{"id":5188048,"date":"2025-11-16T12:42:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T09:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breslev.co.il\/?p=5188048"},"modified":"2025-11-16T12:42:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T09:42:48","slug":"longing-and-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/5188048\/","title":{"rendered":"Longing and Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“When Avraham’s servant heard their words, he prostrated himself on the ground to Hashem.<\/b>” (Bereishit24:52)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Grandmother’s Advice<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

R’ Moshe Halberstam of Kivyoishd told me, that his grandmother \u2014 the Rebbetzin, esteemed wife of R’ Baruch of Keshanov \u2014 lived in the city of Keshanov.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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He, however, spent his childhood in Vienna, far away, and therefore saw his grandmother only rarely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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And yet, whenever they did meet, she drew him close with great affection, for she cherished him deeply. So much so that when his aunt\u00a0married in\u00a0Bobov, his grandmother insisted that his father bring him along so she could see him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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However, despite all this affection, when he was eleven years old and his grandmother came to Vienna for the first time for medical treatment, he went that night to the place where she was staying, near his home, hoping to spend time with her. But she did not allow him to remain long.\u00a0Instead,\u00a0she said to him, “On a winter night, should a child waste\u00a0time?!\u00a0One must go to the\u00a0Beis\u00a0Midrash to learn!”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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These words of guidance, spoken by a grandmother who loved him so dearly, became engraved in his heart for life, serving as a lasting lesson to learn diligently on the long winter nights.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Role of a\u00a0Mother<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

