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Blessing For Torah Learning

Now, of course, we go to the blessings over Torah learning. During the beginning of the crisis of COVID and during the three weeks, the basic kavanah that I had about this blessing is not about the Torah that has been given to me. I don't begin with that intention. I begin with a quest, Torah as my quest, which is based on a teaching of the Talmud in Sanhedrin 97 A. The gemara explains that the 2000 years of Torah began with Abraham beginning his quest to find God. We are in a situation in which we're seeking answers, in which we're seeking to understand. What do we have to change? Are we doing anything wrong? In what way do we have to improve? How can I best guide my children through this crisis? How can I grow from it? That is a quest, and that quest is always guided by Torah, just as it was even after the walls of Jerusalem were breached because they still had Torah, and they still looked to Torah to guide them.


By: Rabbi Simcha Weinberg, neiro yair
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