Part of the series: Divrei Hashkafa by Rav Mayer Twersky
Right – learn lishma; left – not lishma. Ramban: part of middah k’neged middah is that the reward for mitzvos will be correspond to motivations, i.e. olam hazeh or olam habba.Rambam (Hil. Teshuva 8:4) – “noam Hashem” is one name for olam habba. Lishma == derech, wide; lo lishma == nesiv, narrow; on a wider path (lishma), its safer because less likely to get lost and end up off the path.
Transcript
AI-generated transcript. May contain errors.
Good morning. Pasuk Tes-Zayin.
אורך ימים בימינה בשמאלה עושר וכבוד. אורך ימים בימינה כלומר למיימינים בה לומדים לשמה תהיה להם אורך ימים בעולם הבא כמו שאמרו חז"ל.
It's interesting how certain ideas from Torah became reflected or embedded in different cultures. So in English we have the expression, "you do the right thing," right? You don't do the left thing, you do the right thing. And that really comes from this idea from Torah that Yamin represents the ideal and that's the pshat over here: אורך ימים בימינה למיימינים בה. Those who are going to the right, that means that they're lomdim lishmah.
בשמאלה עושר וכבוד לאותם הלומדים שלא לשמה והיינו על כרחך לומדים או בשביל ממון או בשביל כבוד על מנת שיקראוהו רב לכן יהיה להם כן עושר וכבוד.
I think the Ramban explains in the Peirush al haTorah that Hakadosh Baruch Hu's part of the ma'arachah of middah keneged middah is that if a person's motivation is lishmah, meaning he's not looking for any olam hazeh-dikke benefit from his avodas Hashem, so then his schar takeh is olam habah. But if a person's kavanah in his avodas Hashem is that he is looking for some olam hazeh-dikke benefit, that that's the primary driving force, be it osher, be it kavod, or if there's some other olam hazeh-dikke consideration, so then middah keneged middah, so then the schar is בעיקר בעולם הזה as well. So that same idea is reflected here in the Goan's pshat. דרכיה דרכי נעם וכל נתיבותיה שלום. Pasuk Yud-Zayin.
כלומר שדרכי התורה הם דרכים לבוא לנועם כמו שנאמר לחזות בנועם ה'.
I think the Rambam has in Hilchos Teshuva, sorry, he writes in פרק ח' הלכה ג' when he's talking about olam habah, excuse me, Halacha Daled, וכמה שמות קראו לו דרך משל, there are many metaphorical references to olam habah. הר ה' מקום קדשו, and then he says one of them is noam Hashem. That noam Hashem is that pleasantness, that sweetness, means the pleasantness or sweetness that a person experiences in olam habah. כלומר שדרכי התורה הם דרכים לבוא לנועם. So noam the Goan is teiching in this pasuk is not deracheha darchei noam could be understood that they are ways of pleasantness. I think that's what the English translation usually reflects, that they're ways of pleasantness in the sense that they're pleasant ways, or ways of pleasantness in the sense that they are ways which lead to the ultimate pleasant experience, the ultimate sweet experience. So the Goan is saying that the correct understanding is the latter of those two.
דרכיה דרכי נעם וכל נתיבותיה שלום. דרכיה דרכי נעם כלומר שדרכי התורה הם דרכים לבוא לנועם כמו שנאמר לחזות בנועם ה' ואמר דרכיה כלומר
this we've seen before. the Gaon that haderachim harachavim, the derech implies a wide expanse, a wide thoroughfare,
כלומר הדרכים הרחבים שאי אפשר לטעות בהם כלל, דהיינו לאותם הלומדים לשמה הם דרכי הנועם העליון.
V'chol nesivoseha shalom,
ההולכים בנתיבות הקטנים שאי אפשר לטעות ולסור מהם, דהיינו הלומדים שלא לשמה.
So in describing lomdim lishma as derech, which suggests wide and broad, and shelo lishma as a nusiv, suggesting a narrow path, the Gaon's not commenting necessarily on what the percentages of people are who learn lishma versus those who learn shelo lishma. He's talking about the sort of the danger of getting lost. If a person's learning lishma, so then he's not going to get lost. The same way if you're if there's a wide path in that you're following in a hike or a trail, so it's very easy to stay on that path. Mah she-ein ken if it's a very narrow path, so then a person can easily go off the path and lose his way. A person's learning lishma, he's not going to lose his way. It keeps him on track. Mah she-ein ken a person who's learning shelo lishma. Now, it's true that אם יהיו לומדים והולכים כן יהיו בשלום, k'mo she-omru chazal
לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ומצוות אפילו שלא לשמה שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה.
It's true, but provided that the person doesn't get lost and remains at least on the shelo lishma track. A person is looking for osher v'chavod, so then he could end up deciding, well you know, learning Torah doesn't seem to be the best route to attaining that osher v'chavod, so he'll veer into something else. So in that sense, the lishma is a wide path that a person cannot easily go astray. Mah she-ein ken the shelo lishma is a nusiv, is a narrow path.
וכמו שנאמר והשם ישלם לך ואמרו אל תקרי ישלם אלא ישלימנו לך.
Okay, so we'll stop here. I'm not sure whether we'll meet on Sunday, so just wish everyone a gut shabbos and a gut yom tov ah rabosai. Kol tuv.