How to Master Learning Torah for its Own Sake

It is taught in the Gemara that David ha-Melech made it his habit to wake up at midnight and engage in Torah until the break of dawn (Berachot 3b): אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן חֲסִידָא כִּנּוֹר הָיָה תָּלוּי לְמַעְלָה מִמִּטָּתוֹ שֶׁל דָּוִד וְכֵיוָן שֶׁהִגִּיעַ חֲצוֹת לַיְלָה בָּא רוּחַ צְפוֹנִית וְנוֹשֶׁבֶת בּוֹ וּמְנַגֵּן מֵאֵלָיו מִיָּד הָיָה עוֹמֵד וְעוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה עַד שֶׁעָלָה עַמּוּד הַשַּׁחַר (R’ Shimon the Chasid said, A lyre hung above David’s bed and when midnight arrived, a northern wind came and blew into it making it play on its own; immediately, he would get up and engage in Torah until dawn). David ha-Melech testified of his own custom (Tehillim 119:62): חֲצוֹת־לַיְלָה אָקוּם לְהוֹדוֹת לָךְ עַל מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ (I rise at midnight to thank you for your righteous laws). Why did David do this? Was it just because he was a very busy king and this was the only time he could find in his schedule, or was there another reason?

The Gemara briefly outlines a disagreement regarding the fundamental purpose for nighttime (Eruvin 65a): אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה לָא אִיבְּרִי לֵילְיָא אֶלָּא לְשִׁינְתָּא אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ לָא אִיבְּרִי סֵיהֲרָא אֶלָּא לְגִירְסָא (Rav Yehudah said, Night was created only for sleep; R’ Shimon ben Lakish said, The moon was created only for learning Gemara). As explained by the Ben Yehoyada, Rav Yehudah was not teaching that there is no need for learning Torah at night, because we know from the earliest of days that we have been commanded to learn Torah day and night, for example (Yehoshua 1:8): לֹא־יָמוּשׁ סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה מִפִּיךָ וְהָגִיתָ בּוֹ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה (Let this Sefer Torah not cease from your mouth, but rather, you shall meditate on it day and night). His point was that our primary tikkun [repairing, correction, fixing] of the night occurs during sleep when the soul ascends upward for its daily judgment. Similarly, Reish Lakish was not saying that there was no cosmic or earthly benefit for the moon. Rather, he was teaching that our primary tikkun of the night takes place while we are awake immersed in the learning of Gemara. That’s why he mentions the ‘moon’ rather than ‘night.’ His point was that the moon is lit, as a parable of a king who lit a candle for his subjects so that they wouldn’t stumble around during the night when they get up. What an insult it would be to the king for ignoring how he provides for his subjects during the night! So, although some have understood this dispute as a disagreement about the ideal time for learning Torah, we believe this is missing the point. The disagreement centers on the primary way in which our tikkun happens during the night, whether while asleep or awake— and if it happens while we are awake, what we should be doing for our tikkun.

R’ Chiya taught (Tamid 32b): כל העוסק בתורה בלילה שכינה כנגדו שנאמר קומי רוני בלילה לראש אשמורות שפכי כמים לבך נכח פני יי (Whoever engages in Torah at night, the Shechinah [Divine Presence] stands opposite him, as it says [Eichah 2:19], ‘Rise, sing in the night, at the beginning of the night watches, pour out your heart like water in the presence of Hashem’). To what song is the verse referring? The Midrash explains (Vayikra Rabbah 9:1): רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אוֹמֵר אֵין רִנָּה שֶׁל תּוֹרָה אֶלָּא בַּלַּיְלָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר קוּמִי רֹנִּי בַלַּיְלָה (R’ Yochanan says, The song of Torah is only at night, as it says [Eichah 2:19], ‘Rise, sing in the night’). In other words, the verse is telling us to get up during the night and engage in Torah because only then are we able to truly experience and sing the song of Torah. This is also what we read from the wisdom of Shlomo ha-Melech (Mishlei 31:15): וַתָּקׇם בְּעוֹד לַיְלָה וַתִּתֵּן טֶרֶף לְבֵיתָהּ וְחֹק לְנַעֲרֹתֶיהָ (She gets up while it is still night and gives provision to her house and a portion to her maids).

