לעילוי נשמת עליזה רחל בת חיים צבי
Li-rifuas Chaim Yonatan Mordechai ben Pesha Elka [Note: he is miraculously hanging in there. PLEASE keep davening].
The
medrash [Breishis Rabbah 98] expounds the pasuk ולבן שיניים מחלב to mean
that the tribe of Yehuda [to whom the pasuk refers] would sit and organize the
Torah [יושבין
וסודרין] with their teeth [שיניים] until the Torah was clean
like milk.
This can
mean that they would review their learning until it was properly digested just
as one continuously chews until he swallows the food.
The gemara
says [Ksubos 111b] טוב המלבין שיניים לחבירו יותר ממשקהו חלב , better whiten your teeth to your friend
[i.e. smile] than give him milk.
Based on
this we can explain the medrash to mean that it is better to actually whiten
the teeth of the student than it is to give him milk every time in order to
whiten them. When you give him milk, the whiteness of his teeth is artificial.
They look white but really aren't. When you whiten his teeth they are really
white. This means that one should give
his student the capacity to chew the food on his own by furnishing him with the
principles and rules rather than having to explain everything to him each time.
מלבין
שיניים means to whiten his
teeth. The gemara calls a sharp leaner שיננא – toothy. The teeth chew the
food, so a good student knows how to "chew" the gemara.
A good
Rebbi teaches his students how to properly use their teeth.
Rabbeim
often give over information without bothering to share with the student the
METHODOLOGY behind the text. A knowledge of methodology enables the student to
understand not only the local text but other texts as well. Don't just whiten
his teeth in this sugya [i.e. milk] but rather give him good strong white teeth
to be able to comprehend and analyze other sugyos as well.
[עי' אור שבעת הימים לגרי"י ריינס שער שני פ"ג]
