By: Rabbi Chaim Yeshaya Freeman
The Mishnah teaches in Pirkei Avot (4:9):
“Reb Yonason said: Whoever upholds the Torah in a state of poverty will ultimately uphold it in a state of wealth, and whoever neglects the Torah in a state of wealth will ultimately neglect it in a state of poverty.”
The Mishnah teaches us that a person’s financial situation should not determine their connection to Torah.
This idea is also found in this week’s parsha. The pasuk states:
אִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי תֵּלֵכוּ
“If you will go in My decrees.”
Rashi is bothered: What does it mean to “go” in My decrees if the pasuk already says to observe and perform the mitzvos?
Rashi explains that this refers to עמילות בתורה — not just learning, but toiling in Torah.
Many people think that Torah learning is for Rabbanim or retirees. However, the Rambam (Talmud Torah 1:8) clearly writes that every Jew is obligated in Torah study — poor or rich, healthy or suffering, young or old. Everyone must set aside time to learn Torah.
This Rambam is based on a Gemara (Yoma 35b) that a poor man, rich man, and wicked man will all go to the final judgement at the end of days and will be questioned as to whether they engaged in Torah study.
If one comes with the excuse: “I was poor and busy trying to make a living,” the court responds that nobody was as poor as Hillel.
The story goes that he earned only one טרפיק a day. He divided it in half — one half for entrance to the Beis Medrash, and the other half to support his family.
One day he found no work and earned nothing. He was not allowed into the Beis Medrash, so he climbed onto the roof and lay by the skylight to hear the Torah. This occurred on Erev Shabbos during winter amid a heavy snowstorm.
In the morning, people noticed the room was unusually dark. They looked up and found Hillel buried under snow. They brought him down, washed him, and warmed him by the fire.
The Gemara continues that if a rich man claims he was busy managing his properties, the court responds that nobody was as rich as Rabbi Elazar ben Charsom. His father left him a thousand cities on land and a thousand boats at sea, yet he dedicated time every day to Torah.
Finally, if a wicked person claims he was exceptionally handsome and struggled with his yetzer hara, the court responds that nobody was more handsome than Yosef HaTzadik. Despite his challenges, he remained connected to Torah.
This is hinted in the pasuk we say daily:
רַבּוֹת מַחֲשָׁבוֹת בְּלֶב־אִישׁ וַעֲצַת ה׳ הִיא תָקוּם
The letters of היא stand for Hillel, Yosef, and Elazar.
A person can have many חשבונות, but the רצון ה׳ is that a person connects to Torah in every situation.
Often the real issue is not a lack of time, but a lack of appreciation for Torah.
The Chofetz Chaim illustrated this with a parable:
A wealthy man commissioned a magnificent custom-made yacht. During construction he toured another luxury yacht and was shown a dark, noisy, unimpressive engine room. Displeased by its appearance, he instructed the builders to remove it from his own yacht.
The engineers explained that without the engine room, the entire boat would be unable to function. Though not glamorous, it powered everything else on the ship.
So too, Torah may not always appear exciting or glamorous. It requires effort, consistency, and discipline. But Torah is the engine room of a person’s life — and of the entire world. It is what gives direction, strength, and purpose to everything else.
Without it, nothing truly moves forward.
May we all merit to recognize the sweetness of Torah, to set aside fixed time for it each day no matter what life brings, and to build our lives around it as our true center and guiding force.
Taken from the Kollel Avreichim Hollywood
