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The Power of Torah Shebe'al Peh: Learning Mishnayos for the Merit of the Deceased
by Rabbi Tzvi Yabrov
The children sing: Torah, unzer Torah! A mattono fun Der Borei! but we often do not appreciate the full power and myriad consequences of our learning Torah. We present here this discussion of Mishnayos with emphasis on its importance in benefiting deceased relatives, in honor of Shavuos as we recall and relive our getting this wonderful gift from Hashem.
Part I
For Part II of this series click here.
"Run To [Learn] a Mishna!": The Power Of Mishnayos
In many places, Chazal stress the very great importance of learning mishnayos. A basic and comprehensive digest of these sources, from the Bavli, Yerushalmi, midroshim, Zohar and tikkunim, the writings of the Ari z'l and his disciples, and Maran the Beis Yosef, compiled by Rabbi Yeshaya Osher Zelig Margulies z'l, appears as an introduction to the edition of the Mishna published by the Eshkol Publishing House of Jerusalem.
Rabbi Margulies begins by quoting the Shloh Hakodosh (in Maseches Shavuos) who writes that today, when we are fortunate enough to possess the commentaries of the Bartenura and the Rambam, who explain the mishna in accordance with the gemora's conclusions and note which opinion is accepted as halacha, the value of learning mishna is very great indeed.
The Shloh writes: "One's greatest involvement should therefore be with Mishnayos, learning and reviewing them without limit or interruption... happy is he who merits [knowledge of] Mishna, achieving fluency in all six sedorim, even without the text. He then makes a ladder for his neshomoh to ascend upwards to the first level, the sign for this being that mishna is made up from the same letters as neshomoh."
Here are a few of the sayings of Chazal concerning learning mishnayos. In Kiddushin (30) we find: "A person should always divide his years into three, [spending] one third on Scripture, one third on Mishna, and one third on Talmud. [The gemora then asks,] Who knows how long he is going to live? [and answers,] It refers to [dividing] the days."
Rashi explains this to mean that he should divide the days of each week according to the gemora's recommendation. Tosafos explain that one should divide each day into three parts. This explanation is supported by a version of the gemora's rule brought by Rabbenu Chananel: "One should always divide each and every day into three parts, one for scripture, one for Mishna and one for Gemora."
In Sanhedrin (42), the gemora asks, "Amongst whom can Torah battles [i.e. debates] be found? Amongst people who have knowledge of bundles of mishnayos."
On the posuk, "for he has made light of Hashem's word," the gemora (ibid. 99), comments "Rabbi Nosson said, [this applies to] whoever does not pay attention to mishna."—"like this one, who acts as though it were not of fundamental importance"—Rashi.
The Yerushalmi (Shabbos 16:1) contains the following comment, "Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai learned: involvement in mishna is a custom for which Divine reward is bestowed. One should always run [to learn] a mishna more than [one runs to learn] Talmud." In Vayikra Rabba (7:3) we find, "The gathering of the exiles will only take place in the merit of mishnayos."
Learning mishnayos in 1924
The Heavenly Maggid
By virtue of his application to learning mishnayos in purity and holiness, our master the Beis Yosef merited being visited by a maggid, a heavenly being of great holiness, who visited him and revealed many secrets to him. The Beis Yosef recorded the maggid's conversations with him in his work Maggid Meishorim. All this was merited through his learning of mishnayos.
Rabbi Yeshaya Osher Zelig Margulies excerpted all the passages from Maggid Meishorim which deal with the maggid's comments concerning the wondrous effects of learning mishnayos, some of which we now quote.
"Think about mishna during mealtimes. When the meal is over, learn a perek of mishnayos before saying Bircas Hamozone."
"I began learning mishnayos and learned about five perakim. While I was still reading the mishnayos, the voice of my beloved was knocking, in my mouth with a melody of his own. He began by saying, "Hashem is with you wherever you go. Hashem will make you successful in whatever you have done and whatever you will yet do. Just be sure to continuously cleave to Me, to the fear of Me and to My Torah and My mishnayos. Not [to act] like you did tonight, when you didn't arise to learn mishnayos, as is your usual praiseworthy custom. For that, you deserved to be forsaken. However, in the merit of the six orders of mishnayos which you know by heart, it was agreed in the Heavenly Academy that I should return to speak with you as I did at first, that I should not leave you nor abandon you..."
