June 26, 2026 Categories: Featured / Parsha / Torah
Sefira: Our Passion for Torah
We are amid the special mitzvah of counting Sefira. Sefiras HaOmer is a national declaration of a Jew’s passion for Torah. Just as a bride counts toward her wedding day and a child counts toward summer vacation, so too we count to Shavous, Zman Matan Toroseinu, the time we were given the greatest present of all, the gift of Torah.
I would like to share with my dear readers some reasons why we are so excited about the Torah. First and foremost is the fact that Torah is the main purpose for which we were created. As the Mishna in Pirkei Avos says succinctly, “Ki l’kach notzorta – It is for This (Torah) that you were created.” Torah is also the greatest happiness in life, as it says, “Ein simcha k’simchas haTorah – There is no happiness like the happiness of Torah.” The one pursuit that a mourner is not allowed to engage in is the study of Torah. As the pasuk tells us, “Pikudei Hashem yisharim, misamchei leiv – The commandments of Hashem are upright, they gladden the heart.”
Torah must be the supreme happiness in life since Hashem, our Manufacturer, advises us in Sefer Yehoshua, “Vahagisah Bah yomam v’laila – You should meditate in It day and night.” Similarly, in the daily Krias Shema, we say “V’dibarta Bam,” you should talk about the Torah; “B’shach’becha uv’kumecha,” when we go to sleep and get up; “B’shivtecha b’veisecha,” while we are sitting in our homes, and even, “Uv’lechtecha baderech,” and when we travel on the road.
The Torah is also an elixir of life as many pesukim testify, such as “Orach yomim b’yemina, b’smolah osher v’kovod – A length of days to Its right and to Its left, wealth and honor.” Another verse testifies, “Ki chaim heim l’motza’eihem – There is life to those who find Them (Torah),” and of course the famous verse, “Eitz chaim hi l’machazikim Bah – It is a tree of life to those who hold on to Her.”
The Torah also promises health, as it states categorically, “Rifos He lishorecha, u’vchol b’soro marpei – It brings healing to one’s navel and health to all of one’s flesh.” As Rav Irving Bunim, zt”l, zy”a, points out, Torah is the only medicine that has no negative side effects.
The Torah is also the single best preparation for the eternity of Olam Haba, the Afterlife. As it says, “Ashrei shebo l’kan v’talmudo b’yado – Fortunate is one who comes to the next world with his Talmud in his hand.” The Gemara tells us similarly, in the beginning of Masechtas Avodah Zara, that at the end of time, Hashem will sit with a Sefer Torah in His bosom and declare “Kol mi she’aseik Bah, yavo v’yital schoro – Whoever involved themselves with It, come and take Its reward.” Of all the many mitzvos, Hashem didn’t hold a charity pushka in His bosom, or Shabbos, or kashrus, or family purity. He held the Torah! As we are taught, “Talmud Torah k’neged kulom – The study of Torah equals everything else.” The Gemara gives us the imagery that if we would put the Torah on one side of a scale and all the other mitzvos on the other side of the scale, the Torah would weigh as much as all of them.
The Torah will protect us in the grave, as we say in the siyum of completing every Masechta, “B’shavcha tishmor alecha – When you are lying down (in death [after 120 years]) It will guard over you.” A reassuring Midrash says that, at that time through the merit of Torah, there will be torches lit to illuminate the darkness.
The Torah is also the “magical” dew that will resurrect us at techias hameisim. As the verse teaches, “Ki tal oros talecha – The dew of life is Your dew, V’ein ohr ela Torah, and light refers to Torah.”
Yet another special advantage of Torah is that It protects us from the advances of the yetzer hara. As the Gemara informs us in Masechtas Kiddushin, “Barasi yetzer hara; barasi Torah tavlin lah – I created the yetzer hara; I created the Torah as an antidote to it.” Rav Avigdor Miller, zt”l, zy”a, explains, “(Hashem) barasi – I created it,” to emphasize, “Don’t let anyone else tell you how to deal with the yetzer hara. I’m the Manufacturer so I know best. You want to rein in the yetzer hara? It’s only possible through the study of Torah.” As the Rambam tells us, “One is assaulted by thoughts and immorality only if his heart is vacant from Torah.”
The Torah is also a great promoter of peace. As it says, “Deracheha darchei noam, v’chol nesivosecha shalom – Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all Its paths are paths of shalom.” So too, we know the popular adage, “Talmidei chachamim marbim b’shalom b’olam – Torah scholars increase peace in the world.” And the Rambam states decisively, “Shekol haTorah nitna laasos shalom b’olam – The whole Torah was given to make peace in the world.”
Let’s make a summation. The Torah is the purpose of life. It is the source of happiness. It provides us with wealth and honor. It ensures good health. It is the primary preparation for the Afterlife. It is our key to the resurrection. It defends us from the yetzer hara. And Torah brings us peace, harmony and tranquility. These are the things we should have in mind when we passionately count the Sefira, longing once again to accept the Torah anew on the festival of Shavuos.
In the merit of the mitzvah of Sefira, may Hashem bless us with long life, good health, and everything wonderful.
Transcribed and edited by Shelley Zeitlin.
