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Fixed Learning Times & Discretionary Learning - To Commemorate the 2 Ways the Torah Was Given

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Rabbi Daniel Glatstein Official avatar
Rabbi Daniel Glatstein Official

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There's a very important idea when it comes to to beim to set fixed times to study. In other words, it's not enough just to learn when you're able to when you have free time. There has to be times that you're committed to. It's one of the six big questions that a person is asked after 120. Did you set fixed times to learn? that's codified in the one needs to be times to learn. What what is this concept to establish set times to learn Tory? Why is that so important? Why isn't it enough just to learn whenever you can? So in the past we've said over from Ramos Mosha Shapiro an amazing idea that we know there's a famous contradiction on the one hand when the Jewish people were offered the Torah they responded they were willing to accept the Torah on the other hand Hashem forced us into it he suspended the mountain over our head like a barrel. So did we willingly accept the Torah or did we have to be forced? Many famous answers to says that we accepted it willingly but Hashem had to force us in case would we in case we would reneg because of the fire. Medan says that we were willing to accept the written law. We had to be forced to accept the oral law. However, the Marau rights in many places in Nak is in Gorar in Ferris Israel and the Marau rights also in the safer aradash in his introduction that even though we were willing to accept the Tyra, Hashem forced us into it first of all to make it that he can never send us away because the is that if somebody forces an isha You're never allowed to send her away. But more than that, the mar says something which is coerced and forced is permanent. Something that is vital is permanent. The fact that it is coerced demonstrated that it's fundamental importance. It could not be left up to our discretion. Something left up to your discretion that implies it's not that important. You only accepted it because you wanted to. And if you wouldn't have wanted to, you wouldn't have accepted it. No. know the Mar says Hashem had to force us to accept the Torah to indicate its fundamental importance. Says Mosha Shapiro and this is an idea that we've mentioned recently. The giving of the Torah has to be memorialized. It's such an important event and needs to be commemorated. Why don't we commemorate the giving of the Tyra? We don't have any mitzvah that commemorates the giving of the Tyra. So we brought from Revar Cutler that you only commemorate something that happened in the past. But the giving of the Tyra is an active experience of receiving the many times in we find the expression. In other words, when we learn Tyra, it's not just a mitzvah like taking a lulaf and blowing a learning is you're actively receiving the Tyra from when Hashem's resounding voice came forth from it's called. It's a powerful voice that never ceased. It never stopped. And when we learn Tory, we are listening and accepting and engaging with that unceasing voice from Sai. Therefore, says Shapiro, when we learn Tyra, it needs to be accurate to the way it was given. And therefore, it's not enough to learn when it's discretionary. In order to be accurate to the way the Torah was given it, we have to learn in a way that we show that it's something we are that's imposed upon us that we're being coerced that we have no choice. There's a certain servitude we have to it. So by setting fixed times to study Tory that which means we're subject and we're so to speak enslaved to those times that indicates that we're commemorating the way the Torah was given which is reflects that the Tory is for this year as says that every year one has I was talking to the Bakari um David and we mentioned that there's another aspect of limitra the other aspect of limitra is the usi says if you only make your learning set times you're abolishing the tyra you're enulling the tyra if you only learn during your set times and you don't learn at all during your leisure time or during your discretionary time if there's no discretionary learning. That's annulling the Tyra. In other words, it's not enough to set times. You also have to learn besides that when you're available. What's the purpose of that aspect of limitra? That aspect of limitra is commemorating the nas of so it's so beautiful. There are two types of Torah we have to be engaged in. We have to be engaged in which is commemorating the and we have to be engaged in discretionary learning. It's not enough just to have because if it's ace then it's the discretionary learning is to commemorate the so it's worthwhile among many of the things we think about when we learn to an important idea we should think about we are now reenacting if it's a set we are reenacting if it's a discretionary learning so to speak we are reenacting Wishing everyone aunt zmer.