The Unparalleled Enjoyment of Torah Learning on Shabbat

The Unparalleled Enjoyment of Torah Learning on Shabbat

וקראת לשבת עונג – we are obligated to enjoy ourselves on Shabbat by engaging in activities we find pleasurable. For that reason, there is a mitzvah to enjoy fine foods and drinks on Shabbat. Additionally, the Yalkut Reuveni (Vaethanan) observes that the word שבת may be read as an acrostic representing the words שינה בשבת תענוג – “Sleep on Shabbat is enjoyment.” Indeed, many people enjoy naps on Shabbat afternoon. However, the work Noheg Ke’tzon Yosef (cited in Hedvat Shabbat) notes that the word שינה can mean not only “sleep,” but also “study,” as in the words משנה and שינון. Torah study on Shabbat is pleasurable, and thus fulfills the mitzvah of עונג שבת.

Many sources underscore the special delight that we experience when we learn Torah. David Ha’melech exclaims in Tehillim (119:92), לולא תורתך שעשועי אז אבדתי בעוניי – “If Your Torah had not been my delight, I would have been lost in my suffering.” It was the unique pleasure and joy of Torah that sustained David during his periods of hardship, and it is likewise what has sustained the Jewish People throughout our centuries of persecution and exile.

However, while Torah learning is always a source of joy and delight, the sanctity of Shabbat adds special “flavor” to Torah learning, making learning on Shabbat an especially pleasurable experience. The pasuk in Shir Hashirim (4:11) describes Torah as דבש וחלב תחת לשונך – “honey and milk under your tongue” –and this verse is, incidentally, one of the reasons why we eat sweet dairy foods on Shavuot, to celebrate the special sweetness of Torah, which is compared to milk and honey. The Hid”a noted that the last letters of the words דבש וחלב תחת spell the word שבת, alluding to the fact that the enjoyment of Torah study is experienced on Shabbat in an especially profound way. Likewise, the pasuk in Tehillim (94:19) speaks of how the comforting words of Torah provide succor and relief during times of distress: ברוב שרעפי בקרבי תנחומיך ישעשו נפשי. The Roke’ah (56) observes that the first letters of the words שרעפי בקרבי תנחומיך spell the word שבת – another allusion to the unique joy of Torah learning on Shabbat.

The Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 5:18) relates that during the Egyptian bondage, Moshe Rabbenu gave Beneh Yisrael scrolls to read and study on Shabbat, so that the joy of study would lift their spirits and give them strength and encouragement amid their suffering. Pharaoh thus told Moshe to tell Beneh Yisrael, ואל ישעו בדברי שקר – “They shall not engage in words of falsehood” (Shemot 5:9). The Midrash explains the word ישעו as a reference to the special שעשוע – delight – of Torah study. He did not want Beneh Yisrael to be encouraged and uplifted by the joy of Torah study on Shabbat, and so he ordered them to discontinue their weekly Shabbat learning. As the Midrash comments, אל יהו משתעשעין ואל יהו נפישין ביום השבת – “Let them not delight and rest on Shabbat day.” Pharaoh understood that Torah study on Shabbat brings unparalleled joy, and he did want Benei Yisrael to experience this joy.

In fact, Rabbi Biederman (Be’er Ha’hayim – Hanukah) tells that the Hazon Ish said that if a non-Jew would realize the joy experienced by a Jew by studying Gemara on Shabbat morning, he would convert to Judaism to share in this joy:

אם היה גוי יודע ומרגיש הטעם הנפלא שיש לאדם הלומד דף גמרא קודם תפילה ביום שבת קדש היה בא להתגייר לחסות תחת כנפי השכינה.

If a non-Jew would realize and feel the wondrous flavor that a person experiences when learning a page of Gemara before prayers on the sacred day of Shabbat, he would come to convert and take refuge under the wings of the Shechinah.

The Hid”a, in his Mahazik Berachah (Orah Haim 290), writes that there is special value in arriving at a hiddush – a new Torah insight – on Shabbat. He cites the Arizal’s teaching that when a person arrives at a hiddush on Shabbat, this brings special delight to the souls of his deceased parents and ancestors in the next world. For this reason, the Arizal explained, the mitzvah of Shabbat is juxtaposed to the command of honoring parents, both in the Ten Commandments (Shemot 20, Devarim 5) and in Parashat Kedoshim (Vayikra 19:3) – because on Shabbat one has the special opportunity to help his parents’ souls. Indeed, the Pele Yoetz writes that the primary obligation of כבוד אב ואם – honoring parents – applies after the parent’s death, when the child can elevate the parent’s soul by studying Torah and performing mitzvot, thus helping the parent when the parent needs it the most. The Pele Yoetz describes a child’s Torah and mitzvot as “delicacies” (מטעמים) which bring his parents great joy and pleasure. And the Arizal teaches us that this is especially so on Shabbat, when our Torah study has greater power and brings greater joy – both to us and to our deceased forebears.

The Hid”a adds that learning new material also qualifies as a hiddush, and thus all of us are able to experience the unique joy of hiddush on Shabbat by studying new Torah material that we had not learned before.

A person once came to Rav Shlomo Wolbe for encouragement after the death of a parent. Rav Wolbe asked the man if he attended summer camp as a child, and the man answered that he did.

“Did your mother send you care packages while you were in camp?” Rav Wolbe asked. Again, the man answered in the affirmative.

“Well, when parents pass on to the next word,” Rav Wolbe said, “it’s the child’s turn to send care packages to them. By learning Torah and performing mitzvot, a person brings great joy and delight to his parents.

Especially on Shabbat, we have the opportunity to experience unparalleled joy and to bring unparalleled joy to our deceased forebears through the study of Torah. Alongside the other delights of Shabbat – the fine foods and drinks, and the Shabbat nap – we should also make time for the greatest delight of all, the unique joy and exhilaration of Torah learning.