"Your thoughts should continually dwell on My mishnayos, even when you are speaking to people and when you are eating. Think about my mishnayos with every single mouthful..."
"He also commanded me to learn fifteen perakim of new mishnayos in the morning and fifteen in the evening, corresponding to Hashem's Name yud-keh. I would therefore be learning most of them each week and on Shabbos, I would learn the rest..."
"In the merit of the six orders of mishnayos, you will merit going up to Eretz Yisroel, to learn and to teach and to have sons and grandsons...I will grant you the merit to complete all your writings without any mistake and to print them and spread them amongst all Jews... All the wise, understanding and erudite members of your people will draw from your work entitled Beis Yosef. They will be watered from the fertility of your house, your wellsprings will spread outwards. Your wisdom will rejoice in public and your name will be spoken in the batei kneisios and batei midrashos. Whenever they mention you, the spirit of your dust will rise like incense..."
"Take care that your thoughts continually dwell on Me and My mishnayos throughout the day. Do not make even a moment's interruption for you know already, for I have told you a number of times, that when you think about mishnayos you build a number of worlds and when you interrupt, you destroy a number of worlds..."
He told me, "Always think about My mishnayos, even in the marketplace, unless you see some dirt, but you do not need to look around for any."
According to the ChiDA in Dvash Lefi, the complete redemption and the coming of Moshiach Ben Dovid will take place in the merit of mishnayos. In his Moreh Be'etzba (42) he writes, "Learning mishnayos out loud, with a calm disposition and clear diction, is unparalleled. Chazal have said that Osher, the son of Yaakov Ovinu zt'l, stands at the entrance to Gehennom and rescues everyone who learns mishnayos. This is the meaning of the posuk, "Mei'Asher shemeino lachmo." The word shemeino is made up of the same letters as the word mishna."
"Each mishna is food for your soul. Why my son, should you expend all your strength on obtaining sustenance for your body and not spend it on sustenance for your soul, lighting it with the light of life... It is also a very great thing both to learn a daily mishnayos lesson in depth and to review at least eighteen perakim of mishnayos each day, every man according to his strength. It is a very great thing to learn many mishnayos. (From the author's introduction to the commentaries Atzei Eden and Ma'ase Oreg on the mishnayos, by the holy gaon of Kamarna zt'l.)
In a letter of guidance to a bochur concerning learning mishnayos, the Steipler zt'l writes, "It is certainly very worthy to learn mishnayos, reviewing each mishna four times after having understood it, reviewing each perek four times upon completion and upon concluding the masechta, reviewing it in its entirety a further four times. In this way you will remember it properly and be'ezras Hashem, with the passage of time you will begin to feel a great sweetness in your learning... The commentary of the Tiferes Yisroel is easier than that of the Bartenura but even the latter is not difficult if it is studied slowly and be'ezras Hashem, you will understand every mishna properly, with the exception of several difficult ones for which guidance will have to be sought. The vast majority of the mishnayos can be easily understood by all talmidei chachamim. (Karaina De'igrete, siman 140)
See also ShU"T Chavos Yoir, siman 124 and Amolo Shel Torah in the section entitled, "Hevei Rotz Le'mishna," where Rabbi Mordechai Palvinsky quotes at length from numerous sources which speak about the great merit of learning mishnayos. It should be noted that there are certain conditions for determining which learning will be most beneficial for a given situation.
Maran HaRav Shach writes, "Regarding your query concerning what to learn during the short period in the afternoon after the day's work has ended, whether mishnayos or halochos, it is obvious that one should learn practical halacha so that one knows how to conduct oneself, for it is impossible to draw conclusions from a mishna about the what the halacha will be in practice." (Letters and Articles, chelek III, pg.88.) See also Mishna Berurah in Sha'ar Hatziyun (1:26) who writes that the obligation to learn works of mussar takes preference over learning mishnayos.
