Dear All Torah Friend,
It's Erev Yom Kippur.
We sit, reflect, and contemplate our way back. We're thinking Teshuva. We're thinking macro and micro, the big picture, overall positive shifts, and also the small actions that make all the difference.
Where do Torah and Teshuva intersect?
Three times every day we daven: השיבנו אבינו לתורתך. That's the opening phrase of the "Teshuva bracha" in Shemoneh Esrei. Please, Hashem, return us to Your Torah.
And nothing is ever a coincidence. This past Shabbos, I was asked to give the short Shmiras Halashon shiur to the young boys in shul after davening. It just so happened that they were up to a fascinating piece in Shaar HaTorah, chapter 1, and I'd like to share it with you.
The Chofetz Chaim quotes a Sifrei that compares Torah to water. Just like water purifies a person (as many have the minhag to go to the mikvah on Erev Yom Kippur), Torah also purifies a person. These words of Chazal, or similar ideas, are found in other places too.
But then the Chofetz Chaim adds something powerful:
וּמִמֵּילָא כְּשֵׁם שֶׁמַּיִם מְטַהֲרִים אֶת הָאָדָם, אַף שֶׁהַטֻּמְאָה מִתְפַּשֶּׁטֶת בְּכָל אֵיבָרָיו, כֵּן הַתּוֹרָה מְטַהֶרֶת אֶת הָאָדָם מִטֻּמְאַת עֲוֹנוֹתָיו, אֲפִלּוּ אִם נִתְפַּשְּׁטָה עָלָיו מִכַּף רַגְלוֹ וְעַד רֹאשׁוֹ. וּכְשֵׁם שֶׁאֵין אָדָם נִטְהָר, עַד שֶׁיַּעֲלוּ הַמַּיִם עַל כָּל אֵיבָרָיו, וְלֹא תִּהְיֶה שׁוּם חֲצִיצָה בֵּין הָאֵיבָרִים לַמַּיִם, כֵּן צָרִיךְ שֶׁיְּשַׁעְבֵּד אֶת כָּל גּוּפוֹ וְאֵיבָרָיו בֶּאֱמֶת לְהַתּוֹרָה, וְלֹא תִּהְיֶה שׁוּם חֲצִיצָה, כְּמוֹ דִּכְתִיב (דברים ו' ו'): וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וְגוֹ' עַל לְבָבֶךָ
"And just as water purifies a man, though the impurity has spread throughout all of his limbs, so too Torah purifies a person from the impurity of his sins, even if it has spread from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. And just as a person is not purified until the water covers all of his limbs with no separation, so too one must dedicate his entire being to Torah, with no barriers, as it says: 'And these words shall be… upon your heart' (Devarim 6:6)."
The Chofetz Chaim is making two clear points:
- Torah is a complete purifier. It cleanses from top to bottom, inside and out. No exceptions, no boundaries, no limitations.
- Commitment is required. Just like the mikvah needs full immersion with no chatzitzah, Torah requires real commitment. That commitment doesn't look the same for everyone. For one person it might be three sedarim a day, for someone else five minutes a day. But as the Chofetz Chaim says, there needs to be shi'abud- obligation.
And here's the part that's most relevant for us: he wasn't writing this only for someone in Yeshiva or Kollel. He was writing for every Jew. Every one of us has this incredible opportunity on Yom Kippur to renew our commitment to daily learning, and through that, to merit complete tahara.
On behalf of the entire All Torah Team, please forgive us if we fell short in helping you with your daily Torah commitments in any way. We are always striving to do better.
Wishing you a Gmar Chasima Tova,
Moshe Schwed & The All Torah Team
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