תַּנְיָא, הָיָה רַבִּי בְּנָאָה אוֹמֵר: כׇּל הָעוֹסֵק בְּתוֹרָה לִשְׁמָהּ — תּוֹרָתוֹ נַעֲשֵׂית לוֹ סַם חַיִּים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״עֵץ חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ״, וְאוֹמֵר: ״רִפְאוּת תְּהִי לְשָׁרֶּךָ״, וְאוֹמֵר: ״כִּי מֹצְאִי מָצָא חַיִּים״. וְכׇל הָעוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ — נַעֲשֵׂית לוֹ סַם הַמָּוֶת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״יַעֲרֹף כַּמָּטָר לִקְחִי״, וְאֵין עֲרִיפָה אֶלָּא הֲרִיגָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְעָרְפוּ שָׁם אֶת הָעֶגְלָה בַּנָּחַל״.
For its own sake--because that is what Hashem commanded me to do. Not in order that they should call me "rabbi"
כָּל הָעוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה כְּדֵי לְקַבֵּל שָׂכָר אוֹ כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא תַּגִּיעַ עָלָיו פֻּרְעָנוּת הֲרֵי זֶה עוֹסֵק שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ. וְכָל הָעוֹסֵק בָּהּ לֹא לְיִרְאָה וְלֹא לְקַבֵּל שָׂכָר אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי אַהֲבַת אֲדוֹן כָּל הָאָרֶץ שֶׁצִּוָּה בָּהּ הֲרֵי זֶה עוֹסֵק בָּהּ לִשְׁמָהּ. וְאָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים לְעוֹלָם יַעֲסֹק אָדָם בַּתּוֹרָה וַאֲפִלּוּ שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ שֶׁמִּתּוֹךְ שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמָהּ בָּא לִשְׁמָהּ. לְפִיכָךְ כְּשֶׁמְּלַמְּדִין אֶת הַקְּטַנִּים וְאֶת הַנָּשִׁים וּכְלַל עַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ אֵין מְלַמְּדִין אוֹתָן אֶלָּא לַעֲבֹד מִיִּרְאָה וּכְדֵי לְקַבֵּל שָׂכָר, עַד שֶׁתִּרְבֶּה דַּעְתָּן וְיִתְחַכְּמוּ חָכְמָה יְתֵרָה מְגַלִּים לָהֶם רָז זֶה מְעַט מְעַט וּמַרְגִּילִין אוֹתָן לְעִנְיָן זֶה בְּנַחַת עַד שֶׁיַּשִּׂיגוּהוּ וְיֵדְעוּהוּ וְיַעַבְדוּהוּ מֵאַהֲבָה:
One who engages themselves in the study of the Torah in order to receive a reward, or in order to prevent himself from being overtaken by punishment, is one who studies the Torah not for its own sake. But one who studies it neither because of fear nor because of reward, but because of love for the Lord of the whole earth Who commanded concerning it, is one who studies it for its own sake. Therefore when instructions are given to infants, to women and the ignorant in general, they should only be instructed to worship because of fear, until their knowledge will increase, and they will became wise in wisdom, when this secret is revealed to them little by little, and get them acquainted with this subject slowly, until they will attain and know it, when they will serve Hashem because of Love.
ספר עלי שור
הרב שלמה וולבה
"חברה" עמ' 31
ותנו דעתכם, שלא תשנאו זה את זה ולא תקנאו זה את זה ולא תחרחרו זה עם זה, ולא תביישו זה לזה, שלא יאמרו מלאכי השרת לפניו: רבש"ע, תורה שנתת להם לישראל אינן עוסקים בה, והרי איבה וקנאה ושנאה ותחרות ביניהם! ואתם תקיימו אותה בשלום!"
והנה הדברים נוראים, שאם יש מדות רעות בין העוסקים בתורה נקרא זה ש"אין עוסקים בתורה"! אנו היינו מיחסים לצבור כזה, אולי, טענה של "שלא לשמה", ואילו חז"ל ברור מיללו דאין זה נקרא עסק בתורה כלל, כי במקום שעוסקים בתורה, בהכרח מטפחים מדות טובות ושלום ביניהם!
