Chazal (Sanhedrin 90b) prove from the above pasuk that Techiyas Ha’Meisim, the Resurrection of the Dead, is supported min haTorah. The Torah enjoins the people to give their Terumah to Aharon HaKohen. Will Aharon live forever? He did not even enter into the Holy Land. This teaches us that he will one day be resurrected, and Klal Yisrael will again give him their Terumah. In Kovetz Maamarim (Onsham shel baalei middos megunos), Horav Elchonon Wasserman, zl, cites Chazal (Kesubos 111b) who teach that Techiyas Ha’Meisim has one criterion that should not be ignored. Unless one studies/has studied Torah or supported others who have studied, he will not merit to be resurrected. While it is accepted that, Kol Yisrael yeish lahem cheilek l’Olam Habba, “Every Jew has a portion in the World-to-Come – even if he performed only one mitzvah throughout his life. This does not apply to Techiyas Ha’Meisim, which one merits only through Torah study in some form.
The Rosh Yeshivah cites the Chayei Adam who explains Chazal (Berachos 17a) Nashim b’mai zachyin? “What merit do women have?” that the question is not concerning Olam Habba, – because every woman who keeps mitzvos s is granted a ticket to Olam Habba. Chazal are asking: What merit do women have for Techiyas Ha’Meisim? They do not study Torah. Chazal answer: They support Torah by enabling others (husbands and sons) to learn Torah.
The question that remains: What merit does an infant who dies in infancy have to be resurrected? Chazal’s answer concerning women does not apply to infants, because they are not doing anything to support Torah. Rav Elchonon explains that one of the punishments for a father who sins is that their young children will die during his life. [This does not in any way infer that, if a child dies during his parent’s life, the parent is a sinner. It only suggests that one who sins egregiously takes the chance that he may receive such a terrible punishment.] The Rambam explains that Chazal view children as their parents’ property. Thus, a child shares in his father’s merits.
People often view Torah study as an addition to life, something to do when they have time. In reality, Torah is life itself. The Chazon Ish (Emunah u’Bitachon) writes that Torah study is not just an obligation, but the very oxygen of a Jew’s soul. I may add that a Jew who is healthy in body and weak in soul – is neither. Concerning Chazal (Kesubos 111b) who teach that talmidei chachamim, Torah scholars, bring life to the world, Horav Chaim Volozhin, zl, writes (Nefesh HaChaim 4:3) that a Jew’s entire existence is bound up with Torah, and that the world itself continues to exist in the merit of Torah study. When we prioritize the mundane (in which one is engaged, as a means of livelihood), he inverts the purpose of life. Hashem does not abandon one who devotes himself sincerely to Torah study. The Chafetz Chaim was wont to say that parnassah, a livelihood, is like a shadow – if a person chases it, it runs away, but, if he walks forward with his focus on Torah, it follows naturally. The defining essence of a Jew’s life is his Torah learning. Everything else is fluff.
Gadlus baTorah, greatness/distinction in Torah, is not the product of talent alone, but, it is attained through unwavering dedication and complete immersion in Torah study. Furthermore, Torah must shape, not only one’s intellect, but also his character and outlook on life. The Torah giants of every era achieved their towering greatness because their lives were completely absorbed in Torah; they treated it as the totality of their existence.
A classic example of this idea is the Kaminetzer Rosh Yeshivah, Horav Boruch Ber Leibowitz, zl. Once, when a group of baalei batim, laymen, came to him with an important shailah, communal query, he listened, and replied that he was unable to properly grasp the inquiry. They repeated the question again and again – and received the same reply. He motioned to his son-in-law, Horav Reuven Grozovsky, zl, to respond to them. Apparently, he was so deeply immersed in Torah thought that he could not comprehend anything else.
When the Nazis overran Eastern Europe, they left a trail of innocent blood wherever they went. When they reached Kaminetz, however, they did not touch the Jewish community. In fact, atypical to their nature and behavior, they treated Rav Boruch Ber with great deference, according him unusual respect. When war was imminent, and it was crucial to leave Kaminetz for Vilna, Rav Boruch Ber walked up to his sefarim shank, bookcase, and spoke to his sefarim, and with great pain, he bid them farewell. After his passing (1939) the saintly Chazon Ish said that had Rav Boruch Ber lived, the Holocaust would not have occurred. His deveikus, clinging to Torah, would have prevented it. [This is a very strong statement, but who are we to question, or understand, the depth of the Chazon Ish’s words?] In his deep humility, Rav Boruch Ber said about himself, “With what merit will I come to the Olam HaEmes, World-of-Truth? Do I possess Torah? Do I have yiraas Shomayim? There is only one merit which I can take with me: I love the Jewish people.”
Halachah states that, out of respect for a bais haknesses, one should refrain from expressing affection/kissing his child in shul. This is based upon the verity that one can have no greater love than the love one has for Hashem. We, therefore, teach the children that in a shul, which is “Hashem’s home” (so to speak), we show our love only to the Almighty. Nonetheless, Horav David Baharan, zl, one of the Torah giants of Yerushalayim, kissed a distinguished layman, Reb A. Veksler, on the forehead. He explained that Reb Veksler was a wealthy entrepreneur who sought a choson for his daughter. The name of a bachur was proposed, and the future father-in-law began in earnest to check his “credentials.” While he had no question concerning the young man’s brilliance, it was his hasmadah, diligence, which concerned Reb Veksler. He spoke to every Rosh Yeshivah, every maggid shiur, until he was satisfied that this young man’s love of Torah was prolific. He then agreed to the shidduch, match. The choson was Horav Betzalel Zolty, zl, who later became Rav of Yerushalayim. When Reb Veksler walked into shul with his choson for the first time, Rav Bahran kissed him, saying, “This kiss is a kavod, honor, for the Torah, and an honor for the shul. Everyone should know the immense love Hashem has for one who sought a choson whose only focus in life is Torah.”
Understandably, if we as Jews are obligated to sacrifice ourselves for mitzvah observance, to do so for Torah study and dissemination is evident. This attitude was exemplified by the students of Yeshivas Novarodok – especially during World War I. Their communities and yeshivos were overrun by the Russians who had their own diabolical plans for their citizens, especially the Jews. These bnei Torah were not as affected by the brutal labor, the starvation and the humiliation, as much as their inability to study Torah. Prior to being forced into the labor camp, they did not have an opportunity to bring along sefarim. They were studying Meseches Makkos when the Russian bear attacked and hauled them off. These young men were ingenious in providing for their spiritual preservation. The Russians allowed them to bring in one item of food daily. That item was cheese which was wrapped in paper and served as their meals for the day. One of the men had a brilliant idea. There are 23 dafim, pages, in Makkos. They would take an old Gemorah, tear out its pages, and every day wrap a cheese in a daf. It worked, and right under the Russian guards’ eyes, these men were studying Talmud Makkos – one page at a time.
The question was raised: Were they denigrating the Gemorah by wrapping it in cheese? The question was posed to the Chafetz Chaim who replied that, if this was the medium that provided them with the ability to learn Torah – then it was a tremendous kavod, honor, for the Torah. After all, it is our life.
