The Gift the Torah Gives to Those Who Ask Nothing of It

00:00 Rabbi Meir says: “Whoever studies Torah for its own sake merits many things.” This is the first Mishnah in the sixth chapter of Pirkei Avos. It’s a wonderful Mishnah that helps us understand the greatness of studying Torah for its own sake, and the great privileges, gifts, and blessings that a person who does so receives. We always study this sixth chapter of Pirkei Avos on the Shabbos before Shavuos. The chapter is called “The Acquisition of Torah.” The Midrash Shmuel, one of the most wonderful commentaries on Pirkei Avos, was written by a student of the Arizal, who gathered explanations from various commentators and great Torah scholars of earlier generations. He explains that the sixth chapter is called “The Acquisition of Torah” because it teaches us about the greatness of Torah, acquiring Torah, and the importance of Torah. As he says, the custom is to study this chapter on the Shabbos before Shavuos, because it brings us into the right frame of mind. It helps us understand the value, greatness, importance, and preciousness of the Torah, of those who study it, and of Torah study itself. It awakens in us a longing and desire for the great day of the Giving of the Torah—to receive the Torah with joy and to receive it inwardly. In this way, it prepares us to receive the Torah. But this raises a very simple question: This chapter contains many Mishnayos and very important, precious teachings about the value and importance of Torah study. Yet the very first Mishnah begins at a very high level: “Whoever studies Torah for its own sake.” Every one of us knows that studying Torah for its own sake is not an ordinary level. We’re talking about someone who studies Torah in a very special way. Not everyone merits studying Torah for its own sake. It’s a high level of Torah study, and that’s precisely where the Mishnah begins. Only afterward do we find Mishnayos that, seemingly, should have come first. The Mishnah should have begun with simpler matters,

02:33 such as the importance of making use of one’s time for Torah study. In the next Mishnah, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says that a heavenly voice goes forth every day and declares: “Woe to the people for their insult to the Torah.” That emphasizes how important it is to set aside time to study Torah. Other Mishnayos explain how to study, along with further details. But here we begin specifically with the higher level: “Whoever studies Torah for its own sake merits many things.” We also want to understand what the Mishnah means by “many things.” It then says: “And not only that, but the entire world is worthwhile for his sake.” As the commentators explain, the whole world and everything in it were created for him. So “merits many things” must refer to something apart from everything that follows. When we look at the continuation, we find so many things: he is called a friend, beloved; he loves Hashem and loves people; and there is everything else that follows. The secrets of the Torah are revealed to him. People benefit from his counsel and wisdom. It clothes him in humility and reverence. There are so many wonderful things in this Mishnah. What, then, are the “many things” it mentions right at the beginning? Since we study this Mishnah before Shavuos, there must be a message here. And since it is the first Mishnah, there must be a message here that gives us the strength, the inner resources, and the desire to truly receive the Torah. In other words, there is a fundamental message here, connected to the first thing a Jew needs to know in order to receive the Torah. Of course, the commentators offer many explanations of this Mishnah. As we mentioned, Midrash Shmuel gathers wonderful explanations from various great Torah scholars, on the levels of plain meaning, allusion, interpretation, and secret. Today we’ll focus on a very interesting and precious explanation the Rebbe gave of this Mishnah,

04:41 which gives us a way and a foundation for understanding it that is accessible to everyone. First, I want to explain what exactly “Torah for its own sake” means. The truth is that it has many levels and degrees. If we look in Shulchan Aruch, in the laws of Torah study, and also in the laws of the morning blessings, section 47, which discusses the blessing over the Torah, we find discussion of Torah for its own sake there as well. The Rambam also discusses it in the laws of repentance and in the laws of Torah study. So we see that there are several ways and several levels of understanding Torah for its own sake. Its simplest meaning is brought in the laws of Torah study. The Alter Rebbe cites the early authorities, who explain that studying Torah for its own sake means studying in order to observe and practice. That is, studying Torah for its own sake is the opposite of studying it for ulterior motives. Studying Torah for ulterior motives means studying in order to provoke others, to show off, to become prominent, or to be called a rabbi or a rosh yeshivah. The Gemara mentions several kinds of ulterior motives. So it’s clear that studying for its own sake means not studying to become prominent, to boast, or to feel proud—and certainly not, G-d forbid, to provoke or trouble others. Rather, a person studies Torah primarily because he wants to know how to fulfill the mitzvos. That is the basic meaning of Torah for its own sake. On a deeper level, the Shulchan Aruch and its commentators explain that studying Torah for its own sake means studying because of the importance of the Torah itself. The Bach discusses this at length in section 47. A person knows how precious the Torah is. As the Alter Rebbe also writes in Shulchan Aruch, section 47, he knows that the Torah was given by Hakadosh Boruch Hu, that the Torah is His delight, and that Hakadosh Boruch Hu delighted in

