What Type of Torah Learning is Called “A Foreign Fire”?

“WHEN THEY BROUGHT A FOREIGN FIRE” (BAMIDBAR 3:4) – THERE IS ONE WHO LEARNS AND BRINGS LIGHT, AND THERE IS ONE WHO LEARNS AND BRINGS DARKNESS.

NOT EVERYONE WHO SITS IN FRONT OF A GEMARA TRULY GRASPS THE HIDDEN LIGHT IN IT.  THE TORAH – LIKE FIRE – CAN WARM, ILLUMINATE, GIVE LIFE.  BUT TO THE SAME DEGREE, IT CAN ALSO BURN, DRY UP, AND CAUSE DESTRUCTION.  IT’S NOT THE WORDS THAT DETERMINE THE OUTCOME, BUT THE HEART BEHIND THEM.  NOT THE QUANTITY, BUT THE INTENTION.  UNFORTUNATELY, ALSO IN A GENERATION WITH ABUNDANT SHIURIM AND BOOKS, THE LIGHT DOES NOT ALWAYS DESCEND TO THE WORLD.  BECAUSE WITHOUT HUMILITY, WITHOUT TRUTH, WITHOUT A TRUE TZADDIK TO GUIDE THE LEARNING, EVEN THE TORAH CAN TURN INTO A “FOREIGN FIRE.”  AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO CLARIFY NOW: HOW DO WE APPROACH THE TORAH IN A WAY THAT GIVES LIFE AND DOESN’T DESTROY?

THESE ARE THE HOLY WORDS OF THE GAON AND TZADDIK, MOREINU HARAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT”A:

LEARNING TORAH IMPROPERLY CAN CAUSE ONE TO LEAVE THIS WORLD OR CAN TURN A PERSON INTO A JEWISH DEMON

The moment that a person learns Torah, the moment a person learn words of holiness, but it’s not for the sake of Heaven, it’s not in accordance with his spiritual level, not with the simplicity and sincerity fitting for him -- learning Torah in the wrong way -- this is called “bringing a foreign fire”!  Nadav and Avihu, exalted holy men whom we have no comprehension of, merited and left this world, remaining true tzaddikim.  Because when a person merits, he passes from this world but remains a tzaddik.  But if he doesn’t merit and continues with his error, not doing teshuva, then he turns into a Jewish demon.

“And Lavan is a Talmid Chacham Shed Yehudi (a Jewish scholar demon).  He studies Torah in order to show off and criticize.  And such a Torah scholar, ‘a carcass is better than he.’”  “Yaakov kissed Rachel and raised his voice and wept.”  Rabbeinu says in Lesson 12 (Likutey Moharan) that the entire reason Yaakov Avinu met Rachel was in order to create Am Yisrael, so that they would be a treasured people (“am segula”).  The moment he met her, he received such a level of Ruach HaKodesh (Divine perception) that he was able to see that his entire plan, his entire purpose, his entire mission would fail because of unworthy learners, who would turn the Gemara and the Torah into tools for serving their pride.  “He raised his voice and wept” – Yaakov Avinu cried!  He saw with Ruach HaKodesh how much Am Yisrael were destined to suffer and go through during the exile because of unworthy learners, who wouldn’t be able to withstand the test and would stumble through pride and arrogance.

The Tannaim who composed the Gemara didn’t do so in order to tell us about some more wisdoms. They could have written for us halachic rulings like the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch and that would have been enough!  Why all the pilpulim (debates) in the Gemara?  Why all the teachings in the Gemara?  Every Amora or Tanna could have published a few of his own halachic rulings, whatever he received from his rabbis, and that would have been enough!  Rather, the holy Gemara is the power to bring about the dwelling of the Shechina (Divine Presence).  Through learning, through toiling in Torah, we give the power to return the Shechina to Am Yisrael.  Through the toil of learning, we return Godliness to Am Yisrael.  The Rebbe revealed how the redemption would take place.  The redemption will only be through learning Gemara in the proper way.  The Satan knows that everything will be in the merit of learning Gemara!  The Satan knows very well what the sound of learning the holy Gemara does!  He knows that all the words of the holy Gemara are combinations of holy names.  The Satan knows that through learning Gemara, through learning Torah for its own sake, a person receives the strength to serve Hashem, to pray with kavana, to do Hitbodedut.  Therefore, the hardest test is in learning Gemara.

