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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