I was sent this supposedly “moiadika piece” that’s all about, you guessed it, Torah study. I bolded the key words. Nothing here about mitzvos. Hashem is only mentioned to say that He arranged the seasons for the sake of Torah study. Nothing about serving Him, connecting to Him. Rather, He serves our Torah study. This is the contemporary yeshivish, ie yeshivist mentality. It's a new religion. And it not useful at all to the baal habayis who is working 10 hours a day. Also not useful for anybody who cares about HaShem. If this were sent only to bochurim I could live with it. Actually it's sent to baalei batim for fundraising. It goes along with many emails which say that you can share in the schar of Torah learning by sending your money.
שיר השירים פרק ב' פסוק י’ - יג’ ענה דודי ואמר לי קומי לך רעיתי יפתי ולכי לך. כי הנה הסתיו עבר הגשם חלף הלך לו. הניצנים נראו בארץ עת הזמיר הגיע וקול התור נשמע בארצינו. התאנה חנטה פגיה והגפנים נתנו ריח קומי לך רעיתי יפתי ולכי ללך.
My beloved raised his voice and said to me, 'Arise, my beloved, my fair one, and come away. For behold, the winter has passed; the rain is over and gone. The blossoms have appeared in the land, the time of singing has arrived, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree has put forth its green figs, and the vines with their tiny grapes have given forth their fragrance; arise, my beloved, my fair one, and come away.
The medrash as Rashi brings it, is - “the rain has passed, the difficulty of cultivation - the hardship of Mitzrayim - the sprouts have appeared in the land. Moshe and Aaron are here to fill all your needs, the fig has sprouted its leaves, the time has come to bring forth the first fruits” - referring to bringing the Bikurim in the Beis Hamikdash.
The pshat according to Metzudos is - “The sprouts - the flowers of the tree - are already visible. In the summer time the birds chirp and sing in the evening - and passers-by enjoy these. And the vines with their tiny grapes have given forth their fragrance - and humans delight in seeing them”
We can explain; Klal Yisroel were on the way to becoming Geirim - a new entity - and to be receiving the Torah, starting a whole new beginning. That required a total revamp of previous mentality and assumptions. In addition, toiling in torah requires clarity of mind שמעתתא בעי צילותא. Therefore, Hashem arranged the seasons that after Pesach is when the trees bloom, the birds sing, the rain has passed and humans enjoy the surroundings. All this is for our benefit to refresh our minds for our new beginning and receiving the Torah on Shavuos when Matan Torah is replayed.
Rabbi Baruch Ber and the Brisker Rav once met at a summer retreat and were walking and talking in learning. Rabbi Baruch Ber said, "There is fresh air here" The Brisker Rabbi asked; Rabbi Baruch Ber, “Since when are you an expert in the air?”. Answered Rabbi B.B. טראכטצאך דא אנדערעש, I think well in learning, and this is a clear symptom that there is good air.
בראשית ברא אלהים, בשביל ישראל, ובשביל התורה, שנקרא ראשית, for the sake of the Torah who's called First, for the sake of Klal Yisroel who's called First. All of creation is designed for the success of Bnei Yisroel and for the study of Torah.
There was once a discussion in the Yeshiva World regarding the Trans-Siberian train that crossed all of Russia built by the Tsar which employed hundreds of thousands of laborers, and many thousands died from the work, and people wondered what was the purpose of that project. The Roshei Yeshiva zt”l explained that the benefit is to make it convenient for bachurim to travel from their hometowns to the yeshivos. A sharp witted student asked Rav Chaim Brisker that if so, why is the road from the train station to the entrance of the yeshiva still full of mud. The Gra”ch answered that the reason for that is, so that a bachur who wants to run away from the yeshiva will have a hard time, this is also for the benefit of the Torah!
At the beginning of summer zman and in preparation of Matan Torah, there is freshness, fresh air, the trees are blooming, the birds are chirping, and all this is for our benefit to start summer zman with a refreshed mind and soul.
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While the author of this piece thinks that he has inspired people, and maybe he has inspired a few, it leaves me literally depressed. It feels so secular to me. If this is Judaism, I want no part of it. How is this different from graduate school in math? Nothing about emotion, action, people, or even God. It's all brilliance and svara. I tried this approach to life and it left me flat. It killed my mitzvah observance and left me just trying to earn lots of money to support Torah study and maybe retire someday so I could learn Torah. It killed off my interests, anything that gave me life.
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