This morning as I was studying the Sefer Yeshaya I came across a Pasuk that is frequently quoted these days. לֵ֤ךְ עַמִּי֙ בֹּ֣א בַֽחֲדָרֶ֔יךָ וּֽסְגֹ֥ר דְּלָֽתְךָ֖ בַּעֲדֶ֑ךָ Go my people, enter into your rooms and close your doors before you. It is usually accompanied by the Gemara in Bava Kamma which explains that this Pasuk is teaching us that when there is a deadly plague in a town people should stay in their homes until it passes. Certainly conventional wisdom these days.
However, I saw a number of other explanations on this Pasuk which I wished to share.
The Targum renders it as: Go my people perform good deeds that will protect you in times of trouble. Rashi quotes two Midrashim. The first one says that the rooms in which the Pasuk is saying to seclude yourself are the shuls and Yeshivos. The second Midrash (which Rashi only quotes partially) says that the rooms into which you should enter are the chambers of your heart. You should contemplate to yourself why this suffering is coming upon you. Then it is saying to close the doors of your mouth from casting aspersions on God's judgement.
But the explanation that I found most meaningful comes from the Tana D'vei Eliyahu which says that just as Hashem has rooms and rooms within rooms in his Torah, so, too, each Torah scholar has rooms and rooms within rooms in his own Torah. If one sees difficulties coming he should run to words of Torah. Most of the commentators understand this to mean that in times of trouble one should primarily study Kabbalistic topics. But I want to offer a different approach.
Each of has within our experience of Torah study certain topics which impact us on a deeper level than others. For one person in might be Halacha, for another it might be a particular Talmudic tractate, for someone it might be Tehillim and for another it might be Kabbalah. The best way to make it through being quarantined within your home and not losing your mind is to find what it is that you really love to study and throw yourself into it.
And I would suggest that this applies even to those for whom Torah is not the address for that which touches them most deeply. Being alone for long periods of time can be very trying. That is true even (or perhaps especially) if there are family members with you. If you want to make it through find something you love and devote yourself to it.
However, I saw a number of other explanations on this Pasuk which I wished to share.
The Targum renders it as: Go my people perform good deeds that will protect you in times of trouble. Rashi quotes two Midrashim. The first one says that the rooms in which the Pasuk is saying to seclude yourself are the shuls and Yeshivos. The second Midrash (which Rashi only quotes partially) says that the rooms into which you should enter are the chambers of your heart. You should contemplate to yourself why this suffering is coming upon you. Then it is saying to close the doors of your mouth from casting aspersions on God's judgement.
But the explanation that I found most meaningful comes from the Tana D'vei Eliyahu which says that just as Hashem has rooms and rooms within rooms in his Torah, so, too, each Torah scholar has rooms and rooms within rooms in his own Torah. If one sees difficulties coming he should run to words of Torah. Most of the commentators understand this to mean that in times of trouble one should primarily study Kabbalistic topics. But I want to offer a different approach.Each of has within our experience of Torah study certain topics which impact us on a deeper level than others. For one person in might be Halacha, for another it might be a particular Talmudic tractate, for someone it might be Tehillim and for another it might be Kabbalah. The best way to make it through being quarantined within your home and not losing your mind is to find what it is that you really love to study and throw yourself into it.
And I would suggest that this applies even to those for whom Torah is not the address for that which touches them most deeply. Being alone for long periods of time can be very trying. That is true even (or perhaps especially) if there are family members with you. If you want to make it through find something you love and devote yourself to it.
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