, and not those conceptual principles that arouse joy and identification – implant in man's soul his encounter with God as Commander. This is what Rav Soloveitchik means when he speaks of the "normative" encounter with God. Rav Soloveitchik describes in his writings how the experiences of love and identification also have a place in Torah study, mainly through the great creativity with which the Torah scholar is endowed. This is what Rav Soloveitchik means when he speaks of "creation and the norm blending together." The study of God's laws that allows for the expression of human creativity is Judaism's "winning formula."

(Translated by Rav David Strauss)