Learning

1. One who gives delight to his father and cheers him, through this he will have desire and love for learning.

2. When you want to give life to something through reciting words of your Torah, do not expound on negative subjects. Rather, expound on verses and subjects that deal with the good.

3. When a man recites novel Torah teachings, through this he gives joy to the Blessed G-d.

4. When a wicked person says Torah, know that he causes to stumble those who listen to his teaching.

5. One who causes his friend to desist from his learning, it is certain that he has deviated from the Way of G-d.

6. Torah learning, even while half a sleep, is good.

7. Through accepting suffering with love, one does not forget his learning.

8. All the Torah that a person tried to learn in this world, and was prevented from understanding the full true intent of the learning, he will merit to understand it properly (truthfully) in the World to Come.

9. Through rising for a Torah scholar, one merits to Torah.

10. All the knowledge one gains in the laws of the Torah, whether dealing with the commandments relating to one's fellow man, or those between man and his Creator -- the knowledge itself is success for the soul.

11. A book written with ink made from olive oil is conducive (segulah) to learning.

12. Awe of a Torah scholar is a segulah (conducive) to learning.

13. One who engages in Torah at night, the Divine Presence is before him.

14. What should a man to do gain wisdom? He should increase in learning (yeshiva – lit. sitting), minimize business, and ask for mercy. Because any one of these without the other is not enough.

15. Speaking in a loud voice brings feeling and movement to all the limbs.

16. One who learns in a loud voice lives long, and he retains what he learned ( his learning is upheld in his hand).

17. One without arrogance, he retains his learning (his learning is upheld in his hand).

18. Also, one who teaches others.

19. Hearing directly from the sage is more beneficial.

20. Learning Torah is greater than offerings of the Tamid (sacrifice brought twice daily in the Temple).

21. One who says, "This Torah saying is pleasant, and that one is not" loses the wealth of the Torah.

22. Relearning something forgotten is harder than learning something new.

23. One who forgets one detail from his learning causes the exile of his children, and he is brought down from his greatness.

24. A Torah scholar whose inner being does not match up to his outward appearance is called an abomination.

25. A Torah scholar -- the citizens of his city are obligated to do his work.

26. Due to annulling Torah study, G-d is made, so to speak, poor (i.e. put in a position where He is unwilling to help).

27. Torah study is greater than saving lives, and building the Temple, and honoring one's parents.

28. Through holiness one merits to understanding.

29. There are three over whom the Holy One, Blessed is He, cries every day, and one of them is a person who could engage in Torah and does not.

30. Through understanding, one merits to repentance.

31. It is forbidden to teach a wicked man a wondrous matter.

32. A great man can learn from the wicked, but a simple (lit. small) man can not.

33. Regularity of learning rises above the keeping of all the commandments.

34. One who is without a wife, languishes (lit. is imbued) without good (Torah).

35. One who learns by himself cannot compare to one who learns from a rabbi.

36. It is not pleasing to the Holy One, Blessed is He, when the Jewish people are judged unfavorably.

37. One who loves a Torah scholar, he and his seed will remain steadfast in Torah.

38. A person should learn even if it is without understanding.

39. It is very beneficial to see the mouth of the rabbi during the learning.

40. It is very beneficial to learn near rivers.

41. One who engages in Torah at night is as if he is engaged in the service (of the Holy Temple).

42. One who studies the laws of the Temple Service, it is as if the Holy Temple was rebuilt in his days.

43. One who teaches Torah to an unfit student falls into Hell, and is as if he were casting a stone to the (idol) marcolis.

44. The Torah itself was given to all of Israel. But Pilpul (formulating and developing argumentation and disputations) was only granted to Moshe alone, and he, in his generosity, gave it to all Israel.

45. When a man gives himself over entirely (hefker) to teach the Torah to all, the Torah is granted to him as a gift.

46. The Torah (one learns) is only preserved by one who impoverishes himself for her (by abstaining from any business), and by one who makes himself as if he is without knowledge.

47. Learning precedes fear of sin, and fear of sin precedes in-depth study.

48. Through eating bread in the morning (pas shacharis), one's learning is preserved, and one merits to learn and teach.

49. Torah study must specifically be recited aloud, for the learning which is only in thought is forgotten, and does not come to be actualized in deed.

