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"There are two primary obstacles to success in learning for a student in yeshiva.
1) Lack of realization of the tremendous greatness and value of torah.
2) Rifyun ruach (weakening of spirit) after he is not succeeding like he was expecting of himself.
But in truth, he who gives himself to his learning with hasmada (diligence) there is never any reason to fall to sadness and weakening of the spirit. He is obligated to rely and trust in what the sages have taught us - "if someone says I toiled and did not find - don't believe him!" (i.e. it must be he didn't try hard enough since there is a guarantee for spiritual success for one who tries his best)
As long as the student strengthens himself to the best of his ability, H-ashem will help him to grasp the wisdom of the torah which he seeks. (Sefer R. Moshe pg.36)....
Rav Moshe once told a student who came to ask him for a bracha for success in his learning. Rav Moshe answered:"Success in torah does not come easily, the ikar (primary things are): 1) to love the learning, 2) l'amal kashe meod (to toil very hard), 3) not to waste even a second" (R.Moshe pg.57)
some words of chizuk (encouragement)
"However a man needs to know that he was not put in this world for leisure, rather for toil and effort..." (Mesilat Yesharim - Path of the Just ch.9)
Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Sheinberg (Derech Emuna U'Bitachon 95):
Every man passes through days in his life difficult tests. The greatest pleasure is when a person knows that this is the "yesod hachaim" (foundation of life), and that all the greatness in spiritual matters depends on these difficult tests (nisyonot), Chazal (the sages) called this "growth after growth", because the opening and growth of a man is if he breaks his nature. However, if he remains with his nature - it is clear that he has no connection to ruchnius (the spiritual)!...
Our world is the world of nisyonos (difficult tests)! If a man finds himself with difficulties, they are his nisyonot. If it is hard to learn torah or to get up to daven, this is the nature of a man, and the obligation is "to strengthen oneself like a lion" (first halacha in shulchan aruch) to break his nature.
This is the sign of a ben torah when he has nisyonot. But he who has no nisyonot, it's a sign that "he stuck out his foot" (gave up?) and he is far from ruchnius.
The maskilim (anti-religious in pre-wwII europe) once claimed to Rav Chaim Ozer that it is impossible through natural means to maintain torah (due to the financial strain).
Rav Chaim Ozer answered them, "the torah is never maintained through natural means - in businesses it is possible to make calculations based on natural laws, but the torah stands through miracles and the opposite of nature."
(comment: One who wants to learn torah full time should know and expect that he will always be in a state of financial uncertainty. Somehow, it's built in to the system. "If one puts off learning because one wants to amass money,..then one will never merit the crown of Torah" (Rambam Hilchot Talmud Torah 3:7). Likewise, he who wants to live in Israel, should know and expect that there will always be wars and financial uncertainty on the horizon.)
Therefore every ben torah needs to be prepared for nisyonot and difficulties, if not today, then tomorrow, and fortunate is he who understands that this is necessary for the opening and growth of a man. And when he goes out in the world and encounters difficulties, he is prepared for this, and he is not broken by it. The Alter of Kelm would say "the good soldier is tested in the battlefield - there his strength is made known." So too a true ben torah is tested with difficult tests. And the yeshiva is a preparation for life in the world. (Derech Emuna U'Bitachon 95)
Rav Aharon Kotler (mishnas R.Aharon vol.1 - 38) would say "the harder it is to learn torah, or when a person thinks he's exempt from learning (due to illness or whatever) and nevertheless he strengthens himself and learns - behold at that time it is mesugal (opportune) for the greatest hasagos (understanding, divine help)
Divrei Yehoshua beginning of maamar 2:
"Even the weakest of all can reach the results of the strongest of all, but the difference is "orech zman" (after time), "hasmadav'retzifus" (diligence and consistency).
Behold, a great and mighty warrior goes by a huge cedar tree and in one second he uproots it from its place...And behold "the small worm". weak and soft, over time can reach the same results. By biting out a tiny piece, which one cannot even see with the naked eye,and then another piece,and another... Together, all combine to a big piece, and further and further until the small worm cut down the entire giant cedar tree. But on condition that it does this constantly, with diligence, and with the same tree.
So too in the service of G-d, what the great masters were able to do at once, one can succeed to do the same,the weakest of all through small things with consistency, diligence, over time, and with chazara (review) on the same matter.
