So we said that learning Torah is a prerequisite for personal growth ( as opposed to being synonymous with it ) - but are all prerequisites created equal ?
The Torah points out that tumah is transferred onto a fruit or vegetable that grew from the ground only after it is picked and only after it has been splashed with one of the seven liquids. But the prerequisite of splashing is mentioned in the reflexive ( ..."and if water was placed on it"...) to teach us that even if the owner of the fruit / vegetable didn't want the prerequisite fulfilled - it still is.
It therefor, logically, follows that if the Torah had to make special mention of the fact that this prerequisite is fulfilled even without the owner's intentions - other prerequisites ( like the one we were discussing ) must be done with intention to fulfill the prerequisite - or else they are insufficient !
In other words, one cannot become a tzaddik just by learning, it is merely a prerequisite. And learning doesn't even fulfill the prerequisite of 'tziddkus' unless you actually intend for it to do so.
The Torah points out that tumah is transferred onto a fruit or vegetable that grew from the ground only after it is picked and only after it has been splashed with one of the seven liquids. But the prerequisite of splashing is mentioned in the reflexive ( ..."and if water was placed on it"...) to teach us that even if the owner of the fruit / vegetable didn't want the prerequisite fulfilled - it still is.
It therefor, logically, follows that if the Torah had to make special mention of the fact that this prerequisite is fulfilled even without the owner's intentions - other prerequisites ( like the one we were discussing ) must be done with intention to fulfill the prerequisite - or else they are insufficient !
In other words, one cannot become a tzaddik just by learning, it is merely a prerequisite. And learning doesn't even fulfill the prerequisite of 'tziddkus' unless you actually intend for it to do so.
Hatzlacha !
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