Shemirat HaLashon שמירת הלשון

And in our many sins, how many grow lax in Torah and give no thought to the great punishment that is destined for neglect of Torah study, as they said in Midrash Mishlei, Parshah 10: "R. Yishmael said: Come and see how sore is the day of judgment, when the Holy One Blessed be He is destined to judge all the world. If one comes who has learned Scripture, but not Mishnah, the Holy One Blessed be He turns His face away from him, and the throes of Gehinnom grow in him, etc., and they take him and cast him into Gehinnom. If one comes who has learned two or three orders [of the six orders of Mishnah], he is asked: 'My son, why did you not learn all the halachoth?' If one comes who has learned the halachoth, He asks him: 'My son, why did you not learn Torah Cohanim? Why did you not review it? For it contains all, etc.?' If one comes who has learned Torath Cohanim, the Holy One Blessed be He asks him: 'My son, why did you not review the five books of Torah, which contain the Shema, tefillin, and mezuzah?' If one comes who has learned the five books of Torah, the Holy One Blessed be He asks him: 'My son, why did you not learn hagaddah, etc.' If one comes who has learned hagaddah, the Holy One Blessed be He asks him: 'My son, why did you not learn Talmud? etc.' If one comes who has learned Talmud, the Holy One Blessed be He asks him: 'If you have learned Talmud, have you contemplated the Divine Chariot? etc., My throne of glory, how it stands? etc., how many ways it revolves? etc.'"

And, more than this, they do not even support their sons in Torah, and they send them to school only until they know a little Chumash. Woe unto us that things have come to such a pass in our days! Do we not know what is ruled in Yoreh Deah 245:6, that where the father has the means it is incumbent upon him to pay for his son's being taught until he knows Mishnah, Gemara, halachoth and aggadoth?

And I know their excuses, that the times are difficult, etc. But, in truth, if they searched their souls they would know that the yetzer is only deceiving them. For in other things, which are only of physical benefit to their son, does not each one of them assist his son with all of his strength, even more than he is able? And sometimes, he even places his life in danger because of him, doing things which are against the din, both between man and his neighbor and between man and the L-rd. And he blesses himself in his heart, saying: "All will be well with me, for I am doing charity at all times by feeding my family." But when he must support his son in Torah, to know how to serve the L-rd, bringing both his son and himself to eternal life, as we shall adduce below from the midrashim of Chazal, he says that times are hard! And this is as Scripture states (Isaiah 93:2): "And not Me did you call upon, Jacob; for you grew weary with Me, O Israel" — "with Me," specifically. As we find on this verse in the Midrash, Esther Rabbah 3: "All day he is busy working and does not become weary; he prays, and he becomes weary!"

And, in truth, the expenditures for the Torah study of his sons are outside of the expenditures for sustenance fixed for him on Rosh Hashanah, as Chazal have said (Beitzah 16a): "All the sustenance for man is fixed for him from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur, except expenditures for Shabbath, …and expenditures for his sons' Torah studies, which, if he gives less, he is given less [by Heaven], and if he gives more, he is given more." Come and see what Chazal have said (Kiddushin 30a): "If one teaches his son's son Torah, Scripture reckons it unto him as if he had received it on Mount Sinai, viz. Devarim 4:9: 'And you shall impart them [(words of Torah)] to your sons and to the sons of your sons," followed by (Ibid. 10): 'the day you stood before the L-rd your G-d in Chorev.'" Also, through this, he merits long life for him and his sons, it being written (Ibid. 11:19): "And you shall teach them to your sons," followed by (Ibid. 21): "So that your days be prolonged and the days of your sons, etc."

Also, through his son's Torah learning, he merits being rescued from Gehinnom, as we find in Tanna d'bei Eliyahu Zuta 12: "Ignoramuses who have had their sons taught Scripture and Mishnah, are rescued by them from that shame and that humiliation and that mortification and from the din of Gehinnom." And sometimes they also merit thereby to be numbered among the tzaddikim, as we find in Midrash Hane'elam, Ruth, chapter 2:

