Devotion to Torah Learning - 001 Basic Mesirus Nefesh For Torah

Two Levels of Torah Learning – “Mitzvah” and “Torah”

The Torah is above the level of the mitzvos. In our world, we are found on the level of mitzvos, which will disappear in the future (for the Sages state that the mitzvos will cease in the future[1]), whereas the Torah itself is eternal. The “mitzvah” aspect of the Torah will disappear, for it is only the lower level of the Torah. The higher level of the Torah, the level of “Torah” itself, is forever, so it cannot cease.

The “mitzvah” level of learning Torah requires exertion on our part in order to learn Torah, just as all other mitzvos require exertion to fulfill. Exertion atones for sins, and so does exertion in Torah. This is called Ner Mitzvah, the fact the Torah is a mitzvah. A higher level of exertion in Torah is called Torah Ohr, the “Torah of light”, and it is beyond the exertion when it comes to all other mitzvos. Exertion in Torah therefore consists of two levels – the lower level being Ner Mitzvah, and the higher level which is called Torah Ohr.

A ner, a candle, is a kli, a container, which holds the ohr, the light. The stronger the kli\container is, the more it can hold the ohr. Therefore, the degree that one receives the ohr\light of Torah will depend on the strength of his kli. The kli is one’s Torah learning on the level of ner mitzvah, exertion in Torah because there is a mitzvah to learn Torah. When exertion in Torah is on the level of ner mitzvah, to the degree that one purifies himself, that is how much “light of Torah” he will receive. This is clear.

However, the main part of exertion in learning, which is the higher level, is when Torah brings a person to the level of Olam HaBa, the World To Come. There is depth within depth in the Torah, but in addition to this endless depth, it also brings a person to Olam HaBa. This is not just a segulah, a spiritual effect of the Torah - but a level of exertion, to exert oneself in the Torah as if the Torah resembles Olam HaBa and he is trying to get to it. This is the level of Torah Ohr.

On a personal level, when one exerts himself on the first level, he will receive the light of Torah to the degree that he is purified, but he will not receive more than that. But when a person exerts himself beyond his own physical energies, he will receive light of Torah on a higher level, Torah Ohr, which is Torah learning on the level of “Torah” itself, not just the “mitzvah” aspect of Torah. Torah Ohr is an example of “undifferentiated light” (ohr mufshat) and it is received by the person even if he isn’t on the level to contain it, as long as he has exerted himself beyond his natural energies. This is a “light of Olam HaBa” that is attainable even within this world. It is also called mesirus nefesh (giving up the soul, through immense devotion to get to this level).

This level (Torah Ohr, which resembles Olam HaBa) is not simply about exerting oneself a little more, trying harder, etc. That is also needed, but it is more about reaching the point within the Torah that is called Torah Ohr.

The Three Levels of Exertion: This World, The Bridging Level, and the World To Come

Altogether, there are three levels:

1)     Exertion in Torah according to one’s natural capabilities.

2)     Going a little above one’s natural capabilities, when it comes to exertion in Torah study.

3)     Going totally beyond one’s energies in Torah.

The first level is the level of This World. The light of such Torah will enter a person according to how much he has purified himself. The middle level, going a little above one’s level, is called me’in Olam HaBa, a semblance of the World To Come. The level above that, where one goes totally beyond his natural energies, is the total level of Olam HaBa.

The middle level brings a person to a semblance of the light of Olam HaBa. When one goes a little above his natural energies, will merit a ‘crack’ where the light of Olam HaBa shines through into our dimension, where he can get some of its rays. However, even at this level, he is still not called a “ben Olam HaBa”, one who is of the World To Come.

When one lives a life of total bittul (self-nullification) to Hashem, like Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his colleagues, he goes totally beyond his physical energies in order to exert himself in Torah, and he receives the ohr of Olam HaBa in his Torah learning. Such light of Torah is infinite, and it does not depend on the person’s level, so it can be received by a person even if he isn’t purified enough.

Most people, when exerting themselves in Torah, are at the first level. This is the path that most people took in the generations. A small amount took the third path, of going totally beyond their natural capabilities to exert themselves in Torah. The middle path, of going a little above one’s natural capabilities, is where everyone aims to reach. Therefore, we will explain here how one can reach the middle path.

The middle level of exertion in Torah, which is to go a little above one’s natural strengths to exert himself in Torah study, means to accept the ol Torah, the responsibility of learning Torah, “just as an ox carrying a burden for its master, and a donkey its load.” As mentioned, the higher path, of total self-nullification to Hashem, is only for individuals, and it is very risky for most people to take this path. As the Gemara says, “Many tried to do like Rashbi, and didn’t succeed”. Let us therefore explain how to reach the second path, which is called me’in olam haba, a semblance of the World To Come.

