JULY 22 • 2021 | 31

SPIRIT

The Scholar Within
B

efore entering the 
promised land, the 
Jewish nation encoun-
tered trouble. The mighty 
armies of Sichon and Og were 
not going to simply allow them 
safe passage. They 
would have to fight. 
Fought they did, and 
they miraculously con-
quered their lands east 
of the Jordan.
Then, Moses des-
ignated three cities of 
refuge for the tribes 
that settled in those 
conquered lands to 
serve as a haven for 
anyone who killed 
another unintentional-
ly. As the verse (4:41) 
in our parshah reads: 
“Then Moses separated three 
cities on the side of the Jordan 
toward the sunrise, so that a 
murderer might flee there, he 
who murders his fellow man 
unintentionally, but did not hate 
him in time past, that he may 
flee to one of these cities, and he 
will live.
”
What is the meaning of “and 
he will live”? The Talmud says 
we must not only provide a 
place for the unintentional mur-
derer to flee, but that it must be 
a place where they can flourish: 
“These cities should be medi-
um-size towns; they are to be 
established only in the vicinity 
of a water supply … they are to 
be established only where there 
are marketplaces.
” As the verse 
indicates, we must provide him 
with arrangements that will 
enable him to live.
As Maimonides puts it: When 
a student is exiled to a city of 
refuge, his teacher is exiled 
together with him. Implied is 
that everything necessary for 

his life must be provided for 
him. Therefore, a student must 
be provided with his teacher, 
for the life of one who possess-
es knowledge and seeks it, is 
considered as dead if he cannot 
study Torah. Indeed, there 
are individuals for whom 
life without knowledge of 
Torah is like life without 
water — their teachers 
should move into the city 
of refuge so that they would 
be able to “live.
” But can 
we apply this law to all stu-
dents? Can every student 
“possess knowledge and 
seek it” to the extent that a 
life without Torah is com-
pared to death?
The Talmud’s answer is 
yes. We look at ourselves 
or at others, and we sometimes 
tell ourselves that we are super-
ficial beings, that we care about 
materialism more than wisdom 
and spiritual growth. We look 
at a student making trouble in a 
classroom and think this child 
will never be able to under-
stand. This attitude is mistaken. 
The Talmud is telling us the stu-
dent making trouble, although 
he is not yet a “possessor of 
wisdom,
” is, at heart, a “seeker 
of wisdom.
” Deep down, he 
is a person to whom spiritual 
wisdom is not just an enjoyable 
luxury but an absolute necessity.
When we come across some-
one who we believe is foolish, 
it is our obligation to see “the 
seeker of wisdom” within. We 
must discover and reveal the 
beauty of a life imbued with 
wisdom. 

Rabbi Bentzion Geisinsky lives in 

Bloomfield Hills, where he co-directs 

Chabad of Bingham Farms with his wife, 

Moussia.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi 
Bentzion 
Geisinsky

Parshat 

V’etchanan: 

Deuteronomy 

3:23-7:11; 

Isaiah 

40:1-26.

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24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

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1-248-945-1111

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24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

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24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

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Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

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