Alei Shor
Rav Shlomo Wolbe p. 31
And make certain not to hate one another, not to be jealous of one another, not to provoke one another, and not to shame one another, so that the ministering angels will not say before Me: The Torah that You gave to Israel, they do not engage in it; behold, there is enmity, jealousy, hatred, and rivalry between them. Rather, fulfill it in peace.’
These words are awe-inspiring: if there are bad middot among those who are oskim/ot b’Torah, they are not really “oskim/ot b’Torah!” We would relate to a community like that, perhaps, with an accusation [that their learning is] not lishma. For the sages clearly articulated that this is not called esek Torah at all. In a place where people are oskim/ot b’Torah, by definition they are cultivating good middot and peace amongst themselves.
ענין עסק התורה לשמה. האמת הברור. כי לשמה אין פירושו דביקות כמו שסוברים עתה רוב העולם. ...
וגם כי היה די לענין הדביקות. במסכת אחת או פרק או משנה א' שיעסוק בה כל ימיו בדביקות. ולא כן מצינו לרז''ל
The matter of involvement with Torah for its own sake— The clear truth, is that “for its own sake” does not mean “cleaving [to the Divine]” as most of the world today hypothesizes....
And also, for the matter of cleaving to the Divine it should be sufficient with one tractate or chapter, or one mishna— that a person should be involved just with it for their entire life, with in cleaving. And we didn’t find that our rabbis (OBM) agreed
אבל האמת כי ענין לשמה פירש לשם התורה. והענין כמו שפירש הרא''ש ז''ל על מאמר ר''א בר' צדוק (נדרים נ''א א') עשה דברים לשם פעלן ודבר בהן לשמן. ז''ל עשה דברים לשם פעלן. לשמו של הקב''ה שפעל הכל למענהו. ודבר בהן לשמן. כל דבורך ומשאך בד''ת יהיה לשם התורה כגון לידע ולהבין ולהוסיף לקח ופלפול ולא לקנטר ולהתגאות עכ''ל. דקדק לבאר שינוי לשונו דר''א ב''צ שבעשיה אמר לשם פעלן. ובדבור אמר לשמן. לכן בענין העשיה פירש לשמו של הקב''ה שפעל הכל למענהו. ובענין הלמוד פירש לשם התורה כו'. וכוונתו ז''ל מבואר היינו כי עשיית המצוה ודאי שצריכה להיות למצוה מן המובחר בדביקות ומחשבה טהורה שבטהורות כפי שכלו והשגתו. כדי שיתקלס עילאה לגרום תיקוני העולמות וכחות וסדרים העליונים. זהו לשם פעלן כי כל פעל ה' למענהו וארז''ל לקילוסו. ...
אבל על הנהגת האדם בשעת עסק התורה בדיני המצות והלכותיהן אמר ודבר בהן ר''ל הדבור בעניני המצות והלכותיהן. יהיה לשמן. פי' לשם הד''ת היינו לידע ולהבין ולהוסיף לקח ופלפול.