This story is a fine example of the proper conduct of righteous women, who understand the great responsibility they carry to encourage their family members to learn Torah. As the Maharsha explains (Bava Basra 121a), there are severe consequences for a mother who, out of misplaced pity,\u00a0fails to\u00a0guide her child to study during the long winter nights.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Righteous women sacrifice quality time with their\u00a0families and\u00a0thereby merit generations of descendants who are upright and blessed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Encouraging children to spend less time at home\u00a0to\u00a0immerse themselves in Torah study, is\u00a0a real challenge\u00a0for many parents. It is not easy to send a child to a\u00a0yeshivah\u00a0or seminary where they spend long hours each day learning, often adding even more time in the\u00a0Beis\u00a0Midrash.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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For some families, the challenge is even greater, when they must decide whether to send their children away to another city\u2014or even another country\u2014for schooling, in fulfillment of the Mishnah (Avot\u00a04:14), “Exile yourself to a place of Torah.” Naturally, this is difficult for parents, who yearn for their children’s presence, and\u00a0frequently\u00a0depend on their help.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yet parents must\u00a0remember\u00a0that through this sacrifice they earn tremendous\u00a0reward. As Chazal taught (Brachot\u00a017a), that\u00a0women receive a unique and exalted\u00a0portion\u00a0of heavenly reward, for sending their children and husbands to study Torah\u2014granting them permission to learn even in a distant city\u2014and then waiting patiently for their return.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Reward for Encouraging Torah Study<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Rabbeinu Yonah writes in\u00a0Iggeret\u00a0HaTeshuvah\u00a0(Discourse 3, sec. 72) that this is why, before the giving of the Torah, Hashem first addressed “Beit\u00a0Yaakov”\u2014the women\u2014before speaking to the men. For it is the women who send their sons to learn Torah, who show them compassion when they return from school, who draw them close with kind words so that they will develop a love for Torah, and who guard them so they do not neglect their learning. In this way, it is the women who ensure the endurance of Torah itself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Similarly, the\u00a0Shulchan\u00a0Aruch\u00a0(Yoreh\u00a0Deah\u00a0246) teaches, that one who supports others in their Torah learning, fulfills the mitzvah of Talmud Torah as if he himself had studied.\u00a0The commentators\u00a0explain\u00a0that the mitzvah of Torah study includes the responsibility to increase Torah knowledge in the world. Therefore, one who enables others to\u00a0learn\u00a0fulfills that dimension of the mitzvah, and receives the great reward promised for this exalted obligation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Similarly, we find (Ketubot\u00a063a) that Rabbi Akiva said to his students about his wife Rachel\u2014who encouraged him to leave home and devote many years to studying and teaching in the yeshivah, “Mine and yours are hers.” Rashi explains that he was saying that the Torah that I learned, and the Torah that you learned, was all through her. In other words, since she was the driving force behind their learning, it is considered as if she herself learned.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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For this reason, Chazal taught (Ketubot\u00a0111b) that one who marries his daughter to a Torah scholar, or who supports a Torah scholar, is considered as though he cleaves to the Shechinah. Just as when a person studies Torah, Hashem\u2014so to speak\u2014comes\u00a0to that place and causes holiness to rest there, so too, when a person encourages and enables others to learn Torah, he draws upon himself that same holiness, as if he had learned it himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Holy Presence<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Based on this, R’ Naftali of\u00a0Ropshitz\u00a0explained in his sacred work Zera Kodesh on the pasuk (Bamidbar 5:10), “A man’s holy things shall be his.”\u00a0A person who causes others to become sanctified with holiness, will himself acquire that same holiness, for Hashem grants him exalted holiness as a result.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Likewise, we find (Rashi to Bereishit 18:1) that Hashem revealed Himself to Avraham Avinu in the plains of Mamre, because Mamre had encouraged and strengthened Avraham to fulfill the mitzvah of Brit Milah publicly, without fearing the scoffers. In the merit of that encouragement, Hashem revealed Himself there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Based on this, we can clearly explain what we find in this week’s parsha:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Lavan and\u00a0Betuel\u00a0saw with their own eyes that the shidduch between Yitzchak and Rivka was clearly orchestrated by Hashem. They therefore agreed to send Rivka to Yitzchak, so he could marry and learn Torah in the best\u00a0possible way. By overcoming the ridicule of the local townspeople\u2014who mocked them for agreeing to this\u2014and by enabling Yitzchak to pursue Torah, they merited that, at that very moment, Hashem Himself came and caused His holiness to rest upon them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Thus, the Torah\u00a0immediately\u00a0states, “And when Avraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed to the ground\u00a0to Hashem<\/i>.” Eliezer understood that their decision had brought the Shechinah to rest in that place, and therefore he bowed in reverence before Hashem.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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***\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Kalever\u00a0Rebbe is the seventh Rebbe of the Kaalov Chasidic dynasty, begun by his ancestor who was born to his previously childless parents after receiving a blessing from the Baal Shem Tov\u00a0zy\u201da, and later learned under the Maggid of\u00a0Mezeritch\u00a0zt\u201dl. The Rebbe has been involved in outreach for more than 30 years and\u00a0writes\u00a0weekly emails on understanding current issues through the Torah. Sign up at\u00a0<\/i>www.kaalov.org<\/i><\/a><\/span>.\u00a0<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“When Avraham’s servant heard their words, he prostrated himself on the ground to Hashem.” (Bereishit24:52)\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 A Grandmother’s Advice\u00a0 R’ Moshe Halberstam of Kivyoishd told me, that his grandmother \u2014 the Rebbetzin, esteemed wife of R’ Baruch of Keshanov \u2014 lived in the city of Keshanov.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 He, however, spent his childhood in Vienna, … Continue reading “Longing and Learning”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62109,"featured_media":5188035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[15180,15178],"tags":[21416,45555,22897,38455,20847],"author_post":[83886],"new_serie":[],"class_list":["post-5188048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-children-and-education","category-marital-harmony","tag-child-education","tag-divine-illumination","tag-divine-presence","tag-motherhood","tag-torah-learning","author_post-the-kalever-rebbe"],"acf":{"paragraph_first":" Women receive a unique and exalted portion of heavenly reward for sending their children and husbands to study Torah.","paragraph_second":"The Shulchan Aruch teaches, that one who supports others in their Torah learning fulfills the mitzvah of Talmud Torah as if he himself had studied. ","meta_title":"Longing and Learning","meta_description":"Do you want the Shechinah\u00a0to dwell in your home?\u00a0The Kalever Rebbe gives sound\u00a0advice on\u00a0how to bring the Divine Presence into your home and your marriage.\u00a0","special_content_in_the_post":"none","youtube":"","intro_text":"

D<\/span>o you want the Shechinah\u00a0<\/em><\/span>t<\/span>o dwell in your home<\/span>?<\/span>\u00a0The Kalever Rebbe gives sound\u00a0<\/span>advice on<\/span>\u00a0how to bring the Divine Presence into your home and your marriage.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5188048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5188048"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5188048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5188052,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5188048\/revisions\/5188052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5188035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5188048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5188048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5188048"},{"taxonomy":"author_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/author_post?post=5188048"},{"taxonomy":"new_serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breslev.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/new_serie?post=5188048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}