The problem that faces us is that we see the impact of our work but we don’t see any impact from our learning. How can we balance this out?
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The problem that faces us is that we see the impact of our work but we don’t see any impact from our learning. How can we balance this out?
If people wouldn’t get paid for their work, then they most probably wouldn’t do their work. But why do they get paid?
They get paid for the impact that they have on the world. Making an impact means that they see that they make a difference.
Now, there are people who work who also want to learn. There is a problem here. There is no balance between the work and the learning. A person doesn’t see that they make any impact through their learning but they do see how they make a difference through their work.
The work that working people do is very clear to see the impact that is happening in the world. If they miss the work then the work just won’t be done. However, with Torah we do not see the difference whether we learn or not.
Now, you might say that the nefesh hachaim says that our Torah learning has a great effect in the higher worlds. If we believe in this, then it means that our Torah learning and our work are both impactful like each other.
This however is not the case, for in the beginning of Mesillas Yesharim it says that Hashem took Adam Harishon on a walk around Gan Eden, to see everything that he would harm if he does any aveiros. Why was this necessary? Why didn’t Hashem just tell Adam that if he does any aveira then he will harm the whole world? This alone should have been sufficient – Adam was a prophet and obviously would have believed Hashem.
We see from here that it is not enough just to be told and believe that what we do, will make a difference in the world, and then we feel like we are making a big impact through our actions. Rather, we need to actually see the impact of our actions for it to influence us.
I was in Mexico and was sitting with Mexican business men – one in the shmatte trade, another one selling tiles etc. They were all illiterate and couldn’t learn Torah. I told them that Hashem is very happy with them. That through their job they are helping the world function properly. They were shocked. They said that no Rabbi had ever given them such praise for their work!
It is very clear that our working has an impact but we don’t see this from our learning. This means that a working man has a problem. It is a lot easier for him to want to work than it is to learn.
Our questions must be important to us
What can we do to balance it out?
The problem is with how we are educated. We are educated to think that if we have a question in our learning, which we get answered in a glorious way by a big talmid chochom, then our question was really a mistake and the answer that we were given is the only thing that matters.
This is a major mistake and we must leave this silly way of thinking! We need to realize that whenever we have a question or an interesting comment in our learning that captures our attention, we must live the importance of this. This is the key to making our learning have an impact.
If we are just trying to understand more knowledge in Torah then it is true that our questions are not so important. What we really want is the knowledge and the questions are just disturbing us from getting that knowledge.
If on the other hand our questions are important to us, then this means that all our learning starts from us! These are our own personal contributions to our Torah learning. Just with this alone, our learning will start to make a difference in our lives. When we have a good question, the question bothers us. Then we want to come up with an idea of how to solve our own personal problem that we have in Torah.
I do not know if our Torah learning has an impact on the whole world. It is very hard to know. But such a learning definitely has an impact on our own world, because our Torah learning is now something which is coming to solve a problem which we hold as important in our own world.
We mustn’t think that why should I bother with such a question, this is probably discussed in the otzer hachochma anyway. No! We must have courage in our questions.
I myself am a baal teshuvah. I only came to learning at the age of 20. The knowledge that others had compared to me was a crushing experience. However, I then started to ask questions to the others. They didn’t have the questions that I had. They also didn’t know the answers to my questions.
I then realized that I was making a nafka mina through my Torah learning. But it wasn’t in my knowledge. It was my questions that was making the nafka mina.
You need to balance your life. Your work is very important and makes a big difference. Your learning also makes a big difference too. The beginning of the difference in your learning are your own questions. Then you will feel that you are making an impact in your learning. Then your life is balanced. Your learning now becomes in the same category as your work. Then you can keep this up and it will last.
If people wouldn’t get paid for their work, then they most probably wouldn’t do their work. But why do they get paid?
They get paid for the impact that they have on the world. Making an impact means that they see that they make a difference.
Now, there are people who work who also want to learn. There is a problem here. There is no balance between the work and the learning. A person doesn’t see that they make any impact through their learning but they do see how they make a difference through their work.
The work that working people do is very clear to see the impact that is happening in the world. If they miss the work then the work just won’t be done. However, with Torah we do not see the difference whether we learn or not.
Now, you might say that the nefesh hachaim says that our Torah learning has a great effect in the higher worlds. If we believe in this, then it means that our Torah learning and our work are both impactful like each other.
This however is not the case, for in the beginning of Mesillas Yesharim it says that Hashem took Adam Harishon on a walk around Gan Eden, to see everything that he would harm if he does any aveiros. Why was this necessary? Why didn’t Hashem just tell Adam that if he does any aveira then he will harm the whole world? This alone should have been sufficient – Adam was a prophet and obviously would have believed Hashem.
We see from here that it is not enough just to be told and believe that what we do, will make a difference in the world, and then we feel like we are making a big impact through our actions. Rather, we need to actually see the impact of our actions for it to influence us.
I was in Mexico and was sitting with Mexican business men – one in the shmatte trade, another one selling tiles etc. They were all illiterate and couldn’t learn Torah. I told them that Hashem is very happy with them. That through their job they are helping the world function properly. They were shocked. They said that no Rabbi had ever given them such praise for their work!
It is very clear that our working has an impact but we don’t see this from our learning. This means that a working man has a problem. It is a lot easier for him to want to work than it is to learn.
Our questions must be important to us
What can we do to balance it out?
The problem is with how we are educated. We are educated to think that if we have a question in our learning, which we get answered in a glorious way by a big talmid chochom, then our question was really a mistake and the answer that we were given is the only thing that matters.
This is a major mistake and we must leave this silly way of thinking! We need to realize that whenever we have a question or an interesting comment in our learning that captures our attention, we must live the importance of this. This is the key to making our learning have an impact.
If we are just trying to understand more knowledge in Torah then it is true that our questions are not so important. What we really want is the knowledge and the questions are just disturbing us from getting that knowledge.
If on the other hand our questions are important to us, then this means that all our learning starts from us! These are our own personal contributions to our Torah learning. Just with this alone, our learning will start to make a difference in our lives. When we have a good question, the question bothers us. Then we want to come up with an idea of how to solve our own personal problem that we have in Torah.
I do not know if our Torah learning has an impact on the whole world. It is very hard to know. But such a learning definitely has an impact on our own world, because our Torah learning is now something which is coming to solve a problem which we hold as important in our own world.
We mustn’t think that why should I bother with such a question, this is probably discussed in the otzer hachochma anyway. No! We must have courage in our questions.
I myself am a baal teshuvah. I only came to learning at the age of 20. The knowledge that others had compared to me was a crushing experience. However, I then started to ask questions to the others. They didn’t have the questions that I had. They also didn’t know the answers to my questions.
I then realized that I was making a nafka mina through my Torah learning. But it wasn’t in my knowledge. It was my questions that was making the nafka mina.
You need to balance your life. Your work is very important and makes a big difference. Your learning also makes a big difference too. The beginning of the difference in your learning are your own questions. Then you will feel that you are making an impact in your learning. Then your life is balanced. Your learning now becomes in the same category as your work. Then you can keep this up and it will last.