By Rabbi Shmuel Gluck

When Moshe Rabbeinu went to receive the Luchos, the Posuk says that He went B’soch He’onon, inside the cloud. Rashi explains that Hashem made a Shvil, a path, within the cloud, for him to walk through. Why was this path necessary?

Rav Moshe Feinstein, in his Sefer Dorash Moshe, explains that Moshe Rabbeinu was walking towards the Shechina with the goal of receiving, and learning, the Torah. Torah isn’t about amassing knowledge. It’s about learning from a Rebbi who will teach the information in a methodical manner, in a path, so that the information is understood as it was intended. Rav Moshe continues that Torah Shel Baal Peh, especially, requires a Rebbi, and shouldn’t be studied alone.

Torah isn’t about amassing knowledge. It’s about learning from a Rebbi who will teach the information in a methodical manner

In addition, I would like to add that when people learn from Seforim, they should do it in a methodical manner, and choose Seforim that “connect” with them, and study them from cover to cover. Learning the Sefer a second time, in order to absorb its underlying message (more than just the information) is also advisable. Learning a few pages in one Sefer, and then a few in another Sefer, isn’t a path, and won’t teach people an “approach”. It will only give them a smattering of information. They will not be able to adopt the path to lead their lives in a Torah manner.

Everything that people do to achieve success in life may appear easy, until they realize that achieving success requires more than “just” doing it when, and in a manner, that makes them feel good. There’s a specific process that is required. As with all Mitzvos, learning Torah requires that it be done in a methodical, mindful, manner, in order to achieve the greatest success.

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