A shiur by the Rishon LeTzion, Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar, at Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim Migdal HaEmek

00:01 With the permission of my teachers and rabbis, with the permission of the rosh yeshivah and the distinguished rabbis [unclear]. First of all, I apologize for being late. It means we won’t be able to speak at length. Still, we can’t leave without saying anything, so we’ll say a few words. The Gemara in Berachos, page 21, says: “How do we know that the blessing before Torah study is a Torah obligation? As it says, ‘When I call out the name of Hashem, give greatness to our G-d.’” There is a dispute among the Rishonim whether the blessings over Torah study are a Torah obligation or only rabbinic, like the other blessings. The Rambam does not count this among the mitzvos, but the Ramban, of blessed memory, takes issue with him and holds that it should be counted. One of the forty-nine mitzvos according to the Ramban is to recite a blessing before studying Torah. He says this is an explicit Gemara: How do we know that the blessing over Torah study is a Torah obligation? The Gemara brings a verse, though we really need to understand it. The verse is not clear. Its plain meaning is “When I call out the name of Hashem”—as our master the Arizal called the Torah His names. But it is still difficult. First of all, that is not the plain meaning. And what does “give greatness to our G-d” mean? Rashi there says that “give greatness” means that they should answer Amen. But where do we derive a blessing—the blessings over Torah study? That remains difficult. So apparently the Rambam holds that this is an asmachta, a scriptural support, not a full derivation. That is why he holds that the blessings over Torah study are rabbinic. We see this in the Shulchan Aruch as well. The Shulchan Aruch says that with all blessings, if a person is unsure whether he recited them, he does not recite them again, because in cases of doubt concerning blessings, we rule leniently—except for Birkas Hamazon. It does not say, “except for Birkas Hamazon and the blessings over Torah study.” This implies that only Birkas Hamazon is a Torah obligation, while the other blessings, including those over Torah study, are rabbinic. [unclear] The Ramban apparently learns it from the fact that the Gemara links the blessing over Torah study with Birkas Hamazon. It says:

02:50 “How do we know that Birkas Hamazon afterward is a Torah obligation? As it says, ‘You shall eat and be satisfied, and bless Hashem your G-d.’ And how do we know that the blessing before Torah study is a Torah obligation? As it says, ‘When I call out the name of Hashem, give greatness to our G-d.’” Since the Gemara links the two, the Ramban apparently concludes that this, too, is a full derivation and a Torah obligation. The great later authorities also disagree about this. The Shaagas Aryeh and the Pri Chadash hold that the blessings over Torah study are a Torah obligation. If a person is unsure whether he recited them, he must recite them again, just as with Birkas Hamazon, because the obligation is from the Torah. But many later authorities disagree. The Chida cites many poskim who say that the obligation is rabbinic, and therefore one should not recite the blessings when in doubt. The Kaf Hachaim, in siman 47, also cites many poskim on the subject and concludes that one should not recite them if unsure whether one already has, because, after all, many poskim say the obligation is rabbinic. There is much more to say about this; the discussion is very lengthy. There is also a question about a boy who becomes bar mitzvah. He recited the blessings over Torah study in the morning, when he was still under bar mitzvah and not yet obligated. Then, at night, he becomes obligated to recite the blessings. The question is whether the blessings he recited that morning, while still a minor, cover him when night arrives and he becomes obligated by Torah law to recite them. If we say the blessings over Torah study are a Torah obligation, then a minor certainly cannot fulfill an adult’s obligation for him. If we say they are rabbinic, there is room to discuss it. There is also room to discuss whether these are blessings over mitzvos or blessings of praise. Is the blessing over Torah study actually a blessing over the mitzvah? There is a mitzvah [unclear]. We recite a blessing over the mitzvah—or is it only praise of the Creator

