Parshas Behar-Bechukosai 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- 18 hours ago
- 2 min read
אם בחקתי תלכו ואת מצותי תשמרו ועשיתם אתם ... (כו-ג)
Rashi quotes the Medrash which says: "יכול זה קיום המצות כשהוא אומר ואת מצותי תשמרו הרי קיום המצות אמור הא מה אני מקיים אם בחוקתי תלכו שתהיו עמלים בתורה". Loosely translated, the words "בחוקתי תלכו" must be referring to לימוד התורה because the next words refer to the mitzvos. Many meforshim ask about this: why are the words "עמלים בתורה" used and not "לומדי תורה"? Secondly, Chazal teach us that the tachlis of Torah is teshuva and maasim tovim. So why does the reference to עמילות come before the reference to mitzvos in this posuk?
Sefer Ohel Yaakov touches upon these questions and records the following machshava. In Pirkei Avos (2, 8) the משנה says "אם למדת תורה הרבה אל תחזיק טובה לעצמך". Do not pat yourself on the back too hard just because you learned, "כי לכך נוצרת" - because that is what you were created to do. He explains this al pi drush to mean, if you learn Torah, "אל תחזיק לעצמך" - don’t hoard it for yourself, but teach it to others - "כי לכך נוצרת" - because that is a yid’s purpose in life. To teach others.
On the words "אדם לעמל יולד", there is a pshat that the word "לעמל" is actually an acronym for "ללמוד על מנת ללמד" - learn, in order to teach. The Gemara in Bava Kama (17a) states that although doing mitzvos is greater than learning, however, teaching is considered greater than performing mitzvos. Perhaps because through that you will enable all their future doros to learn תורה, be mekayem מצוות and become ehrliche yidden. Thus, says Rashi, "שתהיו עמלים בתורה" - not just to learn for yourself, but על מנת ללמד - learn, in order to be able to teach. And as he just said, teaching comes before mitzvos. And so, because the posuk referred to Torah before mitzvos, Rashi knew it meant עמלים.
Lag Ba’omer signifies learning in a way that is not selfish but rather "נהגו כבוד זה לזה", and that Torah has and has always had an everlasting imprint on the world. Let us keep Reb Akiva’s legacy alive and well.