Ahavas Torah. Simchas Hachaim. (Shloshim of Jonathan Cohen.)

Rabbonim, mori v’rabbosai. In the tfilla of Rav which we’ve adopted for Bircas HaChodesh, we daven for חיים שתהא בנו אהבת תורה ויראת שמים. It doesn’t suffice to learn Torah; we must love Torah. Dovid HaMelech attests, ma ahavti Torasecha. But what’s the source for ahavas Torah? Whence does it derive? Now, there are multiple answers because there are many sources, but just very briefly, בעזרת השם בלי נדר to focus on one which is very relevant to tonight’s shloshim. The Baal HaTanya writes, speaking of every Jew, תוכו רצוף אהבה מסותרת שהיא האהבה הטבעית שבנפש האלקית. Internally, a Jew is covered, enveloped by a hidden love which is the natural love for HaKadosh Baruch Hu in the Jew’s nefesh elokis. The nefesh elokis naturally loves and craves HaKadosh Baruch Hu. That ahavah tivis, that natural love for HaKadosh Baruch Hu translates into aliya into an ahavah tivis for Torah as well. The phraseology in Tfillas Rav is interesting; it’s not only חיים שיש בהם אהבת תורה, but chayim she’tehei banu internally, deeply, חיים שתהא בנו אהבת תורה. As David so beautifully and movingly described, Jonathan zichrono livracha experienced and manifested this natural ahavas Torah. Especially in his last tkufa, he drew so much chiyus from his various sedarim and chavrusa and in reflecting on Jonathan’s adult life, his ahavas haTorah was really the briach hatichon, the cohesive defining force, whether it was as a rebbe in Aftha I believe, the years in kollel in Shaalvim, or his professional work with YU and NCSY, the animating driving force throughout was this passionate ahavas Torah. Now, all Jews possess this nefesh elokis and yet don’t uniformly experience or manifest it. What affects, what determines to what degree we experience and thus translate into action that ahavah tivis? משל למה הדבר דומה: everyone, albeit to somewhat varying degrees, but for purposes of the mashal we’ll streamline, everyone is sensitive to the cold and certainly to extreme cold. And yet we can offset or preempt that natural reaction by bundling up with layers of sweaters, coats, snow pants, etc. And how many layers we don will determine to what degree the natural reaction is muted. If a Jew Rachmana Litzlan is living to some degree inauthentically, so that natural reaction, that natural orientation... is somewhat suppressed. But when a Jew lives authentically, so he's attuned to that inner self and thus to that ahavat Hashem. He doesn't pile layers upon layers that Rachmana litzlan suppress the ahavat Hashem. What does it mean to live authentically? To live simply, without posturing, to be genuine, to be content, not seek affluence and the pleasures which it affords. Jonathan zichrono livracha lived authentically. There was no posturing. He was remarkably open and candid. When he was happy, which was his default setting, הכרת פניו ענתה בו. You saw it. But so too in the course of his illness Rachmana litzlan, when he was sad, then too הכרת פניו ענתה בו. That openness, that candor was part of his authenticity. And in general, of course, he was very much a sameiach bechelko. Because he lived authentically, he experienced the ahavat Hashem and cultivated it. This, kamidomeh, was the source of his ahavat HaTorah bifrat and ahavat Yiddishkeit bichlal. The Rambam writes in
פרק ב מהלכות דעות, לא יהיה אדם בעל שחוק והתל לא עצב ואונן אלא שמח.
Then a line later, the Rambam continues,
וציוו שלא יהיה אדם פרוץ בשחוק ולא עצב ומתאבל אלא מקבל את כל האדם בסבר פנים יפות.
So the Rambam here is applying the rule and the principle of the midah beinonit and how it translates into not being frivolous, lighthearted on the one hand, not being a sad morose person on the other hand, but sameiach. But why the repetition? He begins
לא יהיה אדם בעל שחוק והתל לא עצב ואונן אלא שמח.
And then a line later,
וציוו שלא יהיה אדם פרוץ בשחוק ולא עצב ומתאבל אלא מקבל את כל האדם בסבר פנים יפות.