05:07 of the world? The Ramban himself, though he holds that this is a Torah obligation, explicitly writes that it is a blessing of praise and thanks to Hashem: we thank Hashem for giving us His Torah and choosing us from among all the nations. He uses wonderful language there about this expression of thanks. He adds that it is similar to Birkas Hamazon, in which we thank Hashem for the food with which He nourished us. Likewise, we thank Hashem for the Torah He gave us and for the pleasure we have in studying His Torah. So with regard to the boy as well, it may be that if we say, like the Rambam, that the obligation is rabbinic, and that this is a blessing of praise as well as a blessing over a mitzvah, then since he has already recited it, he certainly would not need to do so again. As we know, in all matters the night belongs to the day that follows it: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” The evening goes with the following morning, and together they make one day. But regarding the blessings over Torah study, the halachah is that the night follows the preceding day. We recited the blessings over Torah study this morning, and on the basis of those blessings we study all day and also at night. As long as we remain awake, we study on the strength of those blessings, because the blessing applies for as long as we are studying, and Torah study has no fixed time, by day or by night: “You shall meditate on it day and night.” So as long as we are awake, with no interruption, the blessing continues to apply. There is something similar with the blessing for a journey, Tefillas Haderech. There is some disagreement about it, but where one recites it, the night likewise follows the day. If a person recited Tefillas Haderech in the morning, it continues to apply when he travels at night. The Gaon writes explicitly that this is similar to the blessings over Torah study; we learn it from them. In any case, in light of all this, we need to understand something. There is an explicit halachah in the Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, siman 47, se’if 4, that

07:32 women, too, recite the blessings over Torah study. This is hard to understand. Women are not obligated in Torah study. “You shall teach them to your sons”—your sons, not your daughters. So how can we say that women recite the blessings over Torah study? Yet this is the halachah, written by the author of the Shulchan Aruch. The Rema does not disagree; he accepts it. And this is the common practice: women, too, must recite these blessings, and they do. How, then, can they recite the blessings over Torah study for a mitzvah in which they are not obligated? The Beis Yosef cites the Agur in the name of the Maharil, bringing the approaches of the Rishonim. One reason is that women daven, say Pesukei Dezimra and recite Shema, and that is Torah. The Agur gives another reason, based on the Semag. The Semag says that women are obligated to study the halachos that apply to them in practice. A woman is obligated in all the Torah’s prohibitions. She is also obligated in all positive mitzvos that are not time-bound, and even in many time-bound positive mitzvos. The Semag says that women must study the halachos of all the things they observe so that they will not make mistakes. So the Agur says that since they are obligated to study the halachos that apply to them, they can also recite the blessings over Torah study. That is how the Shulchan Aruch rules: women recite the blessings over Torah study. And that is what all the commentators on the Shulchan Aruch, the Magen Avraham and the Taz, say. They mainly give this reason: since women must study what applies to them—the laws of family purity, Shabbos candle lighting, challah, and more—they must also recite a blessing over Torah study. The Vilna Gaon raises a tremendous question. He says: How can they say, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us”—“and commanded us concerning words of Torah”? How can they say “commanded us”? Or, according to the wording “to engage in Torah study,” how can they say “commanded us”? The Torah says, “You shall teach them to your sons”—not your daughters. And they would say “commanded us” and study with a blessing? The Gaon says

09:59 The point is that this is not really why women recite the blessings. He gives a different reason. He asks: Don’t they recite blessings? So what do they recite blessings over? It follows Rabbeinu Tam, who holds that women recite blessings over time-bound positive mitzvos even though they are exempt from them, such as lulav and shofar. Those are time-bound positive mitzvos; they depend on particular days. Shofar is only on Rosh Hashanah, and lulav is on Sukkos. Women are exempt from them, and nevertheless, if they perform the mitzvah, they recite the blessing. According to Rabbeinu Tam, then, with this mitzvah too, even though they are exempt, they can perform it, and they do perform it, so they recite the blessing. Now, I saw in a book by the gaon Rabbi Zolti, a"h, that he cites his father-in-law, Rabbi Achnaz[?], who asks: How can the Gra uphold the Shulchan Aruch by going against the Shulchan Aruch? He is trying to explain the Shulchan Aruch, which says that women recite the blessings. What does he say? That it follows Rabbeinu Tam, who holds that women recite blessings over time-bound positive mitzvos. But the Shulchan Aruch itself does not rule like Rabbeinu Tam. The Rema rules that way, but the Shulchan Aruch rules like the Rambam: women do not recite blessings over time-bound positive mitzvos. So what has he explained? Rabbi Zolti, a"h, offered an intricate explanation. He wants to connect the two points [unclear]. He says that even according to the Rambam, who holds that they do not recite blessings over time-bound positive mitzvos, it is still a mitzvah, and they have some measure of a mitzvah when they perform it, even if they do not recite a blessing. And here the Semag says that they are obligated to study those mitzvos, those halachos that apply to them. So the two things... With all due respect to his Torah scholarship, they cannot be connected. After all, the gaon’s question is how they can recite a blessing on the mitzvah of Torah study. They do not have the mitzvah of Torah study. The point is that although a woman studies the halachos that apply to her, that is not Torah study in the sense of the mitzvah. It is not the mitzvah of Torah study.

