מלמדים ב

Na Nach Nachma Nachman Me'uman

In a place where it is customary to teach Torah shebichsav [the Written Torah] for a fee, it is permitted etc. But Torah sheb'al peh [the Oral Torah] — it is forbidden to teach for a fee etc.

For it is brought in the words of Rabbeinu — may his light shine — in the ma'amar "T'hilah l'David" (Torah 12): that one who is a tzadik and learns his Torah lishmah [for its own sake] and his Torah is very pure, even so, it is necessarily required that there be in his Torah some aspect of shelo lishmah [not for its own sake] — so that he can draw shefa [bounty] to the world, in the aspect of "in her left hand are riches and honor" (Proverbs 3:16); see there well.

For from Chumash [the five books] alone one is not called a lamdan [scholar] — only one who learns Gemara and poskim [halachic authorities]; see there. For Torah shebichsav and Torah sheb'al peh are the aspect of day and night. As is brought: when Moshe Rabbeinu was in the firmament, he would learn Torah shebichsav by day and Torah sheb'al peh at night — and through this he knew the difference between day and night, as Rabbeinu — may his light shine — brought (in Torah 3). And this is the aspect of yamin and s'mol [right and left], which are the aspect of day and night. It turns out that Torah shebichsav is the aspect of day, the aspect of yamin [the right]. And yamin is the aspect of lishmah, as our Sages of blessed memory said: "Length of days is in her right hand" (Proverbs 3:16) — "for those who engage in it with the right hand (mayminin), who engage in it lishmah" etc. But Torah sheb'al peh is the aspect of night, the aspect of s'mol [the left], as mentioned above. And therefore there the shelo lishmah intensifies most — which is also the aspect of s'mol, as it is written, "in her left hand are riches and honor." And our Sages of blessed memory said that this is the aspect of shelo lishmah, which is called "bism'olah" [in her left]. And therefore it is forbidden to teach Torah sheb'al peh for a fee. For when one teaches small children, this is the aspect of sheinah [sleep], which is mochin d'katnus [constricted consciousness] — that is, one must lower one's intellect and clothe it according to the mind of the child. And through this one's mind is renewed and purified — for through the aspect of sleep the mind is renewed, as Rabbeinu wrote there in the ma'amar "Ashrei ha'am" (Torah 35). And this is what Rabbeinu explained regarding the saying of our Sages of blessed memory: "When you spank (kad tamchi) a child" — regarding the renewal of the mind through the aspect of sleep; see there. For also the learning of the melamed with the child is also the aspect of sleep, through which the mind is renewed, as mentioned above. And therefore it is forbidden to teach for a fee — so that the aspect of shelo lishmah should not intensify; that is, that his learning should be for the sake of money. And then, G-d forbid, the very opposite of the renewal of the mind would be made — for it would be made, G-d forbid, the aspect of suspisa d'dahava [dross of gold], which is the aspect of the muddying of the mind. And therefore it is forbidden to teach for a fee — so that one can renew one's mind through the learning with the child, which is the aspect of sleep. And the primary renewal of the mind is to clarify it from the aspect of suspisa d'dahava, which is the waste, as is explained there. And the primary prohibition is regarding Torah sheb'al peh, which is the aspect of s'mol, the aspect of night — where the shelo lishmah intensifies most, as mentioned above. But Torah shebichsav, which is the aspect of day, the aspect of yamin, the aspect of lishmah — there is not as much fear there of the shelo lishmah. For in Torah shebichsav, the shelo lishmah does not intensify so much, as mentioned above. Therefore it is permitted to teach it for a fee in a place where this is customary — for the aspect of shelo lishmah does not intensify so much there. And then, on the contrary, it is proper to teach for a fee. For even if on account of this some subtle p'niyah [ulterior motive] of shelo lishmah enters — it is considered praiseworthy. Since the entire essence of learning Torah shebichsav is the aspect of lishmah, as mentioned above, then precisely there one needs some slight and subtle movement of shelo lishmah — in order to draw shefa, the aspect of "in her left hand are riches and honor." And therefore it is permitted to teach it for a fee — for certainly the shelo lishmah will not intensify much there, as mentioned above, for it is the aspect of day, the aspect of yamin, where there is not as much fear of the chitzonim [external forces], as mentioned above. And if even so some slight p'niyah of shelo lishmah enters his learning — on the contrary, it is a good and praiseworthy thing. Since he is far from shelo lishmah and all his learning is lishmah, it is necessarily required to have some aspect of shelo lishmah, in order to draw shefa, the aspect of "in her left hand are riches" etc., as mentioned above. