Shamai says: make your Torah permanent

שַׁמַּאי אוֹמֵר, עֲשֵׂה תוֹרָתְךָ קֶבַע (אבות א:טו)

פירוש המשנה לרמב"ם - אמר: עשה תלמוד תורה העיקר, וכל מה שזולתו מעסקיך - בא אחריו, אם הזדמן - הזדמן, ואם לא הזדמן - אין נזק בהחמצתו

The Rambam (Maimonides) comments: Make learning Torah the main thing, and everything besides it comes afterward — if it happens it happens, and if not, there is no harm in its absence.

When we look back on our week, what stands out? While Rashi suggests Shammai is reminding us to set aside times for Torah study, to be קובע עתים —make permanent times for study in your schedule, the Rambam takes a different approach. It’s not about setting aside time per se, or about how many hours one engaged in learning versus other activities. But how do we characterize the thrust and substance of our time?

I studied this mishna with a friend of mine. He raised the question, is the Rambam telling us that if someone spends time away from his work he won’t lose out on business? No, the Rambam is not saying that as long as you study Torah it won’t hurt your profit margin. It is necessary to make sacrifices for learning. אין נזק בהחמצתו —there is no harm in its absence means there’s no ultimate loss to you, no harm to your soul.

There are always tradeoffs in life. It’s a fantasy to think one can have some things without missing out on others. No one wants to lose out, we are even afraid of it. But when we choose one thing over another, what are we gaining and what are we giving up? Are we giving up something secondary for something essential, or are we mistakenly giving up something essential for something secondary?

A particular חברותא —study partner during my time in Yeshiva comes to mind. He had a small business, and would take off most of the morning to study in Yeshiva, as he had been doing for 30 years. If something for work came up and caused him to be late he was distraught, “I’m so sorry to be late, I hate missing our learning.” I never heard him talk about missing out on a business opportunity because we were learning.

David Brooks distinguishes between “resume virtues” and “eulogy virtues”, terms he uses to describe a distinction made by the Rav (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik) in The Lonely Man of Faith. Resume virtues are items that help move our career forward. Eulogy virtues, the qualities that might be talked about at your funeral, move us forward in a deeper sense.

The Rambam interprets עשה תורתך קבע —make your Torah permanent as an imperative, not regarding our schedule, but regarding our values. Socrates famously asserted he would rather suffer an injustice than commit an injustice (Gorgias 469). While no one wants to be harmed, he was most concerned about harm to his soul. We plan and closely track our career trajectory, but what about our soul trajectory?

When we look back on our week, what stands out most? This serves as a barometer of where we are at when it comes to making Torah a permanent part of our week. Which part of our lives do we say אם הזדמן - הזדמן —if it happens it happens? What is primary and what is secondary?

This newsletter is designed to make Torah a permanent part of my week. If you join me, it can make Torah a permanent part of yours as well.

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