"When R. Zmira went to Kfar Ono, he saw pillars of flame rising in the clefts of the mountains of Ararat. Inclining his ear, he heard voices, and an Arab told him: 'Come with me and I will show you wonders hidden from men.' He went with him behind a rock and saw other clefts with flames rising on high and heard other voices, at which the Arab said to him: 'Incline your ear here, etc.' He did so and heard voices saying: 'Woe! Woe!' at which he said: 'This place is certainly one of the places of Gehinnom,' and the Arab left him. In the meantime, he bent down in a different place and saw a man screaming and being taken and placed into a different depth into which he disappeared and was seen no more. At this, he fell into a dream in which he saw that man and asked him: 'Who are you?' He answered: 'I am a sinning Jew, who has not left undone any sins in the world.' R. Zmira: 'What is your name?' The other: 'I do not know. Those sentenced to Gehinnom do not remember their names.' R. Zmira: 'Where do you come from?' The other: 'From upper Galilee. I was a butcher, and because of the many evils I did there, they sentenced "that man" [i.e., me] to three times [of punishment] in the daytime and three times at night.' R. Zmira rose from there and went to upper Galilee, where he heard a child's voice saying (Mishlei 2:40: 'If you seek it as silver, if you search for it as hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the L-rd.' He went to another house of study, where he heard the voice of a different child saying (Zephaniah 2:3): 'Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be concealed' [from His wrath]. He went and sought that wicked man, and questioned a child, who said to him: 'Rebbi, may this and this come upon that man, who did not leave undone any evils or sins in the world. May it be thus with that wicked man and to the nurse who gave suck to him.' R. Zmira: 'Did he have a son in the world?' The child: 'Yes, he left one son, and he is wicked like his father, and he is the child that goes to the slaughterhouse.' He [R. Zmira] sought him out and took him and occupied himself with him in Torah until he had taught him reading, prayer, and Shema, after which he taught him Mishnah, Talmud, halachoth and aggadoth, until he grew very wise — and he is R. Nachum Hapakuli. And why did they call him "Hapakuli"? As it is written (Isaiah 28:7): "paku pliliyah" — [homiletically,] "he released [his father from] the din [of that world]." And many sages of the generation descended from him, who were called "Pakuli." That man [the butcher] came to him in a dream and said to him: 'Rebbi, how much you have comforted me — so may the Holy One Blessed be He comfort you. For from the day that my son knew a single verse, He released me from my din. Once he recited the Shema, they manumitted my din both by day and by night, by one time. Once he read in school, they annulled my din altogether. On the day he grew so wise that they called him "Rabbi" they placed my seat among the tzaddikim in Gan Eden. And every day that a Torah novelty is cited in his name they crown me with the highest crown that the tzaddikim are crowned with. Because of you I have merited all this honor. Happy is the lot of him who leaves a son who toils in Torah in this world!'"

And similarly, in Tanna d'bei Eliyahu Zuta 17: R. Yochanan b. Zakkai said: "Once, I was walking on the road, when I found a man collecting wood, and I spoke to him, but he did not answer me. Afterwards, he came and said to me: 'Rebbi, I am dead and not alive.' And I said to him: 'If you are dead, why do you need this wood?' He answered: 'Rebbi, listen to this one thing that I will tell you. Once, when I was alive, my friend and I were involved in sin in my palace. And when we came here, they decreed death by burning upon us. When I collect wood, they burn my friend; and when he collects wood, they burn me.' And I said to him: 'Until when is your din?' He answered: 'When I came here, I left my wife pregnant; and I know that she is pregnant with a male. Therefore, I beseech you to take care of him when he is born until he is five years old and [then] take him to school to [learn to] read. For when he says: 'Let us bless the blessed L-rd,' they will raise me from the din of Gehinnom.

Also, all of the reward we wrote of above in respect to one who supports Torah scholars obtains also with one who supports his son for Torah study. And he also merits thereby that he finds favor in the eyes of the Holy One Blessed be He, as we find in Tanna d'bei Eliyahu Zuta 23, in respect to the query of the attribute of din as to why He favors Israel when it is written (Devarim 10:17): 'The great G-d… who does not show favor,'; and the Holy One Blessed be He answers: 'But do they not show Me favor, etc. And, furthermore, they teach Torah and set up groups to occupy themselves with Torah and pay a wage to the teachers to teach their sons Torah!'" And, conversely, the punishment of one who deprives his son of Torah study is explained in the holy Zohar, Parshath Pekudei 256:

"…two pillars on the western side, etc." These are appointed to proclaim in all the heavens about all those who deprive their sons of Torah and remove them [from it] so that they not occupy themselves with it: 'Woe unto Ploni, who deprived his son of Torah. Woe unto him, for he goes lost from this world and from the world to come, and from [his] portion in the world to come!'"

And this is an open rebuke to those who deprive their sons of Torah study when they are yet youths of fourteen or fifteen, and through this they remain [callow] youths, "shaken out" of Torah and mitzvoth, whose only desire is to wear fashionable clothing and to broaden their horizons with silver and gold. Woe to the shame of that father when his time comes to return to G-d!

And there are some who rationalize thus: "What good will it do him to be a [Torah] learner? Is he gong to be a Rabbi?" (the implication being that if he is not going to be a Rabbi, a Jew need not know how to serve the L-rd, G-d forbid!) Let there not be such in Israel. Are we not familiar with the verse (Psalms 19:9): "The mitzvah of the L-rd is clear, enlightening the eyes," which is understood to mean that a man, without Torah to guide him, is like a blind man, walking by himself on a road full of pits, whose danger is extremely great, and whose failure is certainly nearer than his escape. So, exactly, is a man devoid of Torah. Not only will he be lacking many hundreds of mitzvoth because of this [ignorance of Torah], not knowing at all if what he is doing is a mitzvah or not, but he will commit in their stead many hundreds of transgressions which he thought to be mitzvoth. And, even more, the mitzvoth that will remain with him, aside from most of them being performed without joy, without love, and without fear, will themselves be imperfect and defective, for he will not know how to perform them according to the din.