But the truth is that the matter of “for its own sake” means for the sake of the Torah. And the matter is as the Ro”sh (OBM) explained on the statement by Rabbee Elazar b’rebbee Tza-doke (N’darim 62a): “‘Do things for the sake of their Maker’—For the Holy One’s (who is blessed) name, who did all of it for Hahem's own sake. ‘And discuss them for their own sake’—All of your discussions and give and take about the words of Torah should be for the Torah’s sake, for example to know and to understand, to increase even more the lessons learned, and to make the effort to have an even deeper understanding, and not to provoke others, nor for egotistical reasons.” This concludes his words. He carefully explained Rabbee Elazar b’rebbee Tza-doke’s variation in language—that regarding action he said “for the sake of their Maker”, while for speech he said “for their own sake”. For that reason in the context of action he explained “for the sake of the Holy One’s (who is blessed) name, who did it all for Hashem's own sake”; while in the context of study he explained “for the sake of the Torah…”. And his (OBM) intention is clear, specifically, that the performance of the commandment must certainly be as fulfillment of the commandment to the highest possible degree of perfection, with attachment and the purest of the pure of thought, according to his intellect and ability, so that the praise ascends to cause the rectification of the worlds and the powers and the supernal structures. This is what “for the sake of their Maker” means, for “all of God’s-YHV”H actions are for His sake” (Mishlei 16:4). And the sages (OBM) stated: “as praise for Him”....But regarding a person’s behavior at the moment of his involvement with Torah addressing the laws of the commandments and their associated rules, he stated: “and discuss them”, meaning to teach us that the discussion of the matters of the commandments and their associated rules should be for their sake, meaning for the sake of the words of Torah—specifically to know and understand and to increase even more the lessons learned and to make the effort to have an even deeper understanding.
Rav Soloveitchik on the eternity of Torah
https://www.kolberamah.org/wp/2008/06/a-peek-at-engaging-in-tradition/
The following is excerpted from the book Man of Faith in the Modern World (Ktav Publishing), based on lectures of Rabbi Yosef Ber Soloveitchik, o.b.m. The incident described was recounted by Rabbi Soloveitchik as his own, personal experience:
The old Rabbi walks into the classroom crowded with students who are young enough to be his grandchildren. He enters as an old man with a wrinkled face, his eyes reflecting the fatigue and sadness of old age.
The Rabbi is seated and sees before him rows of young, beaming faces, clear eyes radiating the joy of being young. For a moment, the Rabbi is gripped with pessimism, with tremors of uncertainty. He asks himself, “Can there be a dialogue between an old teacher and young students, between a Rabbi in his Indian summer and students enjoying the spring of their lives?” The Rabbi starts the class in Talmud, uncertain as to how it will proceed.
Suddenly, the door opens and an old man, much older than the Rabbi, enters. He is the grandfather of the Rabbi, Reb Chaim Brisker (1853-1918). It would be most difficult to study Talmud with students who are trained in the sciences and mathematics, were it not for his method, which is very modern and equals, if not surpasses, most contemporary forms of logic, metaphysics, or philosophy.
The door opens again and another old man comes in. He is older than Reb Chaim, for he lived in the seventeenth century. His name is Reb Shabtai Cohen, known as the Shach, who must be present when civil law is discussed. Many more visitors arrive, some from the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, and others harking back to antiquity–Rabbenu Tam, Rashi, Rambam, Rabad, Rashba, Rabbi Akiva, and others. These scholarly giants of the past are bidden to take their seats.
The Rabbi introduces the guests to his pupils, and the dialogue commences. The Rambam states a halacha; the Rabad disagrees sharply, as is his wont. Some students interrupt to defend the Rambam, and they express themselves harshly against the Rabad, as young people are apt to do. The Rabbi softly corrects the students and suggests more restrained tones. The Rashba smiles gently. The Rabbi tries to analyze what the students meant, and other students intercede. Rabbenu Tam is called upon to express his opinion, and, suddenly, a symposium of generations comes into existence. Young students debate earlier generations with an air of daring familiarity, and a crescendo of discussion ensues.
All speak one language; all pursue one goal; all are committed to a common vision and all operate within the same categories. A mesora collegiality is achieved, a friendship, a comradeship of old and young, spanning antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. This joining of the generations, this merger of identities will ultimately bring about the redemption of the Jewish people. It will fulfill the words of the last of the Hebrew prophets, Malachi, “And he [Elijah] shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers” (3:24). The Messianic realization will witness the great dialogue of the generations.
After a two or three-hour class, the Rebbe emerges from the chamber young and rejuvenated. He has defeated age. The students look exhausted. In the mesora experience–giving over from generation to generation–years play no role. Hands, however parchment-dry and wrinkled, embrace warm and supple hands in a commonalty, bridging the gap which separates the generations.
