A Lesson From My Shabbos Guest - Not Afraid Of Cold Weather - Where Are We???

Years back, I had a girl over at my shabbos table and she related that her grandfather had been caught by the Communists [ימ"ש שר"י] learning gemara and he was sent to Siberia for 10 years as a punishment.

He came back after 10 years of torture and he was unfazed - he opened his gemara and started learning again. Whereupon he was caught and sent back to Siberia.

I often think of this story. Where is OUR mesirus nefesh for Torah? What are we willing to give up in order to learn more?? What are we willing to sacrifice?

The Mishna says that if two people are sitting together and there is not Torah between them it is a moshav leitzem - a session of scorners. What did they do that is so terrible? They just aren't learning?? How are they scorning anything??

The answer is that if they understood, even partially, the value of learning, then they would be learning. But they don't, so they instead make another meaningless telephone call or play with a superfluous gadget that they own. That is a tremendous insult to the Torah.

Where is OUR mesirus nefesh for Torah. Nobody is asking anybody to go to Siberia.

I look around and just don't get it. Scorn and disdain for limmud hatorah and instead an immersion in everything temporal and nonsensical.

Is there any better time than TODAY to be mischazeik in our kesher to limmud hatorah?!!

לזכות כל אלו שלא זוכים לטעום מטעמה הערב של תורה שיחזרו למקור מחצבתם ובמיוחד א"מ בן נ"ג וש"פ בן ש"ל