Q:
A yeshivah man who has an ambition to start the new zman properly, how can he keep alive that desire that it shouldn’t dissolve as the zman progresses?
A:
You must always continue to add fuel to the fire. Nothing good continues forever unless you nourish it with more fuel.
So from time to time he should stop and think, “Why am I learning?” And if you understand that, it’s going to be a very great incentive.
Why are you learning Torah?
And I’ll tell you why you learn Torah. If you learn Torah successfully you’re going to get the best kallah, the best bride. You know why you should learn Torah? Torah lishmah – to get a good bride. You think it’s silly? Listen to me; it’s not silly. If you’re a good yeshivah man you get a good shidduch. If you’re a nobody, you’ll have to take an ugly girl.
You think it’s silly? No. לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ומצוות שלא לשמה – learn Torah not for its own sake, שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה. Therefore if you can add other incentives—maybe you’ll be somebody in the community. Little by little you start thinking other things: “Maybe I can influence people more,” yes. Even to become a rabbi; if you’re a bigger Torah scholar, more influence.
And therefore after a while you start learning Torah for its own sake too.
Therefore you should look for the immediate purpose; Torah is going to be a great reward for you in this world. You’ll be so happy with your knowledge, you’ll be so privileged with your knowledge, that you’re going to see the results.
And I want to tell you, אורך ימים בימינה – there’s a length of days in its right hand. The Torah gives you long years. בשמאלה עושר וכבוד – in the left hand of Torah there is wealth and there’s glory (Mishlei 3:18).
Now why is that written? He wants us to be inspired with an incentive.
So little by little when people start out with such a motivation, little by little they start progressing higher and higher until they finally reach the very best motivations—to learn Torah because of their love for Hashem.
אהבה רבה אהבתנו – You gave us a great love, תורה ומצוות חוקים ומשפטים אותנו למדת – by You teaching us the Torah. The Torah is a sign of Hashem’s great love for us.
November 1989