12:22 She studies because she needs to observe them, so that she will not make a mistake in halachah. She needs to study and know what to do. That is not the mitzvah of Torah study. To make this clear, I am just explaining it to the young men: suppose one of you takes a single halachah. The Shulchan Aruch says, “One who drinks water recites Shehakol,” and that is an exact, practical halachah. If a man sits from morning until evening repeating, “One who drinks water recites Shehakol,” over and over, and he already knows the halachah and is learning nothing new from it, only repeating the same halachah—what is his status? He has fulfilled Torah study. He has fulfilled the mitzvah of Torah study. It lacks effort and toil; he could study in a better way, and there is an element of bittul in that too. But he has fulfilled the mitzvah of Torah study. That is clear. Not at a high level, but it is the mitzvah of Torah study, because the more a person toils, the greater the mitzvah... Here he is not toiling; he is repeating the same halachah. But he is certainly fulfilling the mitzvah of Torah study. If a woman knows a halachah well and repeats it, however, that is no longer a mitzvah for her. Her mitzvah is to know the halachah. Once she knows it properly, she no longer has that obligation. She is already exempt. She does not have the mitzvah of Torah study. That is the gaon’s question: how can women recite blessings over Torah study? So what does the Radbaz say? That she has a mitzvah in studying because she is obligated. In what way is she obligated? Is it an obligation of Torah study? She is obligated to know the halachos. Knowing a halachah is beside the point here. So what does that explain? And as for its being a positive mitzvah from the Torah, how do we rule? Maran rules like the Rambam, that women do not recite the blessings. It does not connect; it is not relevant. But in truth, I have no difficulty with this at all, because the gaon was not trying to explain the Shulchan

14:15 Aruch. Here, though, the Gra uses unusually sharp language—very unusual for him. The Gra says that their words, meaning the Agur’s and the Maharil’s, are to be rejected. He rejects their view; he disagrees with them and cannot accept it. What he wrote was not intended to explain... Rather, since the common practice is for women to recite the blessings on Torah study, even among those who follow the Rema, he came to explain the Rema’s position. He himself also rules like the Rema, who follows Rabbeinu Tam in ruling that women recite blessings over time-bound positive mitzvos. So he says that on this basis the practice can be understood, but he is not trying to explain the Shulchan Aruch. What, then, is the Shulchan Aruch’s position? How does Maran rule like the Agur, who says that because women are obligated, they recite the blessings—surely this is not a positive mitzvah for them? What is going on? We need to understand this. There is also another question, concerning the view of the Beis David alone. The Gemara records a dispute among the Amoraim about what kinds of Torah study require the blessings on Torah study. Rav Huna said the blessings are recited only over the Written Torah, not over Midrash. Rabbi Yochanan says they are recited over Midrash too, but not over Mishnah. Rabbi Elazar says they are recited over Mishnah too, but not over Gemara, over Talmud. And Rava said they are recited over Talmud too—over everything. In practice, the halachah was decided like Rava. That is how all the halachic authorities rule, the Rambam and the Shulchan Aruch: the blessings on Torah study are recited over everything, including Gemara. So we need to understand the view of those Amoraim who say they are not recited over Talmud or Mishnah. Rashi says that even Rabbi Elazar, who said they are recited over Mishnah, and Rabbi Yochanan, who said they are recited over Midrash, say so because these are included in the Torah, because Midrash interprets the verses. That implies that they too agree that the blessings are not recited over the Oral Torah. Only Rava says

