Monday, February 13, 2012

How To Fall In Love

Recently I've been involved in trying to make a few shidduchim [with the hope that they HAPPEN!] and since of course everything is an allusion to Torah it got me thinking about an idea I heard back in my Yeshiva bochur days [which I guess includes the period up until today], said by Rav Shteinberger of Yeshivat Hakotel.

Why does a boy like a girl [or vice versa]? Because he knows A LOT of information about her? Because he has seen all of her report cards from first grade? NOOOOOO!

A boy likes a girl because he knows her WELL! In depth. When he knows her deepest desires and aspirations. When her soul shines to him. [In general I find that the more I get to know a person the more I like him]

תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה קהילות יעקב - אל תקרי מורשה אלא מאורסה - We are MARRIED to the Torah. How do we fall in love with our "wife"? She is SOOOOO beautiful. In order to see that we must look past the external facade and get to her pnimiyus! We must learn DEEEEEP. בעיון. The deeper the better.

There is a mitzva to know the entire Torah so one must also make time for more superficial learning in order to cover ground but it leaves one [at least me] with the feeling "I'd really like to stay right here and get to know you better." Right now I'm holding at daf עב in maseches menachos and I feel like I've met the most beautiful special daf ever written, yet my daily requirements compel me to move on. EVERY page is like that. So many gems. You could spend a lifetime learning one daf.

So yes we must move forward. Every week a new parsha every day a new daf, but we must try to spend as much time as possible plumbing the beyond-infinite depths of Torah. If we do that we will fall in love.

And there is nothing better in life than being completely and totally consumed by love and passion.

The Torah could be the object of that passion and if it is she will show us that she loves us as well. The pasuk in mishlei [17/26] says נפש עמל עמלה לו - The working spirit works for itself. The gemara [sanhedrin 99b with Rashi] derives from this pasuk that if you work hard at Torah, the Torah will work hard for you and ask Hashem to reveal all of her secrets to you.

May we all merit to toil in Torah and in return appreciate all of her beauty.