Q:
You quoted before a Gemara (Kesuvos 62a) saying that those who drive away sleep from their eyes for the sake of learning Torah are especially beloved by Hashem. When a mechanech of small children, Pre–1–A, stays up very late looking for a story about a middah tovah or drawing a picture that pertains to the middah tovah is that also considered losing sleep?
A:
Question: When somebody loses sleep because he is preparing his lesson for tomorrow for תנוקות של בית רבן, for children, is that considered a good thing?
Absolutely.
Only, I have to add one little word: I recommend such a mechanech. We praise him. Very good! That’s an excellent thing. However, it’s his career too. He’s getting paid too. Of course he’s going to get more money if he was in computers. But still that’s his parnasa. So although there’s no question he’s going to get perfection if instead of going to sleep and coming tomorrow unprepared to teach the children, no, he’s spending time tonight making a lesson more interesting tomorrow, thinking of ways and means of impressing the talmidim. No question he’s beloved by Hashem.
But suppose that mechanech, after he finishes making preparations, and he’s already almost sleeping, but he washes his face and decides to learn one minute Gemara, or one line Gemara, that’s even better. For that one line Gemara he won’t get any parnasa, he won’t get a name as a better rebbe; he won’t get the gratification of getting more success in his career.
Now I’m not saying – I give all honor to such a mechanech. He’s a מזכה את הרבים! He’s worth gold. The yeshivahs should look for such a man. The yeshivahs should compete with each other and try to steal such mechanchim from each other, give them bigger salaries.
But if he’ll add after he’s finished with preparing his lesson, and he decides one more minute to learn one line of Gemara, then it’s even better. On top of what he did before, all these good things, in preparing for his talmidim, he did this too, even better. And then it’ll be as the Gemara says, כן יתן לידידו שֵׁנָא – Hakadosh Baruch Hu will reward him for this and for that.
(April 1989)
