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Mourning
Through "Bitul Torah"
Tisha
B'Av: Mourning Through "Bitul Torah"
Rabbi
Ron-Ami Meir
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1.
Learning Curtailed
2. Pre-Natal Classes
3. Applying The Lesson
4. The Fervent Learner: Role Model or Transgressor?
Learning Curtailed
The traditional three-week mourning period marking
the process of the destruction of our two Batei
Mikdash (Holy Temples) culminates in probably the
most difficult day, both spiritually and physically,
of the Jewish year. On Tisha B'Av, the Jew is bidden
to internalize the great national tragedy of the
Temples' destruction by adhering to the same restrictions
as a person who, God forbid, suffers the loss of
a close relative. To this end, the Shulchan Arukh
rules that on Tisha B'Av it is forbidden "to wash,
anoint oneself, wear leather shoes, and have intimate
relations. It is also forbidden to read from the
Tanach (Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim) and to learn Mishna,
Midrash, Talmud - including both halachic and allegoric
passages."
Why the prohibition on learning? Basing himself
on the Talmud, Rabbi Yosef Karo cites the verse
in Tehilim (19:9): "The statutes of God are upright,
rejoicing the heart..." Since Tisha B'Av is a day
of immense sadness, it is inappropriate to experience
the joy that comes with learning Torah.
In his commentary on Tehilim, Rabbi Avraham Ibn
Ezrah notes that the Hebrew term for the "statutes
of [God]" employed by the above verse is "pekudei"
- and that this word shares the root of the term
"pikadon". A "pikadon" is an object entrusted by
one to another, generally for purposes of safekeeping.
"They [the mitzvot of the Torah] are present in
potential within the soul of everyone obligated
in commandments," Ibn Ezrah explains. "God entrusted
[the mitzvot to us by placing them] in [our] hearts."
Pre-Natal Classes
The concept that all of Torah is embedded deep within
every Jew is a famous theme of the early Talmudic
period. In Yalkut Shimoni (Bereishit Ch. 38), for
instance, the sage Shmuel states that while in his
mother's womb, the fetus is taught the entire Torah.
Upon birth, an angel appears, strikes the baby on
his mouth, and causes him to forget all of his learning.
(A lengthier version of the same theme appears in
Talmud, Tractate Nidda 30b)
According to the commentary Akeidat Yitzchak, the
midrash is effectively saying that from the very
earliest stages of his development, the Jew has
the potential to achieve a high degree of spiritual
perfection, the kind gained through knowledge of
Torah. "Nevertheless," explains Akeidat Yitzchak,
"this potential may never be actualized. It depends
on the degree of effort and toil invested in learning."
These pre-natal Torah lessons, he adds, also help
explain the conclusion of the midrash: At birth,
the baby takes an oath, committing himself to be
a Tzaddik (righteous person) and not a Rasha (wicked
person). Although the child has forgotten his learning,
says the Akeidat Yitzchak, he can confidently take
the oath, since Torah absorbed by him in the womb
creates within him a predisposition towards righteousness.
That said, what is the connection drawn in the verse
in Tehilim between the concept of Torah as a "pikadon"
in our hearts, and the simcha - or joy - experienced
by us during Torah study?
The joy of learning Torah stems from the Jew's rediscovery
of the Torah he internalized prior to birth, the
Torah entrusted to him, the Torah that until now,
has been lying dormant in his heart and mind, waiting
to be given new life.
This is the kind of exciting spiritual experience
denied the Jew on Tisha B'Av.
Chazal - our sages of blessed memory - understood
that in the course of time, it would be increasingly
difficult for Jews to comprehend what was actually
lost with the destruction of the two Batei Mikdash.
The longer the exile, the harder it would be to
appreciate the significance of the korbanot (sacrifices)
or, for example, the Avoda (service) of the Kohen
Gadol on Yom Kippur. One thing that would remain
with the Jews throughout the Galut, however, is
the Torah. Chazal understood that the committed
learner of Torah would feel a great sense of loss
and intense sadness when denied the opportunity,
for even a 24-hour period, to pursue his daily,
lifelong task of rediscovering his Torah.
