Halacha with a Smile

Do you like to learn Halacha (Jewish Laws)?  The question is why not? The answer is because people hate to have boundaries, people hate not being allowed to do stuff they want to do, especially as a teenager! Usually for me, learning Halacha means learning all the things you have to be careful with or can’t do. You know what I’m talking about. I don’t like it, and I want to change that.

Just imagine if we stopped learning Halacha in Yeshiva, and trust me I want to but think of what would happen… Jewish teens all over the world would do the wrong thing, and not because they want to, but because they don’t know what’s not allowed, that would be a catastrophe. There wouldn’t be a difference between us and the non-Jews since the purpose of Judaism is to be holy, and if you do whatever you want to do, you aren’t so holy, for you’re just following your impulses.

Did you ever think that maybe boundaries are good for you?  Just don’t think about it as boundaries, think about it as guidelines. But then again what are guidelines? A guideline is something that someone who really loves you gives you so you should do the right thing and so you could have a better life. Hashem, in the words of our Sages gave us the laws because he cares about us more than you can imagine and he wants us to have good and meaningful life according to Torah law.

It says in a commentary of “The Letter of the Ramban” that you should follow the discipline of your father, and to not disregard the gentle guidance of your mother. Now most unobservant Jews think that what’s written in the Torah received by Moshe is flexible and not at all strict, this is what is referred to as the gentle guidance of your father. Halacha on the other hand is inflexible and requires adherence, what’s referred to as the gentle guidance of your mother. Rabbi Gifter explains: Once there was a boy who loved good food, and a really good non-Kosher restaurant opened in the neighborhood. His parents were very worried that their son would be tempted to eat at this restaurant, so the father told his son not to eat there since it is forbidden (the discipline of the father). The mother on the other hand knew that if her son would pass by the window filled with amazing delicacies it would be too hard for him to resist. So she went to him and warned him to not go anywhere within a block of that restaurant or else he would be severely punished (the gentle guidance of your mother). Is it the mother who is harsh? Of course, not. The gentle mother was doing it so her son won’t even be tempted to eat at this non-kosher restaurant. Sometimes being strict may look mean, but necessary at times.

The same applies to the Torah, what’s written in the Torah is like the father that just tells you not to do it but it will still be hard not to be tempted by it. But the Halacha laws that have been given to us by the Sages are like the gentle mother to help us stay on the right track, so we won’t even be tempted to do sins.

My teacher Rabbi Bokovski gave me a suggestion that if I learn Halacha every day after morning prayers for 5 to 10 minutes I will be more aware of Halachot and appreciate it more. So now I’m learning every day and I enjoy it even though it’s full of stuff that we aren’t allowed to do. Even though it’s not fun, it’s relevant topics that I need to know and that gives me satisfaction

So now that we understand the importance of learning Halacha. We have to start performing. I challenge you to every day learn 10 minutes of Halacha. You could learn it after praying, before class starts or even right before you go to bed.  But remember to think about all the reasons you’re learning Halacha and how important it is to learn it, and maybe you will enjoy it more.

So tomorrow, go to your teacher or to your rabbi and ask him why you should learn Halacha and why you shouldn’t dislike it. See if he agrees with me or not. If he says something that I didn’t write, send me an email to (yehoodles@gmail.com) and tell me what he has to say. Wishing you the very best!!