Friday, August 16, 2024

set times

Granted, a “career in Torah” might not be for everybody; not everyone is on that level or can even aspire to reach it. Still, when you do study Torah, you can attain it, even if you do so once in the morning and once in the evening. Because when you do study, you can ensure nothing else exists in your world besides Torah. We see numerous examples of this in human nature: when someone decisively resolves that for a particular minute, fifteen minutes, or an hour, he’s completely dedicated to a specific thing – whatever it may be – he can indeed succeed. It’s entirely possible, and you need not be anyone special to achieve it.

But this raises the question: How can it be considered a “career in Torah” when you know, that just before you sat down to study and immediately afterwards you’ll be in a completely different state of mind? This is explained by the Alter Rebbe in Tanya that a union with G-d exists eternally above. When you engage in Torah and its commandments, although there was a time before you put on tefillin, for example, which is symbolic of all of Torah, and a time when you will remove them, and no longer wear them, nevertheless the “union” with God you created through them is eternal, an everlasting union.

There’s nothing miraculous to it; in fact, it’s quite self-evident. If time and space were both created for the purpose of fulfilling Torah and its precepts this is proof that Torah and its precepts exist on a higher plane than time and space. So, when you fulfill a commandment even though it was performed within a specific timeframe and not earlier or later – as stipulated by Torah – its effect is not subject to these limitations, given that the commandments are higher than time and space, which were only created for their sake, they are higher than the limitations of time and space.

The lesson from all of this is clear: everyone has their set times for Torah study, which they will surely make their best effort to increase. But practically speaking, your Torah study should reflect a “career in Torah.” 


Lubavitcher Rebbe

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