Applying the Lesson
Many of us may now be asking ourselves: "This kind
of halacha may have an impact on seasoned Talmidei
Chakhamim - great Torah scholars, but what about
the majority of us who are simply not on such a
lofty spiritual level? How are we to relate to the
prohibition of learning Torah on Tisha B'av?" The
western concept that says everyone is entitled to
monthly, weekly, even daily allotments of leisure
time has taken its spiritual toll on us all. As
hard as a person studies at yeshiva, if he grew
up in a popular culture that values spending hours
in front of the television watching football, relaxing
on week-long Caribbean luxury cruises etc. - it's
a real challenge for even this dedicated yeshiva
student to truly internalize the pain of being denied
the ability to learn Torah for the 24-hour period
of Tisha B'Av!
A possible approach to this dilemma may be found
in the hashkafa, or conceptual outlook, conveyed
by the halacha: The reason Torah is denied to us
on Tisha B'Av is so that we feel a loss, a sense
of mourning, on that day. Torah learning engenders
joy because, as explained earlier, it is a process
wherein the Jew rediscovers the gift bestowed upon
him prior to birth. When the Torah scholar is held
back from engaging in this process of self-actualization,
he feels a vacuum in his life, he feels denied.
It may very well be that our sages wished to convey
this hashkafa even to those of us who cannot yet
totally internalize this sense of loss. In other
words, the very formulation of a halacha which declares
that, in order to feel a sense of mourning, one
just refrain from learning on Tisha B'Av - is, in
and of itself a powerful Torah message! With this
halacha, our sages are not simply instructing us
to refrain from learning on Tisha B'Av - they are
simultaneously impressing upon us the need to view
Torah learning as fundamental to our own personal
happiness, our sense of self-fulfillment as Jews.
The Fervent Learner: Role Model or Transgressor?
The Jerusalem Talmud, Tractate Mo'ed Katan, rules
that, despite the prohibition of Torah learning
during the week of Aveilut (mourning), "if he (the
mourner) was fervent in his need to learn Torah,
it is permissible." The same leniency would seemingly
apply to Tisha B'Av, as well, since its prohibition
of Torah learning is modeled on the laws of mourning.
Rabbi Yosef Karo, after quoting this Talmudic source
in his work, "Beit Yosef", concludes: "But the poskim
(rabbinic decisors) did not record [this leniency]."
It was not accepted in normative halacha.
However, Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef - in his monumental
work of responsa, "Yabiah Omer" - writes that he
did succeed in tracking down one noted (lone) posek,
the Shibolei Haleket, who adopts the leniency, and
permits particular fervent Torah learners to learn
as usual during Aveilut.
Rabbi Yosef thereupon cites an anecdote (initially
recorded in Sefer Binayahu, Berachot 24) that illustrates
an application of the principle of the very devoted
Torah scholar. "A particular scholar had such a
wondrous drive to learn Torah, that when he became
a mourner, he continued to secretly immerse himself
in Torah. His colleagues reproved him for doing
so, [reminding him] that a mourner is forbidden
from learning Torah. His response: 'I know that
I am transgressing the words of the sages, and that
I will surely receive my punishment for this on
Judgement Day, but I am prepared to suffer the consequences
and to gladly accept my punishment, because I simply
cannot hold myself back, I cannot tolerate the anguish
I feel from Bitul Torah - that is as difficult for
me as death itself."
Certainly, the above story presents a serious philosophical
problem for the religious Jew. Normative halacha
rejects such an approach: namely, knowingly committing
even a rabbinic transgression, while declaring that
one is willing to "suffer the consequences." Such
an attitude undercuts the very authority of halacha
itself! Of what value is the Torah study of such
a person if he does not put his study into practice?
And yet, this story is cited in a reputable halachic
work, and repeated by the most prolific and prominent
Sephardic halachic authority of our day, Rabbi Ovadiah
Yosef!
Halacha recognizes the principle of "Oness, Rachmana
Patrei" - one is not held responsible for situations
beyond one's control. A typical example of this
rule: I am stuck in a traffic jam and arrive too
late to pray with a minyan. Since I allotted plenty
of time to reach the synagogue, I am not held responsible
for missing Mincha with a minyan.
The scholar in the earlier story was similarly,
not in control. So much was Torah a part of his
essence that the halachic imperative for him to
stop learning was like commanding him not to breathe!
This Tisha B'Av, when we refrain from our daily
routine of Torah study, let us try to internalize
the loss of Torah on a personal level - and from
there move to an awareness of the loss on a national
level, the loss of our Beit Hamikdash.
And may our mourning soon turn to joy. |
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