THE SATAN ESPECIALLY TRIES TO CAUSE A PERSON TO STUMBLE THROUGH LEARNING WITH PRIDE

When a person he learns, he receives pride through the essence of learning, and this pride has two aspects – there is the pride that he is learning, that he is a lamdan (learned), that he is wise, a genius, and he also receives pride to laugh at others, to mock others.  And this is what Rabbeinu explains in Lesson 12, that there are lamdanim who always mock tzaddikim in spite of the fact that those very tzaddikim are also greater than they are in learning!  Still, they make fun of them.  When we learn Torah, our goal isn’t just to be geniuses!  Rather, our goal is that through learning, we can draw close to Hashem, to feel Hashem, to pray with more kavana, to feel love of Hashem, as King David said, “As for me, closeness to Hashem is good.”

When a person sees that he has learned Torah for many years and still hasn’t progressed at all, a kind of complaint in his heart is formed against the Torah – why hasn’t the Torah caused him to progress?  Here, he decided to learn Torah!  He didn’t just “decide”!  He wanted to be a new person!  In the end, he sees that he doesn’t change in any respect.  He remains as he was before, with the same bad middot (character traits).  His bad middot have even become worse!  He doesn’t understand what is going on here.  It seems to him as if HaKadosh Baruch Hu is too weak to help him.  Rabbeinu says in Lesson 12 that the underlying mistake in this is that he needs a true tzaddik – a fitting Torah scholar to guide him and teach him how to learn Torah for its own sake, how to break his arrogance when learning, how to learn Gemara and despite this, remain completely humble and lowly.  Because in order for the Torah to change something in the inner workings of a person, to change his middot, his nature, his inclinations, he needs to find such a tzaddik who is called an angel of Hashem Tzevakot.  As it is written – if the rabbi is like an angel of Hashem Tzevakot, then seek Torah from his mouth.  But if he doesn’t have such a tzaddik, then it is hard for him to reach the good way.  He learns Torah, he has a lot of knowledge, he can be a great gaon (genius in Torah), he can be the greatest advisor in the world!  But this is like Achitofel, who reached the level of the Urim and Tumim, and still, has no place in the World to Come.

The Zohar says: “HaKadosh Baruch Hu looked into the Torah and created the world.”  Know that when you learn Torah, you are holding in your hands the keys to the world.  Those who learn Torah are holding in their hands the keys to the world’s existence, the world’s continuation.  And when they hold those keys in the proper fashion, when they learn with humility and lowliness, the world functions through Torah properly:  Nations live, nations create, nations build, nations continue to exist.  However, when they hold the keys improperly, then nations are destroyed, nations conquer one another, destroy each other, the earth quakes.  All the disasters that we hear about every day around the world are because of people who learn Torah improperly.  This happens because of words spoken “not as is fitting.”  This is what the Zohar calls this, “not as is fitting.”   These words that are spoken are what are destroying the world!  Because the world only stands on words of Torah.  The world stands only on letters and words of Torah that are said every moment and second by those who are learning it.  When we learn Torah like we should, the world is sustained.  When we don’t learn Torah like we should, the world is destroyed.

LEARNING TORAH WITH HUMILITY AND LOWLINESS

A person who decides to learn Torah becomes the master of the world!  When he learns Torah with humility and lowliness, and he knows that he is less than everyone, doesn’t speak badly about anyone, doesn’t make fun of anyone, learns Torah at chatzot, with prayers with kavana, then he merits for his Torah to sustain the world.  But if he doesn’t walk on this path, then this is the cause of all the destruction and devastation in the world.

Every day, a Heavenly voice goes forth and screams, “Woe to the people for the insult to the Torah.”  If you learn Torah, then know: You have received a device for ruling over the entire world!  You rule over the world!  You give life to the world!  You are responsible for the world!  When they send a spacecraft to outer space, thousands of experts watch from mission control, overseeing every light and every signal to ensure everything functions properly.  And if there are humans aboard, then all the more so do they take care and supervise to make sure everything works and functions properly!  So that there won’t be harm to any humans.  The lesson is that when a person learns Torah, he receives a spacecraft!  He receives control!  He receives the earth with several billion people.  He controls the entire planet.  And all the lights and signals and communication devices found on that spacecraft, on planet earth, are only operated by these holy letters, only through the holy Torah.  When we speak these letters, we sustain and control this giant spacecraft called planet earth.

The “Mei Marom” says, “Woe to the people for the insult to the Torah!” A person is given such an enormous device, given control over all planet earth.  He is allowed to control this giant spacecraft with several billion people, and this person treats it lightly, doesn’t see to learning Torah properly, and uses it improperly.  Therefore, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said to his disciples, “Please I beg of you!  Do not let out one word, not one word of Torah from your mouth “not as is fitting.”  That you shouldn’t cause disasters, killing, and earthquakes in the world.  His disciples said to him – May the Merciful One save us!  May the Merciful One save us.  May Hashem save us!  If the power of Torah is such, if there is such power to the Torah, that through one word it’s possible to destroy countries and to cause destruction and disasters, we pray that Hashem should save us!