Exertion In Action

A person contains many parts: His actions, his middos (character traits and emotions), his speech, his thought, his will - and above that. In each of these powers of the soul, there are natural capabilities which Hashem has given him, and there is also an ability to go totally above one’s nature, as well as a middle, bridging point between these two, which enables one to rise a little over his normal nature.  When it comes to exertion in Torah, when one is going a little beyond his nature, this is the “crack” in our dimension by which one can receive the light of Torah that radiates from the World To Come.

For example, Chazal say that one should lose sleep over his learning. This is an example of physical exertion in learning, and it is an exertion on the level of action. Through it, one penetrates through to a crack which can receive the light of Olam HaBa. How much light of Torah will one receive? This will depend on how much one is exerting himself.

The point of this exertion is not just to increase the action of Torah study, but to expose the will to learn Torah. It is about revealing the will for learning Torah, but it is done through physical actions of exertion, as opposed to working with the will directly. However, there must be already some level of the will for Torah learning exposed, in order for the action of exertion have an effect. When there is no revealed will to learn Torah, the actions of exertion in Torah learning will not expose it. First the will to learn Torah must be exposed somewhat, and then the actions of exertion (i.e. feigning sleep and tiredness in order to learn Torah) can serve as the “garment” of the will. In turn, the will can be further exposed, through these actions of exertion.

However, even when exertion is superficial and it is not stemming from a person’s will to learn Torah, a person will still be able to receive the light of Torah, depending on how much he purifies himself through the exertion.

Exertion In Middos: Acquiring The Deep Wisdom Of The Middos

Besides for actions of exertion in Torah learning, there is also exertion in middos (to align one’s middos with the middos of Hashem).

The baalei avodah merited greatness in Torah because they greatly refined their middos. Since they had mesirus nefesh for avodah, by going a little beyond their energies, they became internally purified and their middos became aligned with the middos of the Torah. They thereby received the depth of the wisdom of the 13 middos of Hashem, which is the wisdom of the Torah. That is why the baalei avodah merited much wisdom about the middos. It was because of their mesirus nefesh for it.

The wisdom of the middos is endless, just like all other parts of the Torah which is an infinite wisdom. This is not through exertion in Torah specifically, but through exertion in middos – to align one’s middos with the middos of Hashem.

Exertion In Speech

There is also exertion in Torah when it comes to using our speech: to keep talking words of Torah even when one feels tired. This reveals a level of the “Shechinah speaks from his throat.” A person like this can learn from the words of Torah he is saying, as he is talking.

Exertion In Thought

There is also exertion of the mind in Torah a little above one’s mental capabilities. This is a bit risky, because a person may strain his mind too much and he won’t want to think at all. If he does it right, though, he merits that the “gates of wisdom are opened to him”. But even then, there is a danger that he may not be able to think of simple things anymore, because he has become so used to thinking heavily about everything.

Therefore, this aspect of exertion in Torah, exerting the mind above its natural capabilities, is a level that requires caution. All aspects of exercising the power of mesirus nefesh require caution as well. This needs to be done sensibly, and with davening to Hashem for help. If one learns Torah lishmah (for its own sake)[2], he will merit miraculous levels from this, and he will be saved from straining his mind too much. But, if he does not learn Torah lishmah, he has less siyata d’shmaya (Heavenly assistance) when it comes to this, so he will be in more danger.

In Summary and In Conclusion

To summarize, when one wants to exert himself in Torah study with mesirus nefesh, he should first exert himself through mesirus nefesh when it comes to his actions of learning Torah (i.e. losing sleep over it and learning Torah even when he’s tired). The next level is to rise to level of mesirus nefesh in his middos (learning the wisdom behind the middos and aligning his middos with Hashem’s).[3] After that, one should exert his speech in Torah, by speaking of Torah even he is tired. After that, he may rise to the level of mesirus nefesh in thoughts of Torah, by exerting his mind above its normal capabilities, in Torah.

One should go a little above his natural energies, in each of these stages. When it comes to the stage of action, we gave an example of it: Feigning sleep. Certainly one should go about this sensibly and he shouldn’t lose too much sleep because of his learning, or else he loses more than he gains. But he should try to feign sleep and tiredness a bit, and be prepared to lose some sleep for his Torah learning.

Other examples of exertion in action include forcing oneself to come on time to seder (his study session) even when this is difficult for him, and another example is when one has a hard time sitting in his seat for a whole seder and he forces himself to sit and learn Torah in his place, even when he finds it difficult to do so. There are other examples as well of exertion in Torah, when it comes to action. One should look for sensible ways of how he can increase his exertion in action.

This is a level of mesirus nefesh that applies to anyone who is a true ben Torah. This is the key and the entranceway to mesirus nefesh in Torah.

As emphasized, we did not describe here the way to reach the level of Torah learning that is called “Olam HaBa” itself, but the middle path, which is called a “semblance” of Olam HaBa, the path which is more applicable to most people.