The Torah Decision

The beracha to Yissocher says וַיַּ֤רְא מְנֻחָה֙ כִּ֣י ט֔וֹב וְאֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ כִּ֣י נָעֵ֑מָה וַיֵּ֤ט שִׁכְמוֹ֙ לִסְבֹּ֔ל וַיְהִ֖י לְמַס־עֹבֵֽד.  The possuk appears to be a self-contradiction, if Yissochar saw that rest is good why than is he carrying a burden?  Furthermore, what is the pleasent land that he is seeing and hoe is that a cause for Yissocher to carry a burden?  And what is the difference between the words טוב and נעימה?  Some of the commentators (Rashbam, Rashi) understand that the land is referring to his portion in Eretz Yisroel and how he works the land and doesn’t travel but we will go in the footsteps of the commentaries (Or Hachaim, Kli Yakar) that understand that the possuk is explaining why Yissocher chooses to be the Torah learner.

 וַיַּ֤רְא מְנֻחָה֙ כִּ֣י ט֔וֹב is referring to the next world where one rests from all the bodily pursuits of this world.  Yissocher sees that and then contrasts that with the אָ֖רֶץ, referring to this earthly world and sees it’s נָעֵ֑מָה but not טוב.  The difference between טוב and נעימה is that טוב is the salad, quinoa and flax seeds of your diet.  These things are good for you nutritionally speaking, but they aren’t נעים, they don’t taste very good.  On the other hand the potato chips, cake and ice cream are all נעים, they are very appetizing, but they aren’t healthy, they aren’t for your ultimate good (heard the parable from Rabbi Y.Y. Jacobson.)  Yissachor sees this is world is indeed a delight, there is a lot of pleasure one can get from it, but it’s merely ice cream and cake, it is a short time gratifying pleasure but in the long run it is no benefit.  On the other hand the spiritual pursuits may seem to be quite bland, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” but in the end it leads to a much better and sweeter life.  Yissocher's eyes are on the long term gain and therefore, he chooses the true מנוחה, to be free from the pursuits of קנאה, תאוה וכבוד that enslave a person and hence, bends his shoulder to bear the burden of Torah.

Rav Yeruchem Levovitz elaborates on the point that true מנוחה is to accept the burden of Torah.  Through toil in Torah one is removed from all the troubling occurrences of life.  Of course, this idea is expressed in Chazal אל תקרי חרות אלא חירות.  By learning Torah a person is free from all the passions and burdens of this world that bother others.  ודוק ותשכח בחיי היום יום, there is no better way to remove one's stress and aggravation than heading to the Beis Midrash and learning.