16:30 that the blessings are recited over the Oral Torah as well. But the earlier Amoraim hold that, strictly speaking, the blessings on Torah study were instituted only for the Written Torah. What is the explanation? Is the Oral Torah not Torah? I saw that the first to address this was the Rambam. I don’t know—just as he addressed it in Parshas Haazinu, he says something that is truly hard to understand. The question is what he means. Surely it was an inadvertent error. He says the dispute is about which kinds of study fulfill the mitzvah of Torah study. Does he mean to say that Rabbi Yochanan, Rabbi Elazar and Rav Huna, all three Amoraim, hold that studying the Oral Torah does not fulfill the mitzvah of Torah study? Heaven forbid; that is inconceivable. Surely it was an inadvertent error. This is an agreed-upon matter; it cannot be otherwise. Far from it. The heart of the mitzvah of Torah study is the Oral Torah. The main toil and effort of Torah study is in the Oral Torah. Without the Oral Torah, we could make a thousand mistakes about every verse. Without the Oral Torah, the Written Torah is incomplete and cannot be understood. Rashi, a"h, also faced this question [unclear] and answered it in a fine way, but his answer is difficult to accept. He bases it on Shabbos 88. The Gemara says: “And they stood at the foot of the mountain”—this teaches that Hakadosh Boruch Hu held the mountain over them like a barrel and said to them, “If you accept the Torah, good; and if not, there will be your burial place.” Rav Acha said: This provides a powerful defense against the obligation to observe the Torah, since it was accepted under duress. Tosafos ask: Why did they have to be compelled? After all, they had already said, “We will do” before “we will hear.” Tosafos answer that perhaps they would have changed their minds when they heard the sounds and became frightened. The Midrash Tanchuma says something different. It says that when they said, “We will do and we will hear,” they meant the Written Torah; they did not agree to the Oral Torah. So Hakadosh Boruch Hu compelled them. He therefore says that since the Torah

18:51 The Oral Torah was accepted under coercion, and therefore, according to those Amoraim, no blessing is recited over it. There is a halachah that someone who was forced to eat does not recite a blessing. And the Oral Torah was accepted under coercion—that is what our Sages say. With all due respect, the Gemara there continues: “And they accepted it again in the days of Achashverosh.” Rabbi Yochanan lived after Achashverosh. So why not recite a blessing over the Oral Torah as well as the Written Torah? All the Amoraim and Tannaim lived after Achashverosh. Why not recite a blessing? But there is more: that coercion was not literal. It is not so simple. There are deeper matters here. I explained this at the time, with Hashem’s help. Hashem did not tear the mountain loose and place it over their heads. That is not how the Creator conducts the world. What it means is that there was an immense revelation of the Shechinah at the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. That was the coercion. Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants people to accept the Torah of their own free choice, willingly. What does “willingly” mean? That they can accept it or not accept it, and they decide to accept it. But there, the revelation of the Shechinah was so great. The people were so... they reached the level of Moshe’s prophecy. That is what it says at the end. All seven heavens were opened for them; they saw the sounds and heard the voice of Hashem, the voice of the living G-d speaking from the fire. What was not there? That revelation left them no choice. They immediately understood that if they did not accept it, that would be their burial place. It was either Torah or the end. So in a certain sense, that is called coercion. This also explains what it says about their accepting it again amid darkness. At that time there was a terrible concealment of Hashem’s presence, as it says, “And I will surely hide My face.” Yet they fulfilled and accepted it while His presence was concealed. That is why it says they accepted it again specifically then, when things moved forward. Now, what is the real explanation of why women recite the blessings? And why do these Amoraim

