The Depth of Sweetening: How Studying Gemara and Torah Novellae Nullify Judgments
Lesson No. 32 | Lesson 1 - (Continued from No. 31) Friday Morning, Parashas Matos, 23 Tammuz 5755
An in-depth article explaining how studying Torah with intense concentration and creating chiddushim (novellae) in Shas (the Talmud) and Poskim (Halachic deciders) elevates a person to the Sefirah of Binah (Understanding), which is the root of judgments. Through enthusiasm in study and the joy of pilpul (analytical debate), one can sweeten all harsh decrees from upon the Jewish people.
The Daily Schedule and the Connection to the Supernal Chariot
A person must strengthen himself like a lion to wake up in the morning for the service of his Creator, so that he awakens the dawn. In the morning, we are incorporated into the aspect of the "lion" in the Supernal Chariot. Afterward, during Minchah (the afternoon prayer), we must be incorporated into the "ox" in order to rectify the sin of the Golden Calf (since "Minchah" has the same numerical value as "Egel" - calf). Finally, during Maariv (the evening prayer) at Chatzos (midnight), we are incorporated into the aspect of "man" in the Chariot.
Therefore, the importance of keeping to the proper times is immense. It is forbidden to delay the time of prayer, because the letters of the prayer are what organize the hours of the morning and the night. If the night ends and a person has not prayed, it turns out that the entire night was left abandoned and everything proceeds out of order. When prayer takes place in its proper order, the entire day is planned and organized correctly.
"I Have Placed Hashem Before Me" – The Secret of Studying Gemara
In order to merit the spiritual level of "I have placed Hashem before me always," where the Tetragrammaton (the holy Name of Hashem) constantly shines before one's eyes, the only way is through studying the Gemara. The entire Gemara is composed of awesome *yichudim* (Kabbalistic unifications). If a person does not study Gemara, he will not be able to hold the Name of Hashem before his eyes.
When a person studies with depth, he becomes an aspect of a "revealer of depths." On the Day of Judgment, when a person wants to sweeten the judgments, he must study with depth and intense concentration. When Hashem sees that judgments are overpowering the Jewish people, the greatest sweetening is achieved through studying "Razin d'Oraisa" – the secrets of the Torah. This is the peak of profundity and true depth, and through this, the judgments are immediately nullified.
Ascending to the Root of Judgments: The Secret of the "Bashan" and the Sefirah of Binah
A wondrous hint is brought in the name of Rabbi Tzvi of Urgov on the verse:
"Golan in the Bashan, for the Manassites" (Devarim 4:43).
When the Satan wants to overpower us, he tries to increase forgetfulness. This is the secret of the name "Menashe" – from the phrase "For God has made me forget (nashani)." To be saved from this, Hashem, in His abundant mercy, reveals the "Bashan" to us. "Bashan" is an acronym for the fifty (represented by the letter *Nun*) gates of *Binah* (Understanding). If a person studies Torah that flows down from the fifty gates of Binah, from the Bashan, all the judgments are immediately sweetened.
The holy Arizal teaches that the sweetening of judgments is accomplished specifically through the inner dimensions of the Torah. However, the Kedushas Yitzchak of Komarno asks: What should a person do if he cannot study the book Etz Chaim and create new insights into its secrets? His answer is that he should study a great deal of Gemara and Poskim, and make an effort to create chiddushim (novellae) in them.
Every person has his own portion and unique chiddush in the Gemara and Poskim. When a person studies with intense concentration, reveals deep concepts, and creates a profound and new insight, he sweetens all the judgments. Why? Because the root of judgments awakens from the Sefirah of Binah. Every *chiddush* that a person creates in the Torah ascends to the Sefirah of *Binah*, and thereby elevates us to the root of the judgment – and there, the judgments are sweetened. When we are situated below the Sefirah of Binah, judgments can rule over us, but the ascent to Binah through understanding one thing from another sweetens everything.
The Joy of Pilpul and Enthusiasm in Study
Hashem rejoices in pilpulim ("He delights in analytical debate"). When a person engages in pilpul in Torah, he brings joy to Heaven. The moment there is joy, and the King, so to speak, begins to laugh and rejoice, He releases all the prisoners, and at that hour there is no judgment upon the Jewish people.
The sweetening of judgments can be accomplished through any words of Torah, even the simple literal meaning (pshat), provided that the person studies with desire, awakening, and enthusiasm. Even if he did not merit to create an actual *chiddush*, the very renewal and enthusiasm in his study turns the study itself into a *chiddush*, and this sweetens all the judgments. A person must "kill himself" over his study (dedicate himself with total self-sacrifice), to study in a renewed way full of vitality, and thereby cut off all the accusers and prosecutors from upon the Jewish people.
Part 1 of 3 — Lesson No. 32