Kinas Sofrim

"A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others."

Chazal say that all jealousy is bad except for Kinas Sofrim - Jealousy of others learning which is an incentive to learn more yourself.

However, this is only "bi'dieved" - jealousy of others will give one a push to learn more, but it is NOT the ideal!

The ideal is that when one sees others learning he should be filled with joy that people are learning and not reflect on his own inadequacies.

We should learn Torah for a completely different reason: Because that is why we were created. Because that is how we fill ourselves will G-dliness. Because that is how we bring Hashem down to our lowly earth. Because Torah study turns an animal into a human being. Because that is the will of Hashem. Because the pinnacle of spirituality is to study Torah in purity with love and fear of Hashem.

May we be zocheh to study with pure motivations.