והסיר ה' ממך כל חולי וכל מדוי מצרים הרעים אשר ידעת לא ישימם בך ונתנם בכל שונאיך וגו' (ז-טו)
There was a man who had been healthy and fit his entire life, but suddenly, upon reaching middle age, he began to experience a series of strange maladies, each one resulting in an operation on a different part of his body. As the man had been healthy his whole life, the occurrence of disease after disease and surgery after surgery - each totally unrelated to the next - caused the man and his family great alarm. They realized that something was amiss.
One family member decided to speak to his Rebbe, R’ Pinchos Menachem Alter ZT”L of Ger, for advice and understanding. He detailed to the Rebbe the many unusual surgeries that his relative required and asked what it meant.
The Pnei Menachem thought long and hard. Finally, he said, “What is it like by their Shabbos table? Does this man talk about other people during the meal? Is that common?”
The family member answered that indeed, on many occasions that he had been there, the conversations had always focused on other people. “And do they tend to cut into people’s personal lives and talk Lashon Hara?”
The man answered that this was precisely the case. They would always talk about others - what they did or didn’t do in their personal lives, about their children and their money; sometimes it was good but often the words were disparaging.
R’ Pinchos Menachem took his chasid’s hand and told him, “The answer is right here before you. Tell your relative that if he will cease to talk about others and “cut them up” at the Shabbos table on a regular basis, he will no longer need to be “cut up” himself with the unusual diseases and many surgeries and operations he had been undergoing. Tell them to only talk kind words, words of Torah and zemiros, and I guarantee you he will be healthy for a long time.”
The Rebbe’s advice was given over and the man accepted upon himself to never talk about others - both positive or negative words - and in a very short time, he began feeling better and never needed another surgery again!
ואתנפל לפני ה' כראשונה ארבעים יום וארבעים לילה לחם לא אכלתי ומים לא שתיתי וכו' (ט-יח)
Torah is compared to bread. In what way? The posuk states that Moshe Rabbeinu did not eat bread or drink water for forty days. The Medrash asks, “If so, then what did he live on?” And the answer is, “On Torah. From the light of the Shechina (Divine Presence).” Moshe Rabbeinu, during the time he was being given the Torah in Heaven, received his sustenance directly from the Torah, which is the bread of the neshama and the fare of one’s conscience.
R’ Simcha Wasserman ZT”L takes this one step further. When one eats bread, the first thing he does is chew it. When he chews it, he enjoys it. We say that Hashem is "טוב ומטיב" - “He is good” - He gives us food; “and He gives goodness” - He enables us to enjoy it. But this enjoyment is not the function of the bread. The function is nourishment, and it is not nourishing until it is swallowed. It is the same with Torah. When one learns Torah, that which he understands is like the taste which brings him great satisfaction and enjoyment. But there is more: when the bread - the Torah - goes into his system, it nourishes; it goes in with an entire depth, the entire power and strength of Torah, much more than he consciously understands, just like food which is digested automatically and nourishes the body even though he is unaware of it.
There are times when a person needs a food, but it is too hard to chew. So it is put in a pill, like vitamins. It is swallowed, and then one has the needed element without having to taste or chew it. This is similar to “Toras HaNistar” - the hidden parts of the Torah, which we learn but not necessarily understand. As the Ramban writes about certain parts of the creation which are not understood: “Do not expect me to explain it.” In other words, he is saying, “It is a vitamin pill. Swallow it. You need it, and you’ll get what you need. But don’t try to understand it for you’ll only break your teeth!” Whether we realize it or not, the Torah is full of tremendous force and brings about great inspiration.
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