Musar sobre Proverbios 3:18

There is yet another general tikkun distinctive for the trait of lashon hara, and that is Torah study, as stated in Arachin 15b: "R. Chamma b. R. Chanina said: 'What is the amendment for the speakers of lashon hara? If he is a Torah scholar, let him occupy himself with Torah, as it is written (Proverbs 15:4): 'The healer of the tongue is the tree of life,' and the tree of life is none other than Torah, as it is written (Ibid. 3:18): 'It [Torah] is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it.'" As to its being called "a tree of life" — "Death and life are in the hand of the tongue" (Ibid. 18:21). If so, one who speaks lashon hara acquires for himself eternal death, wherefore Scripture counseled one who wished to heal his tongue to eat from the tree of life, which is Torah, "and he shall eat [thereof] and live forever."

In Sefer Charedim we find that even though one is obligated in all of the mitzvoth he must still hold fast to one of them, with great strength and constancy, that he does not transgress all the days of his life. For the generality of Torah, comprised of the 613 mitzvoth, is called a tree of life, viz. (Mishlei 3:18): "It is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it." And one who holds fast to one branch of a tree holds all of them, all being one body, following after that branch. But if he tried to hold on to all of the branches together, he could not do so. And this is the intent of Shabbath 118b: "R. Nachman b. Yitzchak said: 'May it [(reward)] so come to me that I fulfilled [the mitzvah of] the three Sabbath meals.' …R. Sheheth said: 'May it so come to me that I fulfilled the mitzvah of tzitzith!' R. Yosef asked R. Yosef b. Rabbah: 'Which mitzvah is your father most scrupulous in?' He answered: 'The mitzvah of tzitzith. One day he was going up a ladder when one of his fringes tore, and he would not come down until he had repaired it.'" And Rashi explains "I fulfilled the mitzvah of tefillin" as his not having walked four ells without tefillin. Similarly, with tzitzith… See the Sefer Charedim there, who adduces proof for his words from the Yerushalmi, too, that because of this, one's days will be enhanced and lengthened in the world which is entirely good and long.

And if a person transgressed [a sin that warrants] excision or a death penalty from the court and he repents: Since his iniquity is not absolved without afflictions - given that repentance suspends [the punishment], but afflictions absolve - he should prepare his heart to do the commandments that protect [him] from the afflictions, such as the commandment of charity. For it also saves from death, as it is stated (Proverbs 10:2), "but righteousness (tsedekah , which can also mean, charity) saves from death." And one who does not have money to give charity, should speak well about the poor person, so that he will be a [spokesman] for him, such that others do well by him. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Bava Batra 9a), “Greater is the one who causes [a commandment] to be done than one who does it.” And likewise should he involve himself with deeds of loving-kindness, to help his fellow with his counsel and his efforts. And [it is] like our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Sukkah 49b), “Acts of kindness are superior to charity [...]: Charity can be performed only with one’s money, while acts of kindness can be performed both with his person and with his money. Charity is given to the poor, while acts of kindness are performed both for the poor and for the rich.” And likewise should he speak to the heart of the poor person and honor him and console him from his distress, like the matter that is stated (Isaiah 58:10), “And you offer your compassion to the hungry.” And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Bava Batra 9b) that one who appeases his fellow with words is greater than one who gives [him] charity. And likewise should he be involved in the commandments of visiting the sick, burying the dead, consoling the mourners and rejoicing the groom and bride. For all of these are from the ways of kindness.
And corresponding to all of them is the commandment of Torah study for the sake of the Heavens. And all of the counsel that we have mentioned is included in that which King Solomon, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 16:6), “Iniquity is atoned by kindness and truth.” For the acquisition of Torah [knowledge] is called the acquisition of truth, as it is stated (Proverbs 23:23), “Acquire the truth and do not sell it.” And it is stated (Psalms 119:142), “and Your Torah is truth.” And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Vayikra Rabbah 25:1), “‘It is a tree of life to those who grasp it’ (Proverbs 3:18) - [if] a person transgressed [a sin that warrants] excision or a death penalty from the court: If he was accustomed to reading one chapter [of Mishnah] a day, he should read two chapters; if he was accustomed to reading one section [of Torah], he should read two sections.” And Torah [study] protects him from afflictions from two angles: The first is because our Sages, may their memory be blessed, said (Shabbat 127b), “Torah study corresponds to all of [the other commandments combined].” And the second is that when he toils in Torah, exerts himself upon it and pushes away the sleep from his eyes - it is counted in place of afflictions. [It is] as our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Sanhedrin 99b), “All bodies are born for toil. Happy is one whose exertion is for Torah.” And they said (Sanhedrin 26b), “Why is the Torah called wisdom (tushiyya)? Because it weakens (mateshet) the strength of a person.”

