The Rambam states that a student who is exiled to the cities of refuge because he has inadvertently killed a fellow Jew must be accompanied by his Torah teacher. He cites the word “hju” – “and he shall live”, as the basis for this law. Torah is the lifeblood of a Jew. Torah study keeps one’s soul alive in this world and enables him to continue life even after his physical death. Since a student cannot properly study without his teacher, his “rebbe” is obligated to go with him. One who understands the value of this life force will study Torah with all his heart and soul, with vitality and joy, afire with the burning desire to serve Hashem.
At the beginning of this parsha we are enjoined not to forget the Torah. “Take heed and watch yourself lest you forget that which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life (4:9). The Mishna in Avos (3:10) derives from this pasuk the principle that one who forgets one point that he has learned from the Torah is deemed as if he has forfeited his life. One who is truly involved in his lessons will review them again and again in his mind. If this learning is irrelevant, however, then he will be likely to forget the concepts learned. An idea which is “lived” is not easily forgotten.
Torah study nourishes the soul just as food nourishes the body. A great deal of attention is required to maintain the nutrition of both body and soul. Decisions affecting Torah study are life-sustaining resolutions which determine one’s spiritual survival. For example, as Horav Aharon Shechter Shlita notes, a decision regarding which Yeshiva to enter is not a debate concerning intellectual and scholastic achievement. Rather, it is a decision pertaining to the totality of one’s life! Where will his life be better? Where will his spiritual development be potentialized? To immerse oneself in the sea of Torah is to delve into the essence of our immortality and the spiritual life force of our nation.