50. One who learns but does not review is comparable to one who sows but doesn't harvest.

51. One who reviews his learning -- the Torah requests from G-d to reveal to him the taamei Torah (lit. the taste or cantillation or reasoning, with an inference to the esoteric) and its secrets.

52. One who does not have established times for learning comes to promiscuous thoughts.

53. One who does not review his learning has difficulty raising children.

54. One who learns Torah with pure intention, creates peace in the pamalia ( gathering of the wise, often translated as tribunal) Above and Below, and protects the whole world, and is as if he built the Upper and Lower Palace, and hastens the Redemption.

55. One who teaches his friend's son Torah, is considered as if he created him, and as if he created the words of Torah, and as if he created himself.

56. One who blackens his face for the words of Torah in this world, G-d will make his face radiant in the World to Come.

57. One who goes hungry for the sake of learning Torah, G-d will satiate him in the World to Come.

58. One who reads books of apostates is considered an apostate (lit. is called an 'apikorus').

59. One who reads a scriptural verse in its time brings good to the world.

60. When there are two verses, from one you can expound on merit and good, and from the other you can expound on the opposite, expound on the verse which is of merit and good.

61. One who does not have understanding in his learning should spend a Shabbat with a Tzaddik. Also through this he will merit to learn Torah with pure intention. Or he should endeavor to do some favor for a Tzaddik, or learn with joy, or bring in the Shabbat with joy, or greet the Tzaddik with joy.

62. Through learning in-depth, one is able to pray.

63. One who cannot learn because of impediments should abstain from intoxicating beverages.

64. Through neglecting Torah study, one comes to neglect prayer, and this is also the case in the converse.

65. One who cannot learn due to lack of time, and he learns on Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh (the first day of the month), with this he closes off the spirit of impurity.

66. When one does not understand one's Torah learning, it is certain that harsh judgments are laid upon him.

67. It is easy to understand some concept when one is in a high location, such as on a mountain or other such place.

68. Arousal in the morning to study is conducive (segulah) to the sense of hearing.

69. Through teaching the tinokos shel bais raban [- very young children], peace proliferates.

70. It is necessary to pray that one will merit to have upright students.

71. Through expounding on the Torah in a positive light, one can bring salvation.

72. Through an expansive heart, one can understand one thing from another.

73. One who has no desire to learn Torah should not speak about anyone any bad word.

74. Do not learn, except by someone who is Heaven fearing.

75. Through Torah, you will merit peace.

76. When you say Torah (- ideas developed from the Torah) according to your level, and not beyond it, through this G-d will honor your commands.

77. Due to blasphemy, a person does not have desire to learn.

78. Through giving charity for the sake of the Divine Presence, one merits to Torah for the sake of the Divine Presence.

79. Through getting up at midnight, one merits to understand the Torah and explicate it.

80. One who interrupted his Torah study for trivial matters, his rectification is to get up at midnight.

81. One who hates falsehood as he would an abomination, he will have passion to learn.

82. A book that a wicked person learned from, do not learn from it, for the letters of the book will make you wicked.

83. When you hear Torah or moral instruction from someone, and in you heart you gain no respect for him, it is certain that he is a fool.

84. Torah (learning) for which you incur expenses, through this it will not be forgotten from you.

85. One who chases after the desires of his heart, through this you will find him alluded to in all the passages of the Torah – disparagingly.

86. One who separates himself from the Torah connects to the Satan.

87. Two Torah scholars who honor each other in legal study (halacha) for the sake of the Divine Presence, and in humility, G-d grants them success, and they rise to greatness, and merit to the Torah that was given by G-d's right hand, and merit to things given through the right hand of the Torah.

88. A Torah scholar who avenges and is spiteful like a snake, cling to him, for in the end you will benefit from his learning.

89. It is forbidden to learn from one who is drawn to idol-worship, and one who learns from him is liable to the death penalty.