From all of our discussion of the greatness of the Torah, which is the foundation of all, we can understand the greatness of the obligation of upholding the Torah that it not fall. And this holds not only for those who are busy with worldly affairs, who must certainly at least bestir themselves in this great enterprise in order to rescue themselves from the bitter punishments for neglect of Torah study, as Rabbeinu Yonah wrote in Iggereth Hateshuvah: "If one wishes to rescue himself from the bitter punishment and this great sin, let him occupy himself with the needs of the Torah scholars and the Rabbis, etc., so that they remain in his city and occupy themselves in Torah by his support." And Chazal have observed that the verse in Mishlei 3:18: "It [Torah] is a tree of life for its upholders" speaks not of "learners," but only of "upholders," who support Torah scholars and Rabbis — Even those who are themselves Torah scholars and fulfillers of mitzvoth in Israel have a great obligation to support Torah, and if not, they are in the category of "Cursed," G-d forbid, as Rabbeinu Yonah wrote in Sha’arei Teshuvah, Gate 3:19, in the name of the Sifrei on Devarim 27:26: "Cursed is he who does not uphold the words of this Torah to do them" — "If one learned and reviewed and taught others and fulfilled the Torah and is in a position to strengthen those who occupy themselves with Torah and mitzvoth but does not do so, he is in the category of "Cursed is he who does not uphold, etc."

And one also merits because of this [support of Torah] that good and holy sons issue from him, as we find in the holy Zohar, Parshath Metzora (Mishlei 3:18): "It is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it, and its supporters are fortunate, etc." These are the placers of "stock" into the pockets of Torah scholars. For those who do so support Torah from the head until the end of the body. And our entire faith is dependent upon and supported by this. And he merits sons who are worthy of being prophets of truth.

And when he reflects constantly and weighs the smallness of the reward of transgression in this world against its eternal loss, the father will certainly not pay heed to the voice of the "whisperers" and will choose life, to strengthen his son in the Torah of the L-rd, which is the true life, as it is written (Mishlei 3:18): "It is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it." And if he eats of its fruits, he lives forever, as Chazal have formulated for us in the blessing "And eternal life did He plant in our midst." And then he will merit eternal life, he and his seed, as it is written: "And he will give pleasure to your soul," and, as it is written in the Torah (Devarim 30:19): "And choose life, so that you live, you and your seed."

We now understand why the Talmud, after quoting Ben Zoma's benediction, continues to quote Ben Zoma describe the tremendous physical difficulties encountered by Adam before he was able to eat the first loaf of bread. The Talmud details 10 stages, commencing with plowing, seeding, harvesting, etc. etc. Ben Zoma contrasts this with his own lifestyle. He gets up early in the morning and finds all his physical needs provided for. The Talmud continues in the same vein by describing the many steps needed before clothing is made, whereas Ben Zoma finds garments practically ready to wear. The gist of all this is to illustrate that Torah (Proverbs 3,18) is indeed עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה, "the tree of life for all those who strengthen it and hold on to it." Midrash Tanchuma points out that Solomon did not say that Torah is a tree of life for those who toil with it, but only "for those who cleave to it." When Moses blessed the tribes prior to his death, he said to Zevulun and Issachar (33,18): "Rejoice Zevulun when you go out, and Issachar in your tent." Issachar can remain in his tent, isolated from the problems of earning a livelihood far from home because his brother Zevulun shoulders that particular burden on his behalf. When Ben Zoma recited the benediction in which he acknowledged G–d's being privy to all our secrets, i.e. being חכם הרזים, he alluded to the fact that only He knows which of the commandments we have not fulfilled because we were unable to for one reason or another. Only G–d knows which ones we compensated for through exhaustive study of their meaning instead.

Considering the above, we see that both statements in the Talmud are quite true. The level of those people who have access to the תורה הקדומה is superior to the level of the Torah that has been revealed, since they are the people whom G–d had in mind way before He created the universe. Kohelet 1,4 alludes to this when he says והארץ לעולם עומדת. The Midrash on that verse says that Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai quoted Isaiah 65,22: כי כימי העץ ימי עמי, "For the days of My people shall be as long as the days of the tree." We know that "the tree " refers to Torah from עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בו, "For she is a tree of life to all who grasp her" (Proverbs 3,18) [The subject matter in that chapter is wisdom=Torah Ed.]. Who was created for whose sake? Was the Torah created for the sake of Israel, or was Israel created for the sake of the Torah? Torah was created for the sake of Israel. If Torah, which was created for Israel's sake endures forever, how much more so must Israel live forever?" We find a similar statement in Bereshit Rabbah 1,4 where Rabbi Abba bar Kahane is quoted as saying that Torah preceded the throne of G–d. He supports this statement with the scriptural quotation ה' קנני ראשית דרכו, "G–d has acquired me at the beginning of His way" (Proverbs 8,22). Also, Rabbis Hunna and Yirmiyahu say in the name of Rabbi Shmueli bar Yitzchak that Israel was the original concept that G–d entertained in His mind. They explain this by a parable: A king was married to an aristocratic lady who bore him no children. When the king once strolled in the market-place, he instructed his servants to purchase reeds and ink for his son. People who saw this were heard to comment that this was strange seeing the king did not have a son. Upon reflection they concluded that the king must be a great astrologer seeing that the purchase reflected his certainty that he would have a son from his present wife otherwise he would not have given such instructions. The same is true of G–d. He was aware that after twenty-six generations Israel would accept the Torah at Mount Sinai, otherwise how could G–d have written in the Torah such lines as: "Speak to the Israelites," "command the Israelites, etc?" This concludes our second premise that Torah is the soul of Israel.