Created as notes for a BMitzvah charge / Sermon
Eli, you spoke about how hard it was to learn for your Bar Mitzvah and how much work it was. It might amuse you to know that our rabbis of blessed memory agree with you that Torah study is hard work! Moreover, they believe that Torah study should be hard work. That is a plus, not a minus. They even had a special word for the work of studying Torah: עמלִ -- it is a verb that means to labor hard.
(ג) אִם־בְּחֻקֹּתַ֖י תֵּלֵ֑כוּ וְאֶת־מִצְוֺתַ֣י תִּשְׁמְר֔וּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָֽם׃
(3) If you walk in My laws and you keep My mitzvot, and you do them. . .
(ב) [ב] "אִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי תֵּלְכוּ" – יָכוֹל אֵלּוּ הַמִּצְוֹת? כְּשֶׁהוּא אוֹמֵר "וְאֶת מִצְוֹתַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם", הֲרֵי מַצּוֹת אֲמוּרוֹת. הָא מָה אֲנִי מְקַיֵּם "אִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי תֵּלְכוּ"? לִהְיוֹת עֲמֵלִים בְּתוֹרָה.
"If you walk בְּחֻקֹּתַי in My laws”—Could this refer the mitzvot? That does not make sense, because the verse goes on to say: “and keep My mitzvot, and do them”— mitzvot are already specifically mentioned! So what does בְּחֻקֹּתַי “in My laws” mean? It means to work super hard on studying Torah.
In other words, the Rabbis are saying that laboring hard to understand Torah is a mitzvah d'orita, a mitzvah straight from the Torah. So you might want to hear that now that you finished learning for your bar mitzvah and now that you have done such a fine job, it is time to stop and relax. But I cannot say that. Eli, you have already promised to continue your Jewish education and to make Judaism a lifelong endeavor. It will continue to be hard and challenging and that is good. It will also be valuable and rewarding. You could not have better role models than your grandparents, who both keep learning new Torah, even at their age. You stressed in your talk how important it is to you to have people around to answer your questions. I assure you that what rabbis want around them, at least what this rabbi wants around her, is people who ask questions. So follow the example of your family and keep those questions coming!
One question you might as is if understanding " אִם־בְּחֻקֹּתַ֖י תֵּלֵ֑כוּ" as Torah study is the only way to understand this verse, and the answer is, as you might expect because you have been learning Torah for a while, of course Torah study is not the only way to understand this verse.
אם בחקתי. תשמרו ועשיתם. מצוה ללמוד וללמד ולעשות:
IF YE WALK IN MY STATUTES, AND KEEP…AND DO. This is a commandment to study, to teach, and to observe.
Ibn Ezra says that the whole verse is talking not just about Torah study but about learning, teaching and doing. And remember, this law is not directed only at Rabbis and Hebrew School teachers. This law is directed at all Jews. The command is to study Torah, to share what we know with others, and to practice what we have learned.
And even that is not the only way to understand the verse.
הרי קיום מצות. ה"ג כְּשֶׁהוּא אוֹמֵר וַעֲשִיתֶם אֹתָם הֲרֵי קִיּוּם מִצְוֹת אָמוּר וכו' וְאִם כֵּן פֵּרוּשׁ וְאִם בְּחַקּוֹתִי תֵּלְכוּ בַּעֲמֵלִים סְתָם וְאֶת מִצְוֹתַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ בַּעֲמֵלִים עַל מְנָת לִשְׁמֹר וּלְקַיֵּם:
Behold, the fulfillment of the mitzvos is mentioned. This is the correct text: “When the verse says, ‘And you will fulfill them,’ behold, the fulfillment of the mitzvos is mentioned.” Therefore “If you follow My statutes” means to labor in Torah with no particular intent, and “keep My commandments” means to labor [in Torah] in order to keep and fulfill.
Rashi is a commentary on the Torah. Siftei Hakhamim is a supercommentary on Rashi. It was written by Shabbetai ben Joseph Bass, in Amsterdam, in the late 1600s or early 1700s. Siftei Hahamim says that the first part of the verse is talking about Torah learning for its own sake, lishmah. And the second part of the verse is talking about Torah study that one learns in order to do it, in order to learn how to observe mitzvot.
When we speak about Jewish law, what are talking about? We are talking about those few laws that come directly from the Torah. We are talking about Jewish law as developed by Jewish sages through the centuries. And we are talking about Jewish law, tradition and practice that is still developing right now. It is ancient. It is new. And it is your legacy, to learn, to teach, to do.
Hazak, hazak, v'nithazek. Be strong, be strong, and let us be strong.