By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

As the last hours of Chanukah dwindle away, we may take a lesson from two key words that are recited in Al HaNissim:  “Lehashkicham Torasecha.”  The Greeks tried to cause us to forget our Torah.  To quote a childhood friend, Reuvain Glick, “Torah is the software of the Jewish people.”  They tried to wipe our operating system clean.

The lesson we should all take from Chanukah then is to make a lasting change in our approach to Talmud Torah.  The first step in doing that is to examine the nature of Talmud Torah itself.  Within the Mitzvah of Talmud Torah, there are actually two Mitzvos.

• There is the Mitzvah of “veshinantam.” The Gemorah in Kiddushin 30a applies a drasha to this pasuk.  It says that the words of Torah should be sharp (as a tooth) in your mouth – that if someone asks you regarding some matter [of Torah], do not stammer or splutter and delay in responding to him, rather – respond to him immediately.  This is discussed in the Chofetz Chaim’s Biur Halacha (end of Siman 155) and is cited in the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos #11 and the Sefer HaChinuch in Mitzvah #419.
• There is also the Mitzvah of constant immersion in Torah – without stop. This is discussed in the Chofetz Chaim’s Mishna Brurah  (155:4). This is also the simple understanding of the pasuk we recite in the Shma, b’shivtecha b’vaisecha uvelechtecha baderech uveshochbecha u’v’kumecha.  This is also the simple understanding of the pasuk in Yehoshua (1:8), “lo yamush sefer haTorah mipicha v’heigeisa bo yomam valailah.”

This author would like to suggest that even when we browse the websites for news, we should keep both of these Mitzvos of Talmud Torah in mind.

** There is a Yesoma who, boruch Hashem, just got engaged.  If anyone would like to assist in making her chasuna please donate here or contact the author.**

Many of us need to peruse the news and the Jewish websites allow us to do so without the filth that is out there.  But some of us perhaps have become news junkies of a sort and spend too much time on the news and not enough time on Talmud Torah.  This can be changed.

Our websites should always have some form of Talmud Torah opportunity available and one that can give us a clear understanding of the topic.  Otherwise, we can lose ourselves chas veshalom and allow the Greeks to have that last win of lehashkicham Torasecha.  It can also accomplish the idea of ensuring that everything we look at in the secular world should be looked at with “Torah glasses” – so to speak.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

** There is a Yesoma who, boruch Hashem, just got engaged.  If anyone would like to assist in making her chasuna please donate here or contact the author.**