21:23 say that the blessings are not recited over the Oral Torah? We also need to understand how this is learned from the verse, “For I will proclaim the name of Hashem; ascribe greatness to our G-d.” How does that fit with what we said earlier? Also, the Gemara in Berachos 45 asks about zimun, the invitation to recite Birkas Hamazon together, which is done with three people: Where do we learn it from? One opinion cites the verse, “Magnify Hashem with me.” They say: “Magnify” implies two people, and “with me” adds one more, making three. Another opinion says, “For I will proclaim the name of Hashem” is one person, and “ascribe greatness”—“ascribe” implies two more. So zimun is learned from this verse. In Nedarim 81, the blessings over the Torah for all generations are derived from this verse. And in Yoma, it is used for another teaching. The Mishnah says that when the Kohen Gadol pronounced the explicit Name, the people would bow and prostrate themselves and say, “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom.” And the Gemara asks: Where do we learn this from? From the verse, “For I will proclaim the name of Hashem; ascribe greatness.” So how many teachings are derived from the same verse? What is going on? But it seems that it is all one idea. These are not three separate teachings. It is really one idea. Pay attention. The verse says, “For I will proclaim the name of Hashem.” When you hear the name of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, when something of His is spoken of—whether it is His explicit Name, His Torah, or anything that involves His honor—you cannot remain indifferent. You hear Hashem’s name; you cannot remain indifferent. “Ascribe greatness to our G-d”: give Him greatness and honor. So the Kohen Gadol pronounces Hashem’s name. “Ascribe greatness.” What greatness? “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom.” But what does this have to do with zimun? And what does it have to do with the blessings over the Torah? Zimun involves the same idea. After all, what is zimun? Whether or not we make a zimun before Birkas Hamazon, the blessing itself is the same. It does not change. What does zimun do? It elevates the blessing by preparing for it. We say, “Gentlemen, let us bless,” or “Give us leave

23:47 and let us bless.” We invite one another to bless. We add honor and greatness to Hashem. That is “ascribe greatness.” As is well known, everyone agrees that Birkas Hamazon is a Torah obligation, and an additional expression of honor and esteem was instituted for His sake. That is “ascribe greatness.” Now, what does this mean with regard to Torah? In Nedarim 81, the Gemara says that the question “Why was the land lost?” was put to the Sages, and they did not know. It was put to the prophets, and they did not know. It was put to the ministering angels, and they did not know. Finally, Hakadosh Boruch Hu answered: “And Hashem said: Because they forsook My Torah.” That is why the land was lost. But it does not say they abandoned Torah; after all, there was Torah study in the era of the Second Beis Hamikdash. Why, then, was the land lost? Rather, they did not recite the blessing over the Torah before studying. The Ran asks: Because they did not first recite the blessing over the Torah, the land was lost, the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, and the sanctuary was burned? If it had been because they abandoned Torah, that would be understandable. But blessings? Failure to recite a blessing does not invalidate the study. The land was lost over that? The land was lost over a failure to observe a rabbinic mitzvah? He says: I found in a private manuscript of the pious Rabbeinu Yonah, of blessed memory, that they did not recite the blessing over the Torah because it was not important in their eyes. That is the heart of it. The wording there is wonderful, so much so that the Ran says, “The words are fitting for the one who said them.” Take that in. In other words, we learn here from Rabbeinu Yonah that through the blessing, as with any blessing, we give something added importance. We esteem and honor the Torah, rather than studying it like the other fields of wisdom. Not merely because it contains wisdom, knowledge and understanding, or because it has beauty and meaning. No—because it is the mind of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, because it is Hashem’s Torah, because it is Torah for life, to be observed. The blessing gives it all that importance. It changes everything. It adds something fundamental. So this also fits with “For I will proclaim the name of Hashem”: when Hashem’s name is proclaimed, it is like hearing His name. Not only because these are names of Hakadosh Boruch Hu,