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: that for Torah shebichsav one may receive payment for the pisuk te'amim [the parsing of cantillation notes]. For it is known that the aspect of the te'amim [cantillation/flavors] is the highest aspect of all the levels: te'amim, nekudos, tagin, osiyos [cantillation, vowels, crowns, letters]. And therefore specifically for pisuk te'amim it is permitted to receive payment — for there is no fear there of the chitzonim, that the shelo lishmah should intensify. For there it is the aspect of entirely good, the aspect of "those who taste it merit life (to'ameha chayim zachu)" — for the te'amim are the aspect of life and length of days, which is the aspect of "length of days is in her right hand," as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of "Taste and see that Hashem is good" (Psalms 34:9). For the te'amim are the aspect of entirely good, as mentioned above. In a place where it is customary to teach Torah shebichsav for a fee, it is permitted to receive payment. But for Torah sheb'al peh it is forbidden to receive payment. Based on the ma'amar "Ki merachamam yenahaigem" (Likutay Tinyana, Torah 7) discussed above (in Hilchos Melamdim, Halacha 2): the matter of ben [son] and talmid [student], which is the aspect of the perception of daray ma'alah [those above] and the perception of daray matah [those below]. The aspect of "Ayay — where is the place of His glory?" — which is the perception of daray ma'alah; and the aspect of "the whole earth is full of His glory" — which is the perception of daray matah. And this is the aspect of the aspaklaria hame'irah [luminous lens] and the aspaklaria she'einah me'irah [non-luminous lens] etc.; see there. And behold, the matter of these two perceptions — daray ma'alah and daray matah — are the aspect of the generality of the entire Torah. For the primary Torah is the da'as [knowledge] of Hashem. And the primary da'as — that is, to know Hashem, blessed be He — is the two aforementioned aspects: the aspect of Ayay etc. and the aspect of "the whole earth is full of His glory." And this is the generality of knowing Him, blessed be He, as it were. And therefore the Torah, which is the primary da'as, is comprised of these two aspects. And therefore the Torah begins with B'raishis and concludes with "l'einai kol Yisrael" [before the eyes of all Israel]. "B'raishis" — this is the aspect of ma'amar sasum [the sealed utterance], which is the aspect of Ayay, the aspect of Keser, as is explained elsewhere (in Likutay Tinyana, Torah 12). And this is the aspect of the perception of daray ma'alah, as mentioned above. "L'einai kol Yisrael" — this is the aspect of "the whole earth is full of His glory," as it is written, "And for all the mighty hand and for all the great awesomeness that Moshe performed before the eyes of all Israel" (Deuteronomy 34:12) — which is the aspect of "the whole earth is full of His glory." For through the mighty hand — that is, the signs and wonders that Moshe performed — it was revealed that Hashem rules in the land, the aspect of "the whole earth is full of His glory." And this is the aspect of "before the eyes of all Israel" — that His G-dliness, blessed be He, was revealed, as it were, before the eyes of all, the aspect of "the whole earth is full of His glory" — which is the aspect of the perception of daray matah. It turns out that the Torah is comprised of both aforementioned aspects. And this is the aspect of Torah shebichsav and Torah sheb'al peh, which are the aspect of day and night, the aspect of aspaklaria hame'irah and aspaklaria she'einah me'irah, which are the aspect of daray ma'alah and daray matah, as mentioned above. For Torah shebichsav is the aspect of yamin, the aspect of day, the aspect of aspaklaria hame'irah, the aspect of shamayim [heaven] — which is the aspect of daray ma'alah, the aspect of Ayay. And Torah sheb'al peh is the aspect of s'mol, the aspect of night, the aspect of aspaklaria she'einah me'irah, the aspect of daray matah, the aspect of eretz [earth], the aspect of "the whole earth is full of His glory." And therefore for Torah sheb'al peh it is forbidden to receive payment. For the primary learning of Torah sheb'al peh is to reveal the da'as, to know that "the whole earth is full of His glory." And when one wants to receive payment and sets one's eyes on money, then one falls into k'silus [foolishness] — for the primary k'silus comes through the desire for money, as is explained in the words of Rabbeinu of blessed memory elsewhere (Torah 69). And then the da'as departs and the light is hidden, and one does not merit knowing that "the whole earth is full of His glory." But for Torah shebichsav, which is the aspect of the perception of daray ma'alah, the aspect of "Ayay — where is the place of His glory" — it is permitted to receive payment. For there, in the upper aspect, the aspect of Ayay, the klipos and the sitra achra have no hold whatsoever. And one who merits this perception — the sitra achra cannot take hold there at all. For it is brought in the words of Rabbeinu of blessed memory that the sustenance and vitality of the sitra achra is from the aspect of Ayay, which is the aspect of ma'amar