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Moed Katan 15a: Limud ha'Torah
Ben asked:
Rav Yosef cites a braisa: One who has been excommunicated can teach others and
they can teach him; he can be hired by others and others can work for him.
However, one who has been placed in cherem (one who has been excommunicated
twice for thirty days) cannot teach others and they cannot teach him; he cannot
be hired by others and others cannot work for him, but he should study by
himself in order not to interrupt his studies; he may also make a small store
for a source of revenue.
The version of the Rosh states: he should study by himself in order not to lose
his learning. The Reshash cites a braisa in Meseches Semochos which states that
the reason he should learn is in order not to forget his learning. The Rambam
states this reason as well.
A question is asked: Doesnt every Jew have an obligation to study Torah? What
is different about a person that has been placed in cherem, that he should
study Torah only because of the concern that otherwise he might forget his
learning?
A similar question is asked (Igros Moshe YD 2:110; BToroso Yehegeh p. 185) on
the Rambam in Hilchos Talmud Torah (1:10) who states: Until when is a person
obligated to study Torah? Until the day he dies. The Rambam cites a verse in
the Torah and concludes: And if there is a time that he will not be engrossed
in studying Torah, he will forget his learning. Why is that necessary? Would a
person be exempt from studying Torah if he is confident that his learning will
not be forgotten?
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The Kollel replies:
Moed Katan 15a - It seems to me that the Pshat is as follows. It appears from
the Gemara that the person who has been put in Cherem has a similar Din to a
mourner. Therefore soon after the Gemara stated that an "Avel" is forbidden to
learn Torah, the Gemara proceeded to ask what is the Din for a "Muchram". See
the Hago'os Ashrei in the name of the Yerushalmi which states that even the
"Menudeh", who our Gemara states is allowed to learn, is only allowed to learn
things which he is not accustomed to, because he does not enjoy and derive
simcha from this. See the Ritva here who writes that this is the reason why an
Avel is not allowed to learn Torah, because it makes him happy (in the same way
that the Gemara in Ta'anis 30a states that this is the reason one is not
allowed to learn on Tisha b'Av).
So the reason the person in Cherem is not allowed to learn Torah is because it
makes him happy. However because the period of Cherem could last a while,
Chazal did not want to be too stringent if this might lead to the Muchram
forgetting his learning (in contrast to "aveilus" which only lasts for a week
and only happens to a person a few times in his lifetime). Therefore they
permitted (and presumably obliged) the Muchram to learn on his own, which
causes less simcha than learning with others. (Possibly this is similar to work
which is permitted on Chol Hamoed to prevent a financial loss, and is a Kal
v'Chomer from this since Torah is more important than money, and losing Torah
is worse than losing money. See also Rosh above 2:1 who discusses an Avel
working after the first 3 days to prevent a financial loss)
See also Halichos Shlomo (Tefilah chapter 7 #58 in the name of R. Shlomo Zalman
Auerbach zt'l) who proves from the Ritva here (DH Avel) that an Avel has a
total exemption from learning Torah but merely is permitted (but not obliged)
to learn sad parts of Torah. Therefore I think your comparison to what the
Igros Moshe and b'Toraso Yehegeh learn in the Rambam can be refuted, because an
Avel is totally exempt from learning so we can say that a Muchram is equivalent
to an Avel in this respect. Therefore the only reason to oblige him to learn is
so that he should not forget his learning. Consequently there is no proof from
here that anyone else who is sure he will not forget his learning is exempt,
because he does not possess the special exemption of the Avel or the Muchram
from the general Mitzvah of Talmud Torah.
KOL TUV
D. Bloom
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