11th Century codex of Mishnayos
Mishna: The Encapsulation of Torah Shebe'al Peh
One well known reason for the preference of learning mishnayos to benefit the deceased over and above other areas of Torah is that the letters of the word mishna are the same ones which make up the word neshomoh.
The gaon HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman pointed out another reason to me, namely, that the mishna is an encapsulation of the entire Torah Shebe'al Peh, which was condensed and arranged by Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. It is this which gives it special status.
Learning for the Deceased
Responding to a questioner, one of the gedolim of the previous generation said that the merits for learning mishnayos exceed those of leading the tefillos and saying Kaddish, since the Mishna is the spiritual "food" which nourishes the neshomoh. While this may seem to be a somewhat startling claim to make, we will see that it has its origins with much earlier authorities.
HaRav Yosef Shaul Natanson describes the following incident, which illustrates the superior merit of learning mishnayos (Divrei Shaul-Yosef Da'as, Yore Deah siman 376:7.) At mincha on Shabbos Shushan Purim in Lvov, a man was present who had yahrtzeit for his father, R'l. The beis haknesses recently appointed chazan who also had yahrtzeit for his sister, who had passed away childless. A dispute had developed between the two over who should lead the tsibur for mincha.
"The question was put to me," writes HaRav Natanson, "and I replied that the man who had lost his father took precedence over the chazan, who was mourning his sister. On the one hand, the son did not attend our beis haknesses regularly, but on the other hand, neither was the chazan a member of the community. He had merely been employed as chazan and came in order to earn his wage. He therefore did not take precedence and since the woman he was mourning had also not attended the beis haknesses, the greater right belonged to the son, since he had an obligation to honor his father. Furthermore, the chazan was knowledgeable in Torah and could learn a perek of mishnayos for his sister, which I believe to be a greater merit for her." It is clear then, which provides the greater merit, according to HaRav Natanson.
In Pnei Boruch (Hilchos Aveilus siman 35, pg.386,) by Rav Goldberg, the Elef Hamagen is quoted: "The seforim hakedoshim write that learning mishnayos for the soul of a deceased person is a great benefit to him. Chazal said that Osher, the son of Yaakov Ovinu a'h, sits at the entrance to Gehennom and rescues whoever learns mishna (or has one learned by someone else for him.) This is the meaning of the posuk, "Mei'Asher shemeino lachmo." The word shemeino is made up of the same letters as the word mishna, and it is described as his bread and sustenance.
Similarly," continues the Elef Hamagen, "saying Tehillim for the soul of a deceased person is very beneficial for them, as is explained in the seforim hakedoshim."
The Pnei Boruch then continues as follows. "The Torah Ohr writes that learning mishnayos is a greater correction for the neshomoh than leading the congregation in prayer. In Yosef Ometz (pg.331,) the author writes concerning the prayers and Kadishim, that these are meant for amei ha'aretz [to do] whereas learning Torah is many times more effective and through it's influence, the deceased person is brought into Gan Eden. If the son composes chidushei Torah, there is no limit to the honor which his father merits through this in the heavenly academy."
Some Vignettes
On the twelfth of Elul 5729, the gaon Rav Nochum Lassman zt'l passed away. After the shiva had ended, the Ponovezher mashgiach Reb Yechezkel Levenstein zt'l, called one of the departed gaon's sons and told him that his father had appeared to him in a dream and requested that his sons learn mishnayos for him. The mashgiach passed on the message, impressing upon them that they should learn extra chapters of mishnayos to provide merits for their father's neshomoh.
(Incidentally, it is well known appearing in a dream to a living person so soon after passing on indicates very great merits, such as are possessed by only a handful of individuals in each generation.)
Reb Yechezkel also used to relate how HaRav Leizer Yudel Finkel zt'l, the Mirrer rosh yeshiva, would see his father, HaRav Nosson Tzvi Finkel zt'l, the Alter of Slobodka, in a dream within a year of his having passed away. The dreams were recurrent, coming particularly on Motzei Shabbos. In them, the Alter would request, "Shick mir pekalech—Send me packages"!!
The advice of the Steipler zt'l, to a talmid chochom who suffered a series of crises during the year following his father's petiroh, was to learn mishnayos daily for his father's merit.
