## Nefesh HaChayim, Gate IV

###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate IV 7:1
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate IV 7:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20IV/r/7:1)

ולזאת ראוי להאדם להכין עצמו כל עת קודם שיתחיל ללמוד. להתחשב מעט עם קונו ית"ש בטהרת הלב ביראת ה'. ולהטהר מעונותיו בהרהורי תשובה. כדי שיוכל להתקשר ולהתדבק בעת עסקו בתוה"ק בדבורו ורצונו ית"ש. וגם יקבל ע"ע לעשות ולקיים ככל הכתוב בתורה שבכתב ובע"פ ואשר יראה ויבין דרכו והנהגתו מתוה"ק. וכן כשרוצה לעיין בדבר הלכה. ראוי להתפלל שיזכהו ית' לאסוקי שמעתא אליבא דהלכתא. לכוין לאמיתה של תורה:

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
And this being so, it’s worthwhile for a person to prepare himself each time, before starting to learn, to consider his Owner (blessed be His name) for a while in purity of heart, in fear/awe of God, and to become purified from his sins by reflecting upon repentance, so that he will be able to connect and attach during his involvement with the holy Torah, to His (blessed be His name) words and will, and will also accept upon himself to perform and to fulfill according to all that is written in the written and oral Torah, and what he will perceive and understand of His way from our holy Torah. And in the same way, when he wants to focus on words of law, it’s worthwhile to pray that He (blessed be He) should grant him the merit to bring the matter to a proper halakhic conclusion⁹⁸⁸ (ref.: Yoma 26a), to intend towards the Torah’s truth.⁹⁸⁹

footnotes:
⁹⁸⁸ Aram.: l’ah-so-kei sh’mahta ahleeba d’hilkha-ta
⁹⁸⁹ Rav Chayyim here differentiates between the general learning of Torah and the specific learning of halakha.


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate IV 7:2
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate IV 7:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20IV/r/7:2)

וכן באמצע הלימוד. הרשות נתונה להאדם להפסיק זמן מועט. טרם יכבה מלבו יראתו ית"ש שקיבל עליו קודם התחלת הלימוד. להתבונן מחדש עוד מעט ביראת ה'. כשרז"ל עוד (שבת ל"א) משל לאדם שאמר לשלוחו העלה לי כור של חטים לעליה כו' א"ל עירבת לי בהן קב חומטין א"ל לא. א"ל מוטב שלא העלית. וקאי על אמצע העסק בתבואות חכמת התורה שראוי ג"כ לערב בתוכו יראתו ית'. כדי שתתקיים תלמודו בידו.

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
And in the same way, in the middle of learning a person is permitted to stop for a short time, before his fear/awe of Him (blessed be He) that he accepted upon him before starting learning is extinguished from his heart/mind, and to contemplate anew a bit more about fear/awe of God, as our rabbis (OBM) stated further (Shabbat 31a)⁹⁹⁰: “this is likened to a person who said to his agent: ‘Bring a measure of wheat for me to the upper storehouse…”. He said to him: ‘Did you mix salty minerals into it?’ He responded ‘No’. He said: ‘It would have been better if you hadn’t brought it up!’ And the wisdom of the Torah stands on this example of grain, that it’s worthwhile also to mix his fear/awe into it, to preserve his learning ability.

footnotes:
⁹⁹⁰ This story is brought to make the point that without having a measure of fear/awe, one’s learning of Torah is not effective and doesn’t persist.


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate IV 7:3
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate IV 7:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20IV/r/7:3)

ולכן סמך אצלו הברייתא תני דבי ר"י מערב אדם קב חומטין בכור של תבואה ואינו חושש. והוא דין מדיני גזל ואונאה אשר מקומו בס' נזיקין ומאי שייטי' הכא. אמנם הורונו בזה. שכמו במו"מ הגם שנראה כגזל ואונאה. אמנם כיון שהקב עפר הוא השימור והקיום של כל הכור תבואה אינו חושש משום גזל. כן רשאי האדם להפסיק ולבטל זמן מועט מהלימוד. להתבונן מעט ביראת ה'. ואינו חושש בזה. משום ביטול תורה כיון שהוא הגורם שתתקיים אצלו חכמה התורה:

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
And for that reason he brought in support of it the *b’raita*: “The academy of Rabbee Yishmael taught: ‘A person may mix up to a *kav* of salty minerals⁹⁹¹—The salty mineral acts as a preservative. into a *koor* of wheat and not be concerned about it’”, this being a law in the context of the laws of theft and fraud whose place is in *Seder N’zikin*⁹⁹², one of the six major divisions of the Talmud, includes the laws governing damages and recompense.. What relevance does it have here? However, we are taught by this that just as in business, that even though it might be thought of as theft and fraud, however being that the *kav* of minerals acts as a safeguard and preservative for the *koor* of grain, there’s no concern about it being considered as theft, so too a person is allowed to take a break and waste a small amount of time from learning, to contemplate fear/awe of God for a short while, and he shouldn’t worry about this as disruption of the Torah⁹⁹³, because its result is the preservation of the wisdom of Torah in his domain.

footnotes:
⁹⁹¹ Heb.: kav chome-teen
⁹⁹² Seder N’zeekeen
⁹⁹³ Heb.: beetool Torah