From my words at the siyum at Yeshiva Netiv Aryeh this week:
The Gemara in Megillah 6b writes that if a person says to you:
If one says. “I have worked hard and have not found do not believe him, but if he says I have worked hard and have found then believe him”.
Looking around here, we see a beautiful example of what hard work can produce. The Meiri derives from here that there is no excuse, nobody can say that learning Torah is not for me, as whoever works hard can succeed.
The Ben Yehoyada adds an interesting point. He asks: why did G-d make it so difficult? He did not want us to view learning as if we are on some tiyul lying back with our feet up. He wished for us to work hard so that we could express and build our love for Hashem and for His Torah, as we recite daily in the bracha of ahava rabba and ahavat olam.
In the last chapter of Megillah the Gemara discusses what are known as tashmishei kedusha that are inherently sanctified, like T’fillin, and tashmishei mitzvah that are used in the fulfillment of mitzvah, like Tzitzit.
An example of tashmishei kedusha is the parochet.
The Gemara teaches us that when the parochet becomes worn out then it needs to be placed in some sort of geniza. The Gemara explains that the best form of geniza in this case is to use as shrouds in which to bury a meis mitzvah whose family cannot afford the shrouds.
The Chasam Sofer explains that a Jew who learns Torah is likened to a Sefer Torah, therefore in is befitting to cover him with the Parochet. The Beis HaLevi adds one who learns Torah sheb’al peh, the Oral Law, is akin to the parchment upon which the letters of the Sefer Torah are written.
Shabbat Shalom
