kesubos 111a

a recent dvar Torah by a yeshivist: 

 

Rav Leib Bakst zt”l explains; The gemarah in :כתובות קיא says that the light of divrei torah is how תחיית המתים will come about, which means Hakb”h will shower upon the dead the light that emanates from the joyous svaros of torah that they either learned or supported and from that projection of light they will jump to life.  

 

but here's what the gemara kesubos 111a really says 

 

 

כׇּל הַמִּשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּאוֹר תּוֹרָה — אוֹר תּוֹרָה מְחַיֵּיהוּ, וְכֹל שֶׁאֵין מִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּאוֹר תּוֹרָה — אֵין אוֹר תּוֹרָה מְחַיֵּיהוּ. 

 

That's what the Gemara really says, the one who uses the light of Torah. What does that mean? What does it mean to use something? That's vague but generally usage means something physical, which suggests that one uses it for mitzvos. This yeshivist vort converted this to nothing other than Brisker lomdus and svaros (and donations). In other words, the light exists for light, not to illuminate something else. But the Gemara doesn't say to be osek in the light but to use it מִּשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּאוֹר תּוֹרָה