May 27, 2022; Iyar 26, 5782
Parsha “Im b’chukosai sailechu” - If you walk in my statutes – Rashi explains this to mean “That you shall strive with great effort in studying Torah.” Rav Henach Leibowitz ZT’L explained that striving with great effort in the study of Torah means that one must use all of one’s powers of reasoning to ensure that each and every piece of Torah that is said is both textually and logically compelling. The truth of a Sugya (Talmudic passage) must emerge organically, and not by, for example, randomly inserting complex structures and explanations without sufficient justification. Also, a Sugya must not be studied once – it must be learned and re-learned for days and sometimes weeks. This is the study of Torah that Rashi references above – Torah study with an absolute dedication to truth...