90. Torah learning without deeds is like myrtle, which has fragrance but no taste.

91. By whom do you find orders of Torah (i.e. vast arrays)? By one who rises early and stays up late for them in the study hall, and blackens his face for them as a raven, and makes himself cruel as a raven (regarding the needs of) his children.

92. A person cannot merit learning from anyone. Because of this people travel great distances to learn .

1. There are sufferings that come upon a person, whose allotted time is according to the alignment of the stars that determine all such sufferings. However, through the desire and longing that is aroused in students at the time appointed for their study sessions with their rabbi, through this sufferings are annulled before their appointed time.

2. The Torah, the tithes, and the Shabbat give physical life as well (as spiritual life).

3. Through learning the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law), one comes to Fear of G-d.

4. One who learns Torah with a pure mind - that his eating is holy to the point that he is nourished from the food that the angels nourish from, through this his enemies are punished with strangulation. This is learned from Torah passages: " And it was on the third day, at the beginning of the morning (Shemot 19:16)", "And in the morning there was a layer of dew (Shemot 16:13)", "And it was in the watch of the morning (Shemot 14:24)". [An explanation for this can be found in the entry “Eating” book II: 5-page 67].

5. Through the outstanding and sharp ones of the generation, fear of G-d is illuminated, and through fear of G-d, the merit of the forefathers is sparked, and through the sparkling of the forefathers, repentance is aroused in the world.

6. Learning (poskim) the works of those who determine the Halacha (Jewish law) annuls thoughts of idol worship.

7. When one goes from master to master, then he needs to strengthen his faith in the Unity of Hashem, may He be Blessed. Because learning from many teachers damages faith in the Unity. So too, the master who has faith in the Unity, he is able to illuminate to each and every student according to his ability, and each student only hears what he needs, and no more.

8. A teacher who teaches his students in this manner -- that is, he only teaches to each student what he specifically needs to hear, not more and not less. Through this he merits that the most pleasant and praiseworthy aspects of the Torah are revealed to him.

9. When a student hears words of Torah from a rabbi, and annuls his will to the will of the rabbi, from this he can be sure that he listened. For when he does not annul his will, even though he hears, he really does not hear. Also, when his feelings (senses) are annulled at the time of hearing, this is a sign that he has truly heard.

10. At the time when a student comes to hear Torah from a rabbi, the student's evil -- that is, the impure husks (klipos) created by the evil in him, also come to hear and suckle. However, when each student hears only what is relevant to his soul, as was described above, the evil spirits (klipos) flee, and are not able to hear. Yet there is a subtle evil (klipa) which is close to holiness, that will only flee when there is within the Torah teaching a message of salvation of Israel, then it also flees. A hint for this from Scripture: "And Moshe sent his father-in-law" -- if one learns this passage according to the opinion that Yitro (the father-in-law of Moses) came and went his way before the giving of the Torah.

11. One who utters words of Torah is saved from the sentence of stoning.

12. A man cannot merit to Torah and good deeds in all places. Due to this, G-d brings about circumstances that cause the man to go from one place to another place.

13. When a man learns until he is exhausted, he sweetens judgments and arouses mercy. Also through this he arouses mercy for his father in the grave.

14. Through Torah, one comes to Faith, and through Faith, one comes to sanctify the Name of G-d.

15. Those with pure eyesight can recognize in a man, who the rabbi is who taught him Torah. This is specifically when the one looking is familiar with the face of the rabbi. For through the religious law that a man learns from his rabbi, his face becomes similar to the appearance of the face of the rabbi, for the law is his wisdom that enlightens the face of a man (as in the verse, "The wisdom of man enlightens his face."). When one receives the law, one receives an aspect of the appearance of the teacher's face. And according to the amount of laws he learns, the more aspects of the appearance of his face are acquired.

16. Through sanctifying the name of G-d, may He be blessed, the authority of the leaders of the generation is in full force and strength. Through this, everyone values the commandment of hospitality to guests, and through this, the Torah students merit that the law is set according to their opinion.

17. One who is strict with others and lenient with himself, and says about what he did not hear, that he heard, due to this, he does not merit to see the beauty of the King. For the evil force (klipa) of Edom, which is bad fear, darkens the light of his eyes, so that he cannot see the beauty of the Face of the King.