YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
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UNDERSTANDING AGGADA
By Rav Yitzchak Blau

For easy printing, go to:
www.vbm-torah.org/archive/aggada66/26aggada.htm

Shiur #26: Blessings for a Rabbi

When the rabbis would depart from Rabbi Ammi's house [of study] — some say, from Rabbi Chanina's house — they would say to him as follows: "May you see your world in your lifetime, your end in the life of Olam Ha-ba (the World to Come) and your hope for all generations.  May your heart study understanding, your lips speak wisdom, your tongue whisper joyous songs, your eyelids look straight before you, your eyes shine with the light of Torah, your face glow like the firmament, your lips express understanding, your kidneys rejoice in that which is upright and your legs run to hear the words of the Ancient One [Hashem].
(Berakhot 17a)     

What did these rabbis wish each other upon departing from their shared study hall?  The Maharsha notes that, strikingly, the hands do not appear among the various limbs that are blessed.  Apparently, these scholars focus exclusively on those limbs used for thinking, speaking and listening.  As they focus their energies into the field of learning, their blessings for others naturally turn to that sphere.
  
	Maharsha also says that "see[ing] your world in this lifetime" refers to the benefits of olam ha-zeh (this world).  If so, the first part of the valediction expresses the wish that the recipient receives a portion both in this world and in the World to Come.  When citing the Maharsha's view, Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (Li-frakim, p. 399) explains that these rabbis were engaged in public service.  Such rabbinic positions often demand great sacrifices in this-worldly matters: the pay is often poor, and the hours can be endless.  This motivates the rabbis to wish their colleagues some material enjoyment in this world, in addition to their compensation in the World to Come.  

	Rabbi Weinberg goes on to offer two other interpretations of receiving "your world in your lifetime."  Firstly, the world in question may actually refer to Olam Ha-ba.  According to this reading, the blessing refers not to the mundane and the material, but to the spiritual and the transcendent.  To bolster this theme, we may consider the notion of Shabbat as a taste of the World to Come; thus, performing mitzvot offers a hint of the sublime.  

	Alternatively, "your world" may refer to the ideal sphere of a human being, the place of his or her dreams and aspirations.  Many dream of a more just and noble society and strive to bring that society closer to realization; yet, few merit experiencing anything approaching their vision.  This valediction of the rabbis expresses the hope that their colleagues will not only imagine a better place but get to live in it, to some degree, as well.

	After mentioning receiving "your world in your lifetime," the next two blessings refer, respectively, to the World to Come explicitly and to "all generations."  To explain the progression, Rabbi Weinberg cites a dialogue of his with another famous Jewish personality.  Hermann Cohen, the German Jewish philosopher, asked Rabbi Weinberg why Hashem says that His name is "I Will Be What I Will Be" (Shemot 3:14).  Rabbi Weinberg answered that most dreams become nullified by success.  Were socialism to become a reality, people would stop talking about it as a goal; so too, the ingathering of all the Jewish exiles to the land of Israel would invariably generate a loss of ardor in the Zionist cause.  However, our religious vision works differently: any success simply points the way towards fresh horizons and challenges.  In fact, the maturation and development of one's religious character always enables that person to appreciate new goals and aspirations.  The excitement need not wane as the next page to be learned or the next personality trait to be refined constantly beckons.  God describes Himself as the One Who "Will Be" because a true religious vision permanently maintains a look towards a better future. 

	Let us recall that Rabbi Weinberg suggests that seeing one's world in this lifetime means a realization of a person's ideal vision.  Therefore, the next element of the valediction must shift our focus to the World to Come.  In other words, the idea that we might produce something noble in this world should not lead us to conclude that nothing remains to look forward to in the World to Come; rather, the future promises further spiritual delights not yet realized, even when we achieve some success in building a spiritual society in this mundane world.
     
	Rabbi Weinberg also provides a good explanation of the phrase "Your tongue whisper joyous songs."  Perhaps these scholars emphasized the study of Halakha, as is common in the world of the yeshivot; if so, they might have easily appreciated the rigor, logic and discipline of Judaism but missed the excitement and the poetry.  Therefore, this blessing expresses the hope that the scholars also experience this crucial aspect of religious life.

	Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Ha-kohen Kook in his Ein Aya has an interpretation quite similar to that of Rabbi Weinberg, but he adds a few novel elements.  He understands the various blessings about the lips and tongue as referring to teaching, not just to learning.  If so, the need to "speak wisdom" and to "whisper joyous songs" reflects the twin challenges of education: the cognitive and the affective.  A quality teacher must impart knowledge and thinking skills as well as an emotional connection with our tradition. 

	The emphasis on teaching may underlie a different line of the valediction as well: "Your hope for all generations" may refer to the continued existence of a given soul after his of her physical death.  Alternatively, as the Etz Yosef explains, the hope for subsequent generations reflects the ongoing impact of one's educational endeavors.  The teacher positively influences scores of students who themselves go on to positively impact upon others.  In this vein, the scholar's work does continue from generation to generation, long after that scholar's parting.

	Rav Kook explains the line "Your eyes shine with the light of Torah" to mean that the Torah inspires a perspective on life that impacts upon everything that a person does.  The ideals of the Torah can permeate even the mundane discourse of a scholar.  Therefore, the Gemara (Sukka 21b) says that even the idle chatter of a talmid chakham must be studied.

	This last item applies to everyone, not just to scholars.  Ideally, our idle chatter should incorporate elements of wisdom and religious ideals.  An insightful comment of Rabbi Yisra'el Lifshitz (in Tiferet Yisra'el) on the following mishna asserts this theme:

Rabbi Dosa ben Harkkinas said: "Morning sleep, afternoon wine, childish chatter and the gatherings of the ignorant remove a person from this world."
 (Avot 3:10)

	While the mishna seems to be totally negative about these activities, Rabbi Lifshitz contends that each one represents a category that has a positive manifestation when utilized properly.  Sleep certainly is a necessary part of a person's schedule; yet sleeping too much, as symbolized by sleeping late, prevents real achievement.  Wine represents human physical enjoyment; this too can prove helpful, but not when it becomes the goal of one's existence, as manifest in excessive afternoon consumption.

	In both of the above examples, Rabbi Lifshitz suggests a quantitative distinction.  His advice is to engage in these activities, but not to overindulge.  With regard to the last two categories, he raises qualitative distinctions: "childish chatter" refers to jokes, while "the gatherings of the ignorant" feature idle talk.  Both of these elements also have their legitimate place; after all, not every conversation can be a grave discussion of a deep intellectual point.  However, the jokes and the idle talk can be of quality or of coarseness.  To avoid the gatherings of the ignorant means to prevent our idle chatter from deteriorating into utter frivolity or slander.  This certainly is a blessing worth having, both for scholars and laymen alike.