The Highest Level (Rabeinu Yonah - Shaarei HaAvodah)
Behold it is clear that each Jew's hand is equal in the service of the Creator, yisborach. And every Jew is capable of reaching to serve "until the highest level of service"! - which means to serve his Creator "at all times and every second", "and with all his heart, soul, and meodo" (a reference to the 2nd verse in the shema), "all the days of his life", "according to his strength and capabilities", as we explained...
The living should put to heart and he should put all his desire to serve his Creator at all times, with all his heart, soul, and meodo in order to reach the level of Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moshe, Aharon, David, and Shlomo. They also served their Creator only with what their capabilities were.
Therefore, the understanding person should contemplate that if so, in the service of his Creator, he is capable of reaching the highest level, to reach the level of Avraham, etc., which is a higher level than any royalty in the world - and he knows that if he toils, he will reach it, how much more so should he try always with all his heart, soul, and meodo and not be lax "for even one hour"..., and he should not remove the matter from his heart "for even one second"... and every day he should add effort to strengthen , and to rise from mida to mida and from level to level in the service of the Creator. And he should desire and long to reach in his service what he has not yet reached. And H-shem yisborach, will help him with what he cannot reach by natural means, and he will reach it.
comment: I once read in the name of the Vilna Gaon that the first letter of the torah (Beit) contains the entire torah. How? The letter has three lines. The top horizontal line represents the heaven, the bottom horizontal line represents the earth, and the vertical which connects the two represents connecting heaven and earth. This means our job in this world is to elevate, every worldly matter to the level of the spiritual. (and the opposite would be the opposite of torah)
Rabbi Yosef Irgass (Shomer Emunim HaKadmon) lists one of the many conditions for learning kabala:
The following two biblical verses should never leave your mouth - 1. "You will do hayashar v'hatov (what is upright and good)..." (Devarim 6:18) and 2. "Kedoshim Tihiyu (you shall be holy)..." (Vayikra 19:2), because these 2 verses include many commandments and warnings which were not written explicitly in the torah.
The Steipler:
"Every student of torah has times of rising and times of falling. Many different times, and there are many reasons for this, however it is all nisyonos for the person - and don't let your heart fall ever, because this world is the world of changes without limit - and in the end success will come!" (karina d'igarta 3)
"and the ikar (central pillar) is to be always b'menucha (in a state of peace of mind) - without bilbul machshavos (confusion and worry) vhadaagos, ch''v. rak lehashlich et inyanav l'H-shem (only to throw one's matters to G-d) (Ohr yechezkel michtavim pg.286)
(Chosen Yehoshua ch.1)
To put to heart that the difficulty of the avodah of shkida (diligence) - one will not pass many days over this, and it will not require a long time for a person to force his yetzer with strength. Because through habituating himself in diligence in the torah for some time, behold the habit and the merit of the torah which he learned with tzar (suffering) will act on him to change his nature and to strengthen his diligence every day, as the sages said (midrash koheles raba) the torah is compared to oil, as it is written "shemen turak shemecha" - just like oil begins bitter and ends sweet, so too the words of torah, a man suffers on them in the beginning but in the end it becomes good...and "according to the tzaar (difficulty, suffering) is the reward" and according to how hard it was in the beginning, will be the corresponding success in the end - only that he should strengthen himself with all his strength in the torah. And the stubborn one will succeed.
Says Rabeinu, the Chafetz Chaim:
"I heard from a Gaon (master scholar): 'A person needs to think three things. 1) That he only has one day left to live. 2) That he only has one daf gemara (talmud) to learn. 3) That he is the only Jew in the world.
Why?
1) only one day - So that he shouldn't say "I have more time..." Because if he only has one day, he will save it well (i.e. not waste time).
2) only this daf - so that the yetzer will not weaken him claiming "How much more is there to learn! How much more you need to do!..." No! I only have this daf!
3) The only Jew in the world - so that he shouldn't say "what difference do my actions make? There are many other Jews who mekayim (maintain) the world..." No! "for me the world was created.."
(from the book "Ashrei mi sheamalo b'Torah pg.52)
Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein said frequently "how great and immense is the kindness of H-shem Yisborach with those who learn His holy torah! How many great chambers of siyata d'shmaya mushpaim (flow down) from heaven!
In order to understand well the pshat (literal interpretation) of one word of our holy torah, immense chambers of siyata d'shmaya are opened from heaven, much more than what is opened to help Rothschild profit millions. (Peninei Rabeinu Yechezkel Vol.2 pg.53)
see also:
Being a Simple Jew
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