06:59 the Torah day after day, as the verse says: “I was beside Him as a nursling, and I was His delight day after day.” Even before the world was created, the Torah was something in which Hakadosh Boruch Hu delighted, and He gave it to us. So when a Jew reflects on how precious and important the Torah is to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, he recites the blessing over the Torah with great joy and with greater pleasure than any pleasure in the world. The source of this explanation is Rabbeinu Nissim, the Ran, in the Gemara in tractate Nedarim, where it discusses the blessing over the Torah and its importance. The Gemara there goes so far as to say that because something was lacking in their blessing over the Torah, the land was, G-d forbid, destroyed. The destruction of the Beis Hamikdash and the destruction of Jerusalem did not come about because people failed to study Torah. They studied Torah, but something was lacking in their studying for its own sake, in their appreciation of how precious the Torah is. In the laws of repentance, the Rambam says that Torah for its own sake means studying out of love and out of love for Hashem. A Jew who loves Hakadosh Boruch Hu with a great love is, as the Rambam says there, on the level of Avraham our father, “Avraham, who loved Me.” He loves Hakadosh Boruch Hu. He serves Him not only out of fear of punishment or love of reward, but out of love for Hakadosh Boruch Hu—not because he wants anything in return, neither reward nor the avoidance of punishment. He serves Hakadosh Boruch Hu out of immense love. He does what is true because it is true. The Rambam writes wonderful things about this, and that is called Torah for its own sake. And in a few words, the Alter Rebbe tells us in Tanya that Torah for its own sake means binding one’s soul to Hashem. A Jew wants to connect with, draw close to, and bind his soul to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And what is the most wonderful, deepest way for a Jew to connect with Hakadosh Boruch Hu? Through the Torah, because the Torah and Hakadosh Boruch Hu are one. As the Zohar says, “The Torah and Hakadosh Boruch Hu are entirely one.” The Torah

09:02 And Hakadosh Boruch Hu—it is all one. Every Jew has a G-dly soul, and by nature a Jew wants to connect with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. By nature, every Jew wants to give his life for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. For “the soul of man is the lamp of Hashem.” A Jew’s soul is like a flame that always wants to be with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. What is the most wonderful, deepest, most distinctive way for a Jew to unite and connect with Hakadosh Boruch Hu? Through studying Torah. As the Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya, the connection a Jew forms with Hakadosh Boruch Hu through Torah study is even greater than through any mitzvah. For it is specifically in Torah that there is this wondrous union between a person’s mind and the wisdom and will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. In the words of Tanya: “This is a wondrous union, the like of which, or anything comparable to it, is not found at all in the physical world: to become one and united from every side and angle.” So we’ve spoken here about several levels of Torah lishmah: studying for the sake of fulfilling the mitzvos; for the sake of the Torah’s preciousness and importance; and out of love for Hashem, to bind one’s soul to Hakadosh Boruch Hu through Torah study. But Chassidus points out that if we look closely at the words Torah lishmah—“for its sake,” in the feminine—there is something much deeper here. Studying Torah for the sake of the Torah itself tells us something beyond everything we’ve said so far. That is the deeper, more wonderful meaning of Torah lishmah. Studying Torah for the sake of the Torah means that he studies without any goal at all—not only without the selfish goals we discussed, of gaining prestige, glory or status, but not even for lofty spiritual goals. Not even to know what he must do in practice. Not even that. What’s more, he isn’t even seeking to feel close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. All these

11:15 are wonderful, lofty things. But the person is still seeking some goal he wants to achieve through Torah study. There is, however, a way of studying Torah lishmah—for the sake of the Torah itself—without any personal goal, even a lofty spiritual one. He studies Torah for the sake of the Torah itself, to connect the Torah with the Giver of the Torah. The Torah, so to speak, asks the Jew: Study me, because through the very act of a Jew studying Torah, he brings about a connection within the Torah itself with the Infinite, with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This is a deep subject, but it shows us just how many levels and stages there are in Torah lishmah, depth within depth. And as we said, this raises the question: What exactly is the Mishnah’s message? What is Rabbi Meir coming to tell us? In fact, the strongest difficulty with this Mishnah is a very simple question. When we say “one who engages in Torah study lishmah,” we mean a Jew who seeks no goals and asks for nothing, as we’ve just explained—nothing material or spiritual. He wants only to study Torah and connect with the Torah and the Giver of the Torah. So what does it mean that he “merits many things”? Who exactly is being addressed here? If it’s a person who does not study Torah lishmah and is looking for “many things,” then the Mishnah doesn’t seem to be addressing him. And if it’s speaking to someone who does study Torah lishmah, as Rabbi Meir says at the outset, “Anyone who engages in Torah study lishmah,” then if he already studies Torah lishmah, why would he care about all the things the Mishnah goes on to tell him he merits? He isn’t interested in them. He isn’t looking to merit many things; he isn’t looking for the whole world to be worthwhile on his account. That isn’t what persuades him. He’s already at the level of Torah lishmah.

