Lishmah

29 Cheshvan 5782

[Yitzchok said to Esau,] “Prepare … so that I may grant you my soul’s blessing before I die.” (Bereishis 27:4)

Only Yitzchok’s sense of sight was dimmed, not his intellect. Why then did he wish to grant Esau, whose wives were “a vexation of the spirit to Isaac and to Rebecca,” the mantle of leadership over what would come to be the Holy Jewish Nation?

Yitzchok recognized Esau’s potential. He saw Esau’s formidable strength, which Yitzchok reckoned could be employed in the struggles to bring G-dliness to the world. Rivkah, on the other hand, recognized Yitzchok’s keen perception, which he had acquired through devoting himself to studying Torah lishmah. She saw that possessing skill and power does not by itself make us vessels for G-dliness.

“He tells His words [Torah] to Jacob, His statutes and ordinances to Israel.” (Tehillim 147:19)

Similarly, we too should immerse ourselves in Torah. Hashem gave the Torah to us as are our unique national heritage - “He has not done so for other nations” (Tehillim 147:20). On top of learning for its own sake, we must know that “we can best develop our own leadership qualities by studying the Torah devotedly, and we should consider scholars of the Torah the ones whom we look to for leadership.” (Lubavitcher Rebbe)

“Self-aggrandizement or the like … this [manner of Torah study] does not ascend higher than the sun.” (Kuntres Acharon, beginning of Essay 3)

In this essay, the Alter Rebbe explains how through Torah study without specific intent angels are still created in the World of Yetzirah. As long as our motivation is not actually negative, stemming from self-aggrandizement or the like, it “ascends and pierces [the heavens].” Consequently, we shouldn’t fear to immerse ourselves in Torah study even if our initial intention is not perfect. All studying not stemming from a negative motivation actually rises up to heaven, and even the studying born from a negative intention is transformed when a person eventually repents.