Chapel suggest that the word, “sam”, “placed,” with the Hebrew letter “sin” alludes to another Hebrew word with a similar sound, whose meaning is completely different. Sam ha’maves and sam ha’chaim, a potion whose effects are either therapeutic or deadly in nature. That is like Torah. To the one who is zocheh, merits, it is a potion that can engender life, that can have far-reaching benefits. For the one who is not zocheh, an encounter with Torah can be fatal. Moreover, Chapel say that it is the actual Torah which is “naasis lo,” becomes for him a deadly potion. Imagine, the Torah itself is transformed into a pollutant that will destroy his system.
Horav Refael Hakohen, zl, m’Hamburg explains that there are three levels of Torah study: The zenith of study is manifest by the individual who studies Torah lishma, for its sake. His love of Torah permeates every moment of his devotion to it. The other extreme is displayed by the who studies l’kanter, to dispute, disdain and find areas that he can question and ridicule. The middle level is demonstrated by the one who studies Torah as a medium for achieving honor and fame. His goals are personal, his intentions are self-gratifying. He realizes that one receives true esteem for Torah scholarship; distinction is what one achieves for Torah erudition. He is willing to work for that kavod, honor. That is what is referred to as shelo lishmah.
Thus, we see that one who studies for personal gain stands at a dangerous crossroads. He cannot vacillate back and forth. He must decide either to go to the right and work on his Torah study, so that it becomes lishmah, or go to the left where he will have the opportunity to scorn and disdain. Regarding him, Chazal say, “If he merits and decides to ascend to the level of lishmah, then Torah is therapeutic. If he does not merit, and instead chooses to go left to disparage Torah, then that actual Torah which he has studied until now becomes a sam ha’maves, deadly potion. We see that the Torah that he has studied until now, the Torah that was seemingly studied simply shelo lishmah, with intent only for personal gain, was actually motivated by the wrong reason. The end result reveals the true motive behind his Torah study. Better had he not studied, for he might not have fallen to such a nadir.
Horav Boruch Ber Leibowitz, zl, suggested Chazal’s statement as an explanation for Acher, the famous scholar turned apostate, following that path. After all, why didn’t the Torah that he had studied protect him? Chazal explain that when he would get up, sifrei minim, books expounding heresy, would fall down from his lap. In other words, he was studying Torah while simultaneously reading heresy. Yet, we may wonder why the Torah that he studied did not protect him. He was a scholar – so obviously he must have studied quite a bit. Where was the Torah to which he so diligently applied himself? The answer, claims Rav Boruch Ber, is that Torah study that goes hand and hand with heresy is not limud haTorah. On the contrary, he is in a worse situation because he had studied, for now he is manipulating that which he learned to support his distortion of Torah. The Torah has become his fatal potion in more ways than one.