The Rambam even codifies the importance of learning Torah during the night (Hil. Talmud Torah 3:13): אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁמִּצְוָה לִלְמֹד בַּיּוֹם וּבַלַּיְלָה אֵין אָדָם לָמֵד רֹב חָכְמָתוֹ אֶלָּא בַּלַּיְלָה. לְפִיכָךְ מִי שֶׁרָצָה לִזְכּוֹת בְּכֶתֶר הַתּוֹרָה יִזָּהֵר בְּכָל לֵילוֹתָיו וְלֹא יְאַבֵּד אֲפִלּוּ אֶחָד מֵהֶן בְּשֵׁנָה וַאֲכִילָה וּשְׁתִיָּה וְשִׂיחָה וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶן אֶלָּא בְּתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה וְדִבְרֵי חָכְמָה. אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים אֵין רִנָּה שֶׁל תּוֹרָה אֶלָּא בַּלַּיְלָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר קוּמִי רֹנִּי בַלַּיְלָה. וְכָל הָעוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה בַּלַּיְלָה חוּט שֶׁל חֶסֶד נִמְשָׁךְ עָלָיו בַּיּוֹם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהילים מב ט) יוֹמָם יְצַוֶּה ה’ חַסְדּוֹ וּבַלַּיְלָה שִׁירֹה עִמִּי תְּפִלָּה לְאֵל חַיָּי (Even though it is a mitzvah to learn in the day and in the night, a person learns most of his wisdom only at night; therefore, whoever wants to merit the crown of Torah needs to be careful with all of his nights, not losing even one of them to sleeping, eating, drinking or conversation and the like, but instead to learning Torah and words of wisdom. The Sages said that the song of Torah is only at night, as it says [Eichah 3:19], ‘Rise, sing in the night.’ And all who engage in Torah during the night a thread of loving kindness [chut shel chesed] is extended down to him during the day, as it is says [Tehillim 42:9], ‘During the day, Hashem will command His chesed, and in the night His song is with me; a prayer to the G-d of my life’).

So we see that there is something deeply meaningful about learning Torah at night. But what is it? It is taught in the Gemara (Avodah Zarah 3b): אמר ריש לקיש כל העוסק בתורה בלילה הקב”ה מושך עליו חוט של חסד ביום שנאמר יומם יצוה ה’ חסדו ובלילה שירו עמי מה טעם יומם יצוה ה’ חסדו משום דבלילה שירו עמי (Reish Lakish said, All who engage in Torah during the night, the Holy One, blessed be He, extends down upon him a chut shel chesed during the day, as it is said [Tehillim 42:9], ‘During the day, Hashem will command His chesed, and in the night His song is with me.’ What is the reason that ‘during the day, Hashem will command His chesed’? It is because ‘His song is with me during the night’). What is this chut shel chesed that is drawn down only with nighttime learning? Rashi explains it as נותן חינו בעיני הבריות, i.e. that Hashem grants him grace or makes him appear gracious in the eyes of other people. But how does this happen?

There are two words for ‘night’: ליל [leil] and לילה [lailah]. What’s the difference? The Ben Ish Chai writes in Ben Yehoyada on Chagigah 12b: ונראה לי בס”ד דידוע חצי הראשון נקרא ליל וחצי השני נקרא לילה (It seems to me, with the help of G­­-d, that it is known that the first half of the night is called leil and the second half is called lailah). He was actually commenting on the meaning of ‘night’, i.e. lailah, in the teaching of Reish Lakish above. This agrees very well with what we learned about David ha-Melech, i.e. that he got up at midnight and learned Torah until the break of dawn. This is a very important albeit often ignored teaching. Learning Torah in the night doesn’t refer to the time period between nightfall and midnight when a lot of people are still awake. It refers to the period of night after midnight when most people are sound asleep.