By way of illustration, consider two mitzvoth that are observed by all Jews, tefillin [and the recital of Shema]: Tefillin — Has he taken care that they be [perfectly] square, according to the din? And that the straps are black? For all of this is a "halachah to Moses from Sinai." And also that the tefillin be placed on the head and not on the forehead? And also that the hand phylactery be placed entirely on the biceps and not [even] slightly below? Quite understandably, anyone who is not a learned person will be likely to transgress these things.

And so with the recital of the Shema: Has he taken care to accept upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven according to the din? And, likewise, to make [his recitation] audible to his ears and to enunciate correctly, as explained in Shas and in Shulchan Aruch. And also to recite it in its prescribed time, in summer and winter, for all this is a din of the Torah. And, also, [to observe] many details of the dinim obtaining with these mitzvoth. And from these, one will reason, a fortiori, to those mitzvoth that Jews are not accustomed to — that he will certainly lack them without a knowledge of the Torah.

And everyone will recognize this lack when the Holy One Blessed be He is destined to proclaim that they all come to accept their reward for the mitzvoth, as Chazal say (Vayikra Rabbah 27): "A Heavenly voice is destined to resound in the mountain peak, proclaiming: 'Who wrought with G-d, let him come and take his reward!'" Then, each one will "feel" his mitzvoth and recognize the greatness of his deficit in mitzvoth, which he suffered through his lack of knowledge of the Torah. And this is the intent of "enlightening the eyes," the Torah enlightening the eyes of a man in the fulfillment of the mitzvoth.

And now, let us reflect and take mussar from the earlier generations, that preceded us these several hundred years (as in the times of the Maharshal, the Maharsha, the Maharam Shif, the P'nei Yehoshua, and the Tzelach, who were all heads of Methivtoth), who sent their children to school, and who, if they did not have the means to hire a private teacher would send their sons to a yeshivah to learn until he became a man. Shall we say that every father thought that his son would be a Rabbi or a posek in Israel. Do we not know what Chazal (Koheleth Rabbah 7) say on the verse (Koheleth 7:28): "One man of a thousand have I found" — "A thousand embark upon Scripture, and from them emerge a hundred men of Mishnah; from them, ten men of Talmud; and from them, one who is worthy of being called "a man," and to pronounce ruling in Israel." But the clear truth is this: A father who sent his son to a school and a yeshiva reasoned thus: "If the L-rd finds me worthy of having a son who will be a man of Talmud and a teacher in Israel, how goodly is my portion! But if I do not merit this, but only that he know a little of Gemara, or, in any event, Mishnayoth, this is also good. For when the Holy One Blessed be He grants him a trade — no matter what trade it be — he certainly will set for himself a fixed study session for himself in Gemara or Mishnayoth or, in any event, in aggadoth chazal. And even if, G-d forbid, he has no time on the weekdays, on the Holy Sabbath he certainly will go into the house of study and learn some pages of Gemara or Mishnayoth. And for this, too, all my exertions for him will have been well worth it, both in my lifetime and in my death" (As we know, a son who learns Torah accords merit to his father and releases him from Gehinnom. And even if he is in Gan Eden, he merits ascending through him.)

If so, why should we be "smarter" than the earlier generations? For, in truth, in this regard, we have been "without field or vineyard" more than eighteen hundred years, and, in spite of this, our G-d has not forsaken us. This [(reluctance to further the Torah education of our sons)] can only be due to the fact that the yetzer hara deceives the father into believing that he is being compassionate to his son by removing him from Torah and subjugating him to the affairs of the world. But, in truth, when he considers this well, he will see that he is being cruel to him in this and not compassionate. As we find in Sifrei on Devarim 11:19: "'And you shall teach them [(words of Torah)] to your sons to speak in them.' From this they have taught: When the child begins to speak, his father speaks the holy tongue with him and teaches him Torah. And if he does not do so, he is fit to be buried, as it is written: 'And you shall teach them to your sons to speak in them… (Ibid. 21): so that your days will be lengthened.' If you teach them to your sons your days will be lengthened, and, if not, your days will be shortened." For thus are words of Torah expounded: From the negative you infer the positive; and from the positive, the negative. (And the Sifrei speaks not only of very young children; but so long as his son is under his authority, it is incumbent upon him to teach him Torah [For does the verse specify "minors"?]) And thus have Chazal said (Shabbath 32b), that a man's sons die because of neglect of Torah. Therefore, let each man see to it to strengthen his son in Torah, and he will thereby lengthen his days — he and his sons. And the Holy One Blessed be He, who gives bread to all flesh, will certainly not withdraw His eyes from the tzaddik.