26:15 but because His Torah is His honor. “Ascribe greatness”: do not simply come and study it as though it were like any other field of wisdom, G-d forbid. Rather, “ascribe greatness to our G-d.” How do we do that? By giving it special honor when we recite a blessing over it, as the Ran says there. According to all this, it really follows the Rambam: the blessings over the entire Torah are blessings of praise, meant to express esteem and honor. So it is clear why women can recite them. The Gaon asks: How can they say, “And You commanded us”? The Gaon understands this as a blessing over a mitzvah, so that presents a difficulty for him. He therefore has to answer according to Rabbeinu Tam, who holds that women recite blessings over positive mitzvos that are time-bound. But Maran, the Riva, and the earlier authorities rule like the Ramban on this point: it is solely a blessing of praise. If it is an expression of praise, esteem and greatness in His honor, then having a connection to it is enough to recite the blessing. Women do have a connection to it: since they are obligated to learn the halachos that apply to them, they have a connection to Torah study. They already have reason to thank and praise Hashem for it. They too must learn it as Torah, not as another field of wisdom, so that they can observe it. Therefore, they recite the blessings. It is also clear why those Amoraim held that the blessings are not recited over the Oral Torah. Not, G-d forbid, because we do not observe it. It is the essence of the Torah. Rather, it is a question of receiving the Torah. Who, who, who grasped the Oral Torah? The vast majority of the people did not receive it in a way they could understand. The entire Oral Torah is contained in the Written Torah. But Hakadosh Boruch Hu, may His name be blessed, wrote the Torah for us in language that even a child in second grade can study Bereishis, can study Vayikra, and understand. You can explain it to the child, and the child will understand. It contains profound wisdom. But in any case, it also has a plain meaning that even a beginner can understand. When Hashem gave the Torah, the people understood the Written Torah, so they could praise Hashem for the Torah

28:27 The Oral Torah—no one yet understood it. Moshe received the Torah at Sinai and passed it on to Yehoshua, but which Torah did Yehoshua not yet understand? Not the Written Torah. Moshe transmitted the Written Torah to all of Israel. What he passed on to the elders of the generation, to the great sages, were the foundations of the Oral Torah, so they would learn how to expound and interpret the Torah. The Mishnah and Gemara were built on that. So it was the domain of a select few. Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Elazar therefore hold that no blessing is required for it, because it is not accessible to everyone. To recite a blessing of praise, one must benefit from what one is blessing over—just as one does not recite the blessing over a flame until one can see by its light. The same applies here: one has to understand and benefit; one has to have some connection to that illumination. Most people do not. Even today, most people do not understand the Written Torah; the Oral Torah is the domain of yeshivah students and those who toil intensely in Torah. They uncover what is hidden. But most halachic authorities hold that, since this is the essence of Torah, one may recite the blessing. Someone who studies both should recite the blessing over both. That is the halachah, but there is a point here that needs to be understood. I must stop now; they are already hinting to me that we may be late getting somewhere else. That is also why I said these things somewhat briefly and by way of hints, but I trust that, with Hashem’s help, the Torah scholars will understand. There is just one thing we need to understand: we must know that the heart of Torah is the toil of studying it. If a person wants to observe mitzvos, my brothers, he can do so, and he can fulfill the mitzvah of loving Hashem to some degree. But if he wants to acquire the Torah, he cannot acquire it on his own. Only Hakadosh Boruch Hu can give it to him; He alone gives the Torah. And Hakadosh Boruch Hu established that the Torah is acquired only by one who applies himself—

30:21 If he does not toil and exert himself with all the powers of his soul, if he does not devote all his strength to it, he will not acquire it. You see that the main thing is the toil. There is much more to say, but for now let us focus on the fact that we recite a blessing over the Torah. When we recite it, let us have in mind the importance we give the Torah, so that it does not become routine. Let us not pick up a sefer as a mitzvah performed merely out of habit. Rather, every time we recite the blessing, let us remember. Every time we come to study, let us remember that this is the Torah of the living G-d, that it is the mind of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, as we said, and that we have been privileged to receive what Hashem gives. We must give thanks for every word, for every line we learn, and study with a feeling of holiness. Through this, we merit to cleave to Hashem. Through this, we merit to receive an abundant flow, reaching the innermost depths of the Torah. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu bestow holiness upon you; may you rise higher and higher and bring nachas to our Father in Heaven, to your parents and teachers, and to all the rabbis. Amen, may it be His will.