13:18 So what is the Mishnah telling us? All the wonderful things it goes on to describe seem beside the point. There seems to be a kind of contradiction between the beginning of the Mishnah and everything that follows. If a person studies Torah lishmah, what does he need the rest for? Here the Rebbe says something wonderful. As we said, a Jew studies Torah, and when the Mishnah speaks of one who engages in Torah study lishmah, it means a Jew whose whole being is devoted to Torah study. The wording “engages in Torah study” is also very precise: he engages in Torah as one engages in a business. Someone who has a business lives it. He is immersed in it, invests in it, and is wholly involved in it—not only during business hours. A true business owner lives his business even when he isn’t at work. He dreams about it, falls asleep thinking about it and wakes up thinking about it. The business takes over his whole life. “Engages in Torah study” means that Torah is his business. It is his whole reality. It permeates his entire being. And here a question arises that this person asks himself: I am a Jew who studies Torah, and studies it lishmah. Nothing interests me but Torah study. But our Sages say that a person who says, “I have nothing but Torah,” does not even have Torah. In other words, a person is supposed to do more than study Torah; Torah must come together with other things. Torah together with acts of kindness. The Gemara tells us an entire account involving Abaye and Rava: it was precisely the one who had both Torah and acts of kindness who attained completeness. Torah alone is lacking. Torah must lead you to acts of kindness, to good deeds, to the way you conduct yourself. That means you cannot sit and study Torah twenty-four hours a day, shut yourself away in the beis midrash and do nothing else.

15:25 You are also supposed to go out, do a favor for a Jew, bring another Jew closer, say a kind word to him, help him with acts of kindness. So if I sit and study Torah in this way, wholly engaged in it, and my engagement with Torah is lishmah—as we said, I am not seeking any goals, not only material goals but spiritual ones either; Torah lishmah, for the sake of the Torah, my whole being devoted to Torah, with nothing else—what will become of everything else? There are other parts of a Jew’s service of Hashem. As we said, acts of kindness are essential, as is being involved with other people. All of this is written in the Torah, including in Pirkei Avos. In the first five chapters we learned about all kinds of things a person must do and ways he must conduct himself toward others. There is also the service of prayer. A Jew needs to pray to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, to love Hashem and to have fear of Heaven. Where will I get all of that? If my whole being is devoted only to Torah, how will everything a Jew is supposed to do in daily life come about? This, essentially, is what Rabbi Meir is telling that person: “Anyone who engages in Torah study lishmah merits many things.” He merits many things. This is not talking about a reward. It doesn’t say “a great reward.” This person isn’t looking for a reward. He is a Jew who studies Torah lishmah. But what about all the things that, seemingly, cannot come from Torah study? Rabbi Meir tells us: Know that if you devote yourself properly to studying Torah, and study it at the deepest level of Torah lishmah—to connect with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, to connect with the Torah—then the Torah itself will enable you to merit those things. “He merits many things.” The Torah itself will see to it that you can attain all the things a Jew is supposed to do, and you will see that suddenly you find a way to help a Jew here,

17:35 How to do someone a favor, how to perform acts of kindness. He merits many things—that is, he receives them as a merit. So for this person who studies Torah, the Torah grants him everything a Jew needs in his relationship with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, between a person and Hashem and between a person and others. He merits many things. And with this in mind, if we look at the rest of the Mishnah, we’ll see that everything it speaks about is something the Torah brings with it, so that a Jew receives what he needs to put it to use in every part of life. As we said, “People benefit from his counsel and wisdom.” You might think: This person sits in the beis midrash all day, studying Torah day and night. He’s removed from practical life. What does he know about the world? How can I ask him for advice? Rabbi Meir assures us: “People benefit from his counsel and wisdom.” It isn’t just that he might occasionally say a helpful word. People benefit from him. Even though you might say that this person is completely removed from the world—he doesn’t understand it, he doesn’t know what’s going on, he doesn’t read the newspaper, he isn’t familiar with the reality on the ground; he just sits and learns—the advice he gives benefits people. He merits many things, including this: people benefit from his counsel and wisdom. Even when another Jew is dealing with matters that, on the face of it, have nothing to do with Torah, through studying Torah for its own sake, this person is granted the ability to give advice that will truly benefit him. And the same is true, all the more so, of being “beloved, loving Hashem and loving people.” True love for people comes specifically through a Jew who studies Torah for its own sake. As we said, he seems to be sitting and learning in the beis midrash. How does he come to love

