“RABBI’S MUSINGS (&
AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh
Parshas Bamidbar –Avos Perek Kinyan Torah
4 Sivan 5778/May 8, 2018
(48th day of the Omer)
Erev Shavuos
On
Thursday nights, the Staums have “Shaarei Torah carpool”. Our son Shalom is in
ninth grade in Yeshiva Shaarei Torah, and we have the pickup following maariv
at 8:45 pm. Being that the Yeshiva davens maariv just prior to dismissal, I
often daven with them. When I arrive, I often hear the last few minutes of the
pre-maariv mussar schmooze being given by a rebbe.
On
a recent Thursday night, as I opened the door to the Bais Medrash, the
speaker’s voice thundered “this is not Stam Torah!”
[For
those shamefully unfamiliar, I write a weekly essay based on the parsha
entitled ‘Stam Torah’, a takeoff of my last name. The word Stam literally means
“plain”. In the introduction to the collection of Stam Torah essays published a
few years ago, my parents concluded their opening words of beracha: “By the
way, your last name is Staum, which is not stam!”]
My
first thought was that he must have seen me walk in and was making a joke, but
he wasn’t even looking in my direction.
The
speaker was prevailing upon the students that to grow in Torah and to
appreciate Torah, one must invest emotional energy into it. If one learns Torah
as if it’s just “stam”, it won’t be internalized. One must be passionate about
Torah and be willing to toil for its attainment.
One
recent morning during breakfast, I opened a vanilla yogurt I had brought with
me, made a beracha, and ate a spoonful. It was so sour that I could hardly eat
it. I realized the yogurt hadn’t gone bad, rather it was plain not vanilla. It
need not be said that Torah is transformative and uplifting. But if we don’t
“add our personal flavor” of emotional investment, the Torah may seem plain and
boring to us. It is for that reason that we daven each morning that Hashem make
the Torah sweet in our mouths, and the mouths of our children. The sweetness is
there, but it is an acquired taste. We have to discover it and then merit it
through our efforts.
The
Gemara (Shabbos 88a) relates that when the nation stood at Sinai, G-d held the
mountain above them and warned them that if they accept the Torah all will be
well, but if not “there will be your burial place”.
There
is a plethora of beautiful explanations and ideas to explain this intriguing
gemara. Why was it necessary for there to be an element of coercion at Sinai,
when the nation had already committed themselves to accepting the Torah? One
point seems clear - Hashem was sending the nation a message that Torah is not
just a luxury for them but is vital for their national survival.
The
Gemara (Yevamos 77a) relates that at the beginning of the monarchy of Dovid
Hamelech there was a virulent debate his legitimacy, not merely as king, but as
a Jew altogether. It was based on a dispute about a teaching of the oral law
regarding how to understand a pasuk in the Torah. The question was whether his
ancestor Rus was allowed to join the ranks of the Jewish People, being that she
was born a Moabite.
The
Gemara states that after much debate, Amasa ben Yeser pulled out his sword,
held it aloft, and declared that anyone who dared to dispute the oral law’s
tradition which validated Dovid, would be pierced with the sword.
Why
the need for such a drastic threat?
My
dear student, Shmuel Dov Klein, suggested that it is to symbolize that just as
the Written law is vital to our spiritual survival, as evidenced by the
mountain being held above the nation at Sinai, so is the Oral law and its
traditions vital for our survival.
It
is absolutely incredible that one law - one challenged tradition - altered the
entire course of history. If Dovid was indeed not a bona-fide Jew, then neither
was Shlomo Hamelech or Moshiach who descend from Dovid. Without the Oral Law,
the guidance, lessons, perspective, and boundaries of Chazal, we have no past
or future.
Our
commitment to Torah truly cannot be “stam”, without emotion. On the one hand,
we have to learn it like our lives depend on it. On the other hand, our goal is
to grow in our learning until it becomes an uplifting and pleasurable
experience.
Of
course, there is one notable exception when “Stam Torah” is indeed a great
thing...
Shabbat
Shalom & Good Shabbos
Chag
Sameiach & Good Yom Tov,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum