Persistent and continuous study is an essential feature, if not the very definition of ameilus be'Torah and an indispensable precursor to becoming a talmid chachahm. Even minor or brief interruptions can have potentially deleterious and irreparable effects. For example, the Gemara (Kesubos 63a) relates that at the behest of his wife, Rabbi Akiva spent the first twelve years of his marriage away from home learning Torah in yeshiva. When the stipulated stint of twelve years had concluded, Rabbi Akiva made his way back with his newly acquired cadre of students in tow, all the while expressing the gratitude he felt towards his wife for her heroic sacrifice as he declared "my Torah knowledge and yours is actually hers." When the entourage reached his house, before he could enter, Rabbi Akiva overheard his wife expressing regret about his imminent arrival saying, "if he would listen to me, he would sit and study for another twelve years." Rabbi Akiva took this disclosure to heart and returned to the yeshiva forthwith to complete a full tour of twenty-four years. Even though Rabbi Akiva had already traveled home and was standing at the foot of his door, he did not pop inside for a few minutes or stop to have a cup of coffee with his wife for he was afraid that even the slightest interlude might diminish his momentum and disturb his concentration. In the inimitable words of Rav Chaim Shmuelevtiz, sometimes twelve plus twelve does not equal twenty-four.
Nonetheless, Rashi (Breishes 47:28) interprets the seamless and uninterrupted continuity between Parshas Vayigash and Parshas Vayechi negatively, as he explains, "This section is totally closed because as soon as Yaakov died the hearts and eyes of Israel became closed due to the misery of the bondage which they then began to impose upon them. Alternatively, because Yaakov wished to reveal the date of the End of Days but the vision was closed from him." Why is the lack of a break between these two parshiyos in the Torah a cause for concern? Isn't uninterrupted study the hallmark of true diligence and hasmadah? If anything, this textual anomaly should be an indication that Yaakov and his sons were constantly learning and shteiging away during this period.
Rav Yitzchok Meir Morgenstern (Likkutei Yam Hachochmah) answers that while consistent and continuous study is critical and laudable, if left unqualified and undefined, it can have adverse and harmful consequences. Without proper framing and context, intense Torah learning has the potential to become a completely self-absorbed exercise, detached from its spiritual roots and character. For this reason, the Gemara (Megillah 32a) stresses the importance of closing the sefer Torah after it has been read and states, "the greatest among them should furl the sefer Torah, for this is the most distinguished honor, and the one who furls it takes the reward of all of them." Rav Yaakov Leizer of Pshevorsk suggests that the role of furling the sefer Torah is to provide an opportunity to reflect upon the Torah's Divine properties and significance, which is impossible and inappropriate to ponder while actively engaged in the pursuit of studying and processing its content. Rashi (Vayikra 1:1) claims that the purpose of the blank spaces in between the subjects and subsections of the Torah was for the sake of contemplation. These respites are intended not only for analysis but also for emphasizing that Torah study is first and foremost a religious obligation and endeavor. Hence, when these breaks are missing and the parshiyos flow directly from one to the next, it is a sign that the objective of coming closer to Hashem is in danger of becoming overlooked and obscured.
Chassidic doctrine holds that Torah should ideally be studied for the sake of dveikus, as the Tanya (Chapter 5) writes "study for its own sake is to study with the intent to attach one's soul to God through the comprehension of the Torah." To accomplish this goal, the Baal Shem Tov (Tzavaas Harivash) advises, "when studying Torah, pause and rest a bit every hour to bond yourself to Hashem, even though while you are immersed in the study of Torah itself this is not possible." Rav Chaim of Volozhin (Nefesh Hachaim, Chapter 4) passionately rejects this outlook and argues that the Torah is not a vehicle for clinging to God but the very representation of God in comprehensible terms. Therefore, by studying Torah for the sole purpose of understanding the material, one is simultaneously and inevitably engaged in an act of dveikus, since the Torah and Hashem are indeed synonymous. However, even though Rav Chaim of Volozhin believes that pausing Torah study to contemplate God would be nonsensical, counterproductive, and even offensive, he does concede that time should be dedicated to teaching and intermittingly reinforcing the precise nature and import of Torah learning. It is lamentable that some veteran talmidim, after spending years immersed in the yeshiva system and sedorim, emerge having never stopped to properly appreciate the spiritual function of Torah study and its relationship to the religious goal of connecting with God.
The Tenth of Teves is a fast day commemorating the beginning of the siege of Yerushalayim by Nebuchadnezzar which eventually led to the destruction of the first Beis Hamikdash and the Babylonian exile. A siege is designed to sever the inhabitants that are inside the city from the markets and supplies that are outside the city. Perhaps, part of the mourning on this day revolves around the separation that sometimes develops between our external actions and the internal thoughts that they are designed to evoke. Only if we pause to consider and internalize the spiritual implications of our mitzvos, and specifically talmud Torah, can we begin to combat and overcome the personal siege that exists within ourselves and aspire to restore our continuous connection with Hashem once again.
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