sasum — that is, from the greatness of the concealment and hiddenness. Because this aspect is hidden and concealed in the utmost concealment, therefore from there is their vitality. But one who merits this perception of the aspect of Ayay — who knows of this concealment and merits attaining this perception of the aspect of Ayay, which is the ultimate of knowledge (tachlis hayedi'ah) — then the sitra achra and the klipos are nullified in the utmost nullification. For their primary sustenance is from the hiddenness and concealment of this aspect — because we do not have the power to attain this perception. Therefore they draw sustenance from there, G-d forbid, and intensify in k'firos [denials/heresies], G-d forbid, through the concealment and hiddenness of this aspect. And therefore in this world — the aspect of daray matah — one must illuminate the aspect of "the whole earth is full of His glory" specifically, to reveal His Kingship, blessed be He. For the aspect of Ayay is impossible for daray matah to attain. And on the contrary, from this aspect they draw sustenance through the greatness of the concealment, and they introduce k'firos, G-d forbid. And therefore for Torah sheb'al peh it is forbidden to receive payment. For through the payment and money that one receives for Torah sheb'al peh, they are able to take hold, G-d forbid — for their primary hold is in money, where is the hold of all avodah zarah and k'firos, as Rabbeinu of blessed memory wrote elsewhere (Torah 23). And then through this they can completely hide the light, and one will not merit this da'as of the aspect of "the whole earth is full of His glory" — through their concealing the light, G-d forbid. But for Torah shebichsav, which is the aspect of Ayay, it is permitted to receive payment. For there they have no hold whatsoever — for their primary sustenance is only from this aspect, from the aspect of Ayay — that is, the aspect of the hiddenness and concealment of this aspect. But one who merits this perception in kedushah, in the aspect of "the ultimate of knowledge is that we do not know (tachlis hayedi'ah asher lo neida)" — and since he knows the concealment, therefore they have no hold any longer. And therefore it is permitted to receive payment for the perception of the aspect of Ayay, which is the aspect of Torah shebichsav — for there they have no hold, as mentioned above. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: that it is permitted to receive payment for Torah shebichsav, for it is payment for pisuk te'amim. "Payment for pisuk te'amim" specifically — for the te'amim are an exceedingly exalted light that is impossible to attain, which is the aspect of Ayay, as is brought in the Writings [of the Ari z"l]. And therefore it is permitted to receive payment — for there they have no hold, as mentioned above. For the vitality of the sitra achra is only from the concealment and hiddenness of the aspect of Ayay, as mentioned above. But one who attains this perception — which is the aspect of pisuk te'amim, as mentioned above — then they have no vitality at all and are completely nullified. And therefore, even when one receives payment for this learning, they cannot take hold in it, G-d forbid. For there, in this perception, they have no power to take hold, G-d forbid. On the contrary, through this perception of the aspect of Ayay, the aspect of te'amim, they are completely nullified, as mentioned above. And understand this well, for it is impossible to explain these matters in writing. Baruch Hashem l'olam, Amen v'Amen. Talmud Torah 1 (LM I:12, I:35): Torah shebichsav = day/yamin/lishmah. Torah sheb'al peh = night/s'mol/shelo lishmah. Forbidden to teach TSBP for fee because: teaching children = sheinah (sleep/mochin d'katnus) → renewal of mind. But if for money → suspisa d'dahava (dross) = muddying of mind (opposite of renewal). TSBK: permitted for fee because yamin/lishmah realm → shelo lishmah doesn't intensify. Moreover, slight p'niyah needed to draw shefa ("bism'olah osher v'chavod"). Payment is for pisuk te'amim = highest level (te'amim/nekudos/tagin/osiyos) = "kulo tov" = "to'ameha chayim zachu." "Ta'amu ur'u ki tov Hashem." Talmud Torah 2 (LM II:7): Two perceptions: daray ma'alah ("Ayay") and daray matah ("m'lo kol ha'aretz kevodo") = entirety of Torah = da'as Hashem. Torah begins B'raishis (= ma'amar sasum = Ayay = Keser) and ends "l'einai kol Yisrael" (= m'lo kol ha'aretz kevodo). TSBK = yamin/day/aspaklaria hame'irah/shamayim = daray ma'alah = Ayay. TSBP = s'mol/night/aspaklaria she'einah me'irah/eretz = daray matah = m'lo kol ha'aretz kevodo. Forbidden to take payment for TSBP because: money → k'silus (LM 69) → da'as departs → can't know "m'lo kol ha'aretz kevodo." Sitra achra sustains from Ayay's concealment; but one who attains Ayay in kedushah (tachlis hayedi'ah asher lo neida) → SA completely nullified. In this world (daray matah) must illuminate "m'lo kol ha'aretz" specifically. Payment for TSBK (= Ayay) permitted because SA has no hold there. Payment = s'char pisuk te'amim = te'amim = highest light = Ayay → SA nullified entirely.

Arranged by Simcha Nanach