Maghen Abraham - Thoughts From Mayer Sasson

Speak unto the Children of Israel that they receive for Me a voluntary gift….."(25, 2)

Take measures like merchants

The Midrash on this verse says: This is what is referred to in, "For a good lesson I have given you…. My Torah you shall not forsake" – do not forsake the lesson that I have given you.

The Grand Rabbi Dovid'l of Kotzk commented on this Midrash: In our attitude towards the Torah we must take measures like merchants. See how merchants act in business deals:  A serious merchant will never leave his business because one transaction did not go well. At that point the merchant tells himself: I will try again and with G-d's help I will succeed! For it is clear to him that if he leaves his deals due to despair – in the end he will go all the way down, and then all of his efforts will have been in vain.

Similarly – says Rabbi Dovid'l – every person must deal this way in Torah:  Even when a person learning Torah does not feel he is succeeding in his studies, he must strengthen himself emotionally and physically and cleave to Torah with faith and hope that additional efforts on his part will bring blessed results.

For if, G-d forbid, he stops learning Torah even for a short period of time – he can lose all the achievements that he achieved in his Torah learning.

SHABBAT SHALOM!!