Q:
When a person is tired should he push himself to learn Torah?
A:
I want to say something on this subject.
Many people have spoken to me about mental disturbances. Some are taking medicines from psychiatrists. And I always ask them, “Before you became ill, did you sleep sufficiently?” and in most cases the answer was no.
Lack of sleep, you should know, has upset many people. I know yeshiva boys who ruined themselves by not sleeping enough. They ruined themselves for life chalilah. If a person doesn’t sleep sufficiently, he is going to reap, chas v’shalom, the harmful benefits of an upset mind.
And therefore, you must get enough sleep. You must get enough sleep!
Even this week a man said to me, “Does it mean I have to learn less at night?”
I said, “Yes. Absolutely. You must go to sleep because you’re in a depressed mood and your lack of sleep is going to cause you to become more and more depressed chas v’shalom. So therefore you must get enough sleep.”
Once upon a time, tzaddikim used to suffer and sleep very little because they were capable; they had the gevurah, they were able to survive. Today you have to watch yourself. !ושמרתם את נפשותיכם And therefore, that’s one of the first things. You must get enough sleep.
TAPE #E-46 (January 1996)