Why the repetition? So the clue is provided by one change in word. The first time the Rambam says when dismissing one of the extremes, lo atzeiv veonein. The second time he says lo atzeiv umisabeil. The Mishna in Sanhedrin tells us אין אנינות אלא בלב. Aninut refers to an inner state, an inner state of being. Aveilus on the other hand is associated with nehigim as well. Aveilus is something which is expressed outwardly. So the Rambam has two dinim here. The midah beinonit applies in two levels. First of all, inwardly, in terms of a person's inner compass, the person shouldn't be lightheaded, nor should he be a sad morose person, but inwardly, internally should experience simcha. But then the second halacha is behavioral, not just what his inner compass is, and that's why when the Rambam rejects the extreme there, he says לא יהיה עצב ומתאבל. That's also why the Rambam would have expected him to quote the other Mishna in Avot הוי מקבל את כל אדם בשמחה, but the second din is the din, the behavioral one. But a question then arises. When the Rambam defines and codifies the midah beinonit in other areas, the mandate is clear, what's expected of us and what needs to be done is clear. We're supposed to eat a disciplined, healthful diet. We're supposed to earn a livelihood, put in effort to earn a livelihood, not pursue riches on the other hand, but not have self-imposed poverty on the other hand. Okay, so it's clear what the midah beinonis demands of us and how we're supposed to respond. But the Rambam's first din, the din that refers to simchas haleiv, verochav vesameiach belivo, simchas haleiv, a person can't just be sameiach. Simcha requires content. A person behaviorally, a person can do whatever you want, tell him to smile, he can smile, tell him to dance, he can dance. But the Rambam's din also requires that the person has to genuinely feel and experience simcha. Simcha requires content. A person is happy about something. If the Torah expects us to be besimcha, then that means that there's a source of simcha in everyone's life that the Torah expects us to tap into. Moshe Rabbeinu asks for the highest levels of yedias Hashem. Hakadosh Baruch Hu tells him אני אעביר כל טובי על פניך. All my goodness will pass before you. אני אעביר כל טובי על פניך. Explains the Rambam, Hakadosh Baruch Hu promised and gave Moshe Rabbeinu insight into the entire bria. Kol tuvi refers to the bria. How does kol tuvi refer to the bria? Kol tuvi refers to the bria because when Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world at each stage וירא אלקים כי טוב וירא אלקים כי טוב. And ultimately at the conclusion, at the culmination of Sheshes yimei bereishis וירא אלקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאוד. Kol tuvi refers to existence. It refers to the world. Hakadosh Baruch Hu attests that the world is tov me'od. Existence is good, exceedingly good. To be alive, to partake of existence, to live in Hakadosh Baruch Hu's world is an extraordinary bracha. Awareness of that bracha generates simcha. And thus living with that sense of bracha, of tov me'od, radiating that simchas hachaim, that positivity, that enthusiasm constitutes a gesture of faith. One who's happy to be alive, who's excited about life, affirms that indeed Vihinei tov me'od. Jonathan zichrono livracha felt and exuded a simchas hachaim. He was happy to be alive, he was excited about life. When you asked routinely and maybe perfunctorily how are you, his answer was emphatic, enthusiastic, positive. When you were with him, you were uplifted by the positive energy he released. Now it's certainly true that some people are born with an innate, sunny, happy disposition. But this fact in and of itself doesn't diminish the genuine emuna expressed through simchas hachaim. Hakadosh Baruch Hu implanted within us many instincts to live and act kifi ritzono. For instance, each of us has a conscience which differentiates right from wrong and generates feelings of guilt when we act wrongly. A person can comply with the dictates of his conscience without recognizing But a person can comply with the dictates of his conscience because he recognizes it as a kol Hashem, in which case complying becomes an act of קבלת עול מלכות שמים. In this scenario, his moral actions are not diminished because they're driven by the conscience given by Hakadosh Baruch Hu, because there is a natural impulse. On the contrary, Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants a person to recognize that conscience as given by Him and naturally follow its dictates. Another example. The Gemara in Berachos tells us that when Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai was on his deathbed, amru lo hatalmidim said to him, Rabbeinu barchenu.
אמר להם יהי רצון שתהא מורא שמים עליכם כמורא בשר ודם.
You should have as much mora Shamayim as you have mora basar vedam. אמרו לו תלמידיו עד כאן? That's all you're wishing us? Amar lahem ulavai, תדעו כשאדם עובר עבירה when a person is engaged in aveira, in an aveira, אומר שלא יראני אדם. The Baal Shem Tov explains as follows: A person can be engaging in an aveira and he can be doing so in a room that has no windows and there can be a soundproof chamber and the door can be locked, and a person has this seemingly irrational fear that someone is going to see him, that someone sees him. He has this fear of discovery. כשאדם עובר עבירה אומר שלא יראני אדם. What is that in actuality? It's not irrational at all. What that is in actuality is Hakadosh Baruch Hu endowed us with an instinctive sense of
דע מה למעלה ממך עין רואה ואוזן שומעת וכל מעשיך בספר נכתבים.
A person can blindly experience this sense of being watched and not attribute it to its source, or one can recognize it for what it truly is, and then listening and acting intuitively is exactly what Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants. So too when one is blessed with a sunny, happy disposition, one can simply enjoy that disposition without attribution. But when he frames that natural simchas hachayim by thanking Hakadosh Baruch Hu, so he's mekadesh that natural disposition, living with it exactly as Hakadosh Baruch Hu wills. When you asked Jonathan how he was, the simchas hachayim was always framed by a resounding enthusiastic Baruch Hashem. A poshte Yid lives simply, instinctively, naturally. But in the simplicity of a poshte Yid's life, within the natural rhythm of his life, there is ahavas Hashem, which expresses itself also as ahavas Torah. There is a simchas hachayim, there's much kedusha. Such was the simplicity of Jonathan's life. Chaval al de'avidin.