In a letter to his daughter and grandchildren after the death of his son-in-law Rav Efraim Mordechai Ginsburg zt'l, Reb Yechezkel writes: "My dear grandchildren, now you have an obligation to work, in the form of learning Torah and doing mitzvos, in order to benefit your father a'h, who sacrificed his own time for you. You will thus be providing him with merits. I entreat you, act in kindness towards your father in that you pay attention to the meaning of your prayers. Say Kaddish too, with you thoughts directed to the meaning of the words. Make sure you know the correct explanation of Kaddish and that you learn mishnayos every day for his holy neshomoh..." (Ohr Yechezkel, Letters, siman 340.)
The Acharonim Leave Instructions
A great number of gedolei Yisroel left written instructions for their sons, disciples and friends to learn mishnayos for the merit and the perfection of their souls. One of them went so far as to ask that notice of his death be publicized in the newspapers together with a request that people learn mishnayos for him. This godol was none other than Maran Rabbi Akiva Eiger zt'l, who wrote in his testament, "If I expire... it should be made known in the newspapers, together with a note requesting that my pupils and friends learn a daily perek of mishnayos throughout the first year and on the yahrtzeit, every subsequent year." (Michtavei Rabbi Akiva Eiger, siman 178:2)
The gaon, HaRav Yaakov MiLissa zt'l, the author of Nesivos Hamishpat and Chavos Da'as, wrote in his testament (printed in Nachalas Yaakov,), "Arrange yourselves a lesson in mishnayos for a whole year—and do the same every yahrtzeit—and say that it is in order to provide merit for my neshomoh... My request from the scholars is that they learn for me every year — for my neshomoh's merit—for which they will be doubly repaid by Heaven."
In the testament of Rav Eliyahu Ragoler, zt'l, which is printed at the beginning of his ShU"T Yad Eliyahu,) we find the following, "My plea, my heartfelt request from my sons sheyichyu and from my talmidim, sheyichyu, who received [Torah] from me in their youth, even though they grew up to become greater talmidei chachamim than me, is that they learn the mishnayos of Seder Zeraim and Seder Taharos, reviewing them a number of times until they know them fluently, in order that my soul, which, due to my sins is lacking perfection, will achieve its tikkun."
More precise instructions were left by the author of Yesod Veshoresh Hoavodah for his sons concerning the two perakim which he asked them to learn for him daily: "In the first year following my petiroh, learn two perakim of mishnayos each day for my neshomoh. Make a point of learning them together with someone, not on your own. Learn one perek after shacharis and one after mincha. Even when you are travelling, I enjoin you to learn no less than two perakim a day. Take a volume of mishnayos with you when you go so that you will have them near at hand... In addition, before you learn the day's two perakim, set aside half a gudel for tzedaka, morning and evening."
Similar directives were left by Rabbi Naftali Hagodol z'l, for his sons (cited in Menucha UKedusha pg.22,): "Not to learn any less than a perek of mishnayos after each tefillah—do not withhold chesed and emes from my neshomoh—this will be a lasting source of blessing for you in the world to come."
Rav Yosef Shaul Natanson zt'l, in his Shoel Umeishiv (Mahadura Kama, chelek II, end of siman 182,) recounts the following: "In 5615 (1855) I learned maseches Chagigah for the yahrtzeit of my mother, the tzadekes. The gaon my father and teacher, wrote to me that the seforim mention that maseches Chagigah should be learned for a yahrtzeit."
We have thus seen a range of opinions about how many mishnayos are to be learned: Rabbi Akiva Eiger mentions one perek a day, the author of Yesod Veshoresh Hoavodah mentions two, while Rabbi Naftali Hagodol speaks of one perek after each of the three daily tefillos. When asked about which opinion to follow, HaRav Chaim Kanievsky said that it is customary to learn one perek a day. HaRav Shmuel Wosner pointed out to the present writer the comments of the Succas Sholeim by the holy gaon Rav Eliyahu MiGraidan zy'a, who writes, regarding when to learn the mishnayos, that the most suitable time is between mincha and ma'ariv.
End of Part I
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