19:31 people, and to be loved by them? On the contrary, it is precisely because he studies Torah for no other purpose. All he sees in the Torah is the Giver of the Torah. He has no personal goals in his Torah study. So this Jew loves people. He loves every Jew, even a Jew who is only in the category of “people”—“creatures,” as the Alter Rebbe says in Tanya—with no other distinction. What does “creatures” mean? Simply a created being. He has no other standing. These may be people with no particular virtues or importance, the simplest of people—but Hashem created them. A Jew who studies Torah for various goals will seek out the Jew who fits that goal. If he seeks the wisdom of Torah, he will seek out scholars. If he seeks the mitzvos of the Torah, he will seek out a Jew who observes the mitzvos. A Jew who studies Torah for its own sake is able to love every Jew simply because he is one of Hashem’s creatures. Hakadosh Boruch Hu created him. So it is specifically this person whose love for others will be complete. That is why he will both be loved and love others, and why people will benefit from his counsel and wisdom, and so on. We could open the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos now and go through all its other points, one by one, and see how the Torah grants all these great qualities when a Jew devotes himself to it. So what message does this Mishnah give each of us? As we approach the days before the giving of the Torah, how does this Mishnah give us the foundation for preparing to receive the Torah? There is a hint in Rabbi Meir’s words when he says, “Anyone who engages in Torah study for its own sake.” He doesn’t say “one who engages”; he says “anyone who engages.” He wants to include every level. We said earlier that there are several kinds of studying Torah for its own sake. Anyone

21:34 who engages—even a person who is only at the beginning of his service of Hashem—can make that decision. We’re speaking about the simplest of Jews. I’m not yet a tzaddik or a holy person, and I’m not on a lofty level. I don’t understand the higher levels of Torah study. But I have the foundation: devotion to the Giver of the Torah. When the festival of the giving of the Torah arrives, a Jew needs to know: I’m not yet on those higher levels, but I know that we are about to receive the Torah from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That first step, that decision a Jew makes before Shavuos to devote himself—that, that, that is what we’re talking about. That is called studying Torah for its own sake. The Alter Rebbe says in Tanya—and this is very interesting—that, as we’ve said, there are many levels to studying Torah for its own sake. The Alter Rebbe says in Tanya that we find the same idea in halachah. For example, a Torah scroll must be written for its own sake: “I am writing for the sake of the sanctity of a Torah scroll.” There are many things a person must do for their own sake. In halachah, if before you begin writing you say, “I am writing,” and have that intention, then everything you write afterward follows your initial thought. So the Alter Rebbe says to an ordinary person: At the beginning of the day, you make that decision. You recite the blessing over the Torah and say, “Blessed are You, Hashem, Giver of the Torah.” In other words, you have already laid the foundation. The Torah is the Torah of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. I study Torah to connect with the Giver of the Torah. Then all your Torah study throughout the day follows that initial thought, and it too is included in studying Torah for its own sake. When Rabbi Meir says “anyone who engages,” he means every level, from the lowest to the highest. Every Jew is connected at least to that first, basic level of studying Torah for its own sake. And once we have that beginning,

23:46 we merit many things: all the wonderful things and wonderful blessings the Mishnah describes. This is what we tell a Jew in the days before the giving of the Torah. As we know, before the giving of the Torah, the Jewish people put “we will do” before “we will hear.” That first step, that self-surrender, that decision to accept the yoke of Torah upon ourselves—that is what connects us to studying Torah for its own sake, to “anyone who engages in Torah study for its own sake.” Every Jew has a connection to studying Torah for its own sake. That is the beginning, the first preparation, and that is why this is the first Mishnah in the chapter on acquiring Torah. Before we learn about all sorts of other wonderful and important things, different approaches to study, and the great virtues of Torah study, the Mishnah opens by saying: “Rabbi Meir says: Anyone.” Every Jew has some element of studying Torah for its own sake. With that very first decision, he can accept the yoke of Torah upon himself and resolve to devote himself to it. “Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, Who chose us from among all peoples and gave us His Torah. Blessed are You, Hashem, Giver of the Torah.” This is the blessing over the Torah that we say every day. And before that comes the first blessing: “Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to engage in words of Torah,” or “concerning words of Torah,” depending on the wording one uses. The moment a Jew accepts this upon himself, he enters the category of studying Torah for its own sake. Then he merits many things, both materially and spiritually. Even things you might have thought he would need to do something else to attain, the Torah itself grants him as a merit. He merits many things so that he can fulfill his purpose in the world: to make this world a dwelling place for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And that is what we are meant to do in these days: prepare for the festival of the giving of the Torah, so that Hakadosh Boruch Hu will give us the strength to decide to devote ourselves to studying Torah for its own sake, and to merit many things, both materially

25:52 and spiritually, and to merit the new Torah—the Torah of Moshiach—speedily in our days, through Moshiach Tzidkeinu. May each and every one of us have a month of Sivan, the third month, the month of the giving of the Torah, in which we merit the new Torah of King Moshiach, speedily in our days. Amen.