As we know, there are two approaches to learning Torah: לִשְׁמָהּ [lishma, for its own sake] and שֶלֹא לִשְׁמָהּ [shelo lishma, not for its own sake]. R’ Bena’ah taught (Ta’anit 7a): כׇּל הָעוֹסֵק בְּתוֹרָה לִשְׁמָהּ תּוֹרָתוֹ נַעֲשֵׂית לוֹ סַם חַיִּים…וְכׇל הָעוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ נַעֲשֵׂית לוֹ סַם הַמָּוֶת (Whoever learns Torah lishma, his Torah becomes a medicine of life for him…and anyone who learns Torah shelo lishma, it becomes a medicine of death for him). Rashi explains the distinction between the two approaches: לשמה משום כאשר צוני ה’ אלהי ולא כדי להקרות רבי (lishma means, since Hashem my G-d commanded me, and not in order to be called ‘Rabbi’). If we learn Torah for no other reason than Hashem commanded us to learn Torah, this is learning lishma. But if we have any ulterior motive such as the desire for prestige or honor or being called by a religious title, this is learning shelo lishma. This is what R’ Bena’ah meant by his shocking teaching. Torah can be a balm of healing that gives life or it can be a toxic poison that brings death. It’s up to us. Knowing this, we ought to take this matter very seriously and do all we can to avoid learning shelo lishma. Yet, our Sages also taught (Pesachim 50b): אָמַר רַב לְעוֹלָם יַעֲסוֹק אָדָם בְּתוֹרָה וּמִצְוֹת אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ שֶׁמִּתּוֹךְ שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ בָּא לִשְׁמָהּ (Rav said, ‘A person should always engage in Torah and mitzvot even if shelo lishma since from shelo lishma comes lishma’). And this statement was codified by the Rambam (Hil. Talmud Torah 3:5): אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים לְעוֹלָם יַעֲסֹק אָדָם בַּתּוֹרָה בֵּין לִשְׁמָהּ בֵּין שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ שֶׁמִּתּוֹךְ שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ בָּא לִשְׁמָהּ (The Sages said that a person should always engage in Torah whether lishma or shelo lishma since from shelo lishma comes lishma). On the one hand, R’ Bena’ah warns us in rather pointed language about the danger of learning Torah shelo lishma, yet Rav taught that if one cannot learn lishma, it is better to learn shelo lishma than not at all. So it’s better to take a medicine that will cause your death instead of just refraining from taking the medicine? Does that make any sense?

Let us now connect all of this together. It is taught by R’ Nachman (Likutei Moharan 3): אַךְ כְּשֶׁלּוֹמֵד שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ הַיְנוּ בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁיִּתְקָרֵא רַבִּי הַלִּמּוּד אֵינוֹ בַּחֲשִׁיבוּת כָּל כָּךְ וּכְשֶׁלּוֹמֵד בַּלַּיְלָה חוּט שֶׁל חֶסֶד נִמְשָׁךְ עָלָיו וּמֵגֵן עָלָיו שֶׁלֹּא יַזִּיק לוֹ הַמַּחֲשָׁבָה הַנַּ”ל (When one learns shelo lishma, i.e. in order to be called ‘Rabbi’, his learning is not considered all that important; but when one learns at night, a chut shel chesed is extended down to him and protects him from being harmed by his thoughts [i.e. impure motives]). What does this mean? Since it is so difficult to learn Torah lishma during the daytime, i.e. with totally pure motives, the chut shel chesed protects him from the damaging effects of the medicine of death caused by his learning of Torah by day shelo lishma (as taught by R’ Bena’ah). But it is even deeper than this. The chut shel chesed is nothing other than the learning of Torah lishma itself! By learning Torah at night, i.e. when it is much easier to learn lishma, Hashem extends to him a safety line to help him succeed in learning Torah lishma during the day which otherwise would be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible.

Does this conflict with what Rashi taught above, i.e. that the chut shel chesed is the grace that Hashem grants the individual who engages in Torah at night? Not at all. R’ Nachman merely provides the cause for what Rashi describes as the effect. The grace that such an individual has in the eyes of others is the direct result of him learning Torah lishma, as taught explicitly by our Sages (Pirkei Avot 6:1): רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר כָּל הָעוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה לִשְׁמָהּ זוֹכֶה לִדְבָרִים הַרְבֵּה וְלֹא עוֹד אֶלָּא שֶׁכָּל הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ כְדַי הוּא לוֹ (R’ Meir says, ‘Whoever engages in Torah lishma merits many things; not only that but all of creation is worthwhile for him alone). Now that’s quite a statement.

To someone who is not used to learning Torah after midnight, this may seem like an insurmountable challenge or just plain unrealistic. Nevertheless, we have tried to explain the awesome benefit for doing so. Even if all you can muster at the moment is to wake up and learn for ten minutes before going back to sleep, that itself is very significant. And may Hashem bless you richly for all of your achievements.