Is Forgetting a Good Excuse? - Pirkei Avos 3:8 With the Commentary of Rabbeinu Yona

Recording stopped. Okay, friends. Perkey Avos, perek gimmel, pasuk ches. If you have a Perkey Avos, it's the Mishnah of Rabbi Dostai bar Yanai mishum Rabbi Meir omer. Rabbi Dostai, the son of Yanai, said in the name of Meir. And we'll see this is very appropriate to Rabbi Meir because Rabbi Meir had the Torah inscribed on his mind's eye. If you remember, the Gemara Megillah says that Rabbi Rabbi Meir once wrote a Sefer Torah by heart. And the Gemara asks, you're not allowed to. You have to write it from a previously inscribed Megillah. And the Gemara says, "No, Rabbi Meir is different. Rabbi Meir af al pe chacham yashir lefanekha. The Torah was written on the mind of Rabbi Meir. So, he for him it was considered like he copied it from a pre-existing Sefer Torah. So, what does the Mishnah in Perkey Avos say? Kasha shekeach davar echad mi mishnasav, if you forget something from your learning, mala alav hakasuv, it's considered ke'ilu miskayev benafsho. Like you're liable to your life. And this is uh juxtaposed to the previous Mishnah that if somebody interrupts in the middle of learning and says, Ilan manua, Ilan zemi, I nua near zemi, mala alav hakasuv ke'ilu miskayev benafsho. Where do we learn this from? Shenemar, rak hishamer lekha, be careful, ushmar nafshikha me'od, guard your soul, pen tishkach es hadvarim, lest you forget the matters asher rau einekha, that your eyes saw. Yakhol afilu takfa alav mishnasav, I would think that you're liable even if your learning became so overbearing and you became so overwhelmed and there were external forces that were causing forgetfulness, still you're liable to your life. No, talmud lomar, ufen yasuru milevavkha kol yemei chayekha, lest you actively remove it all the days of your life. Ha einai miskayev benafsho, you're not liable ad sheyeshivenu sirum milevavah until you actively remove it from your heart. So, what the Mishnah is saying is that one is encouraged, one is warned to be exceedingly careful not to forget your learning. And yet on the other hand, if you do forget because it's just too much to remember, you're excused. So, then under what circumstances are you not excused? After all, isn't memory something that's not within human control? Can a person control their memory? Isn't memory just part of the human personality and some people have better memories than others? So, Rabbi Yonah explains as follows. Rabbi Dostai bar Yanai mishum Rabbi Meir omer, kol talmid chakham sheyoshev veshoneh, a talmid chakham that sits and learns veshocheach davar echad mi mishnasav, malan alav ke'ilu miskayev benafsho, shenemar, rak hishamer lekha, ushmar nafshikha me'od, pen tishkach es hadvarim. Why is there punishment for not remembering your learning? What should I have done? Listen to this. Says Rabbi Yonah, the ha'einai ashu the punishment is shelo yishim levavo b'ma she lamad. You did not place to your heart what you learned. Ki hashikcha metzuya tamid bivnei adam, forgetfulness is very common. Vahayu leilav leilav hakacha pa'amayim, you should have reviewed many, many times. Not only that, velo yashiv bah kol hayom uvakhol halailah, and think about it all day and all night ad asher lo yisuchenu sirum milevavah, to the point where you can't forget it. And here we have the expectation of our connection to Torah that if somebody learns something, one should review it again and again and again and again and again. And and I think this is most relevant for our times, we're we're we live in a time that there is no shortage of things to check out and occupy yourself with at any moment in the day. Many people are going to the barber today. Or they're going to be driving today. Or they're going to be in the store today. So, what do you do while you're pushing uh your cart through the store? The expectation is you should think about what you've learned and review it and review it and review it until you can never you'll never forget it. And when you're driving, review your learning. And when you're in the barber shop, review your learning. Don't say, "Okay, I learned it. It was very good. It was very interesting. I'm sure, you know, I remember it." No, you need to actively review and review all of your learning to the point where you'll never forget it. That will never happen. But you didn't do that, so you're liable. Kiyavoi lehorois apizu chireinoisa, you know why? So, you'll say, "So what? What what is so terrible about forgetting?" So, Rabbi Yonah says, you're going to come to instruct people of what to do based on what you think you remember, but your memory is not f- uh full uh foolproof. And you're going to start forgetting and people are going to ask you halakhic questions and you're going to tell them wrong things. You're going to pasken based on your memory. Yomar, kakh amuli Rabbi, I remember my Rabbi said this. Ve'yasir ha'mutar, you'll prohibit what's permitted. Ve'yater ha'asur, you'll permit what's prohibited. Venimtza takalah al yado, and you're going to cause a stumbling block. Venikra poshea, and you're called what what happened here was not inadvertent. It's negligent. Mimei sheshigegas talmud oila zadon. Inadvertent, if you make an inadvertent mistake because of failure to study, that's called intentional. But if the reason for forgetfulness is because the learning is too overwhelming, yakhol afilu takfa alav mishnasav, I would think even if the learning is too uh daunting and too vast, talmud lomar, ufen yasuru, einai miskayev ad sheyeshivenu sirum milevavah, you're not liable until you sit and actively remove it from your heart. Ki hashikcha aidei ziknah, forgetting because of old age aidei onas acher or other extenuating circumstances, Rachmana patrei, the Torah exempts you. Ve'einai miskayev benafsho, you are not you are not liable under those circumstances. But from Rabbi Yonah, again, Rabbi Yonah is learning that this Mishnah specifically talking about a Torah sage because he could come to issue an incorrect ruling. But the expectation that he outlines and articulates is that one should review a halakhah many, many times. The whole day, the whole night, that you can't forget it. You know, people say, "It's not my fault. I forgot." No, you didn't forget. You purposely removed it from your mind. How? Cuz you should have repeated to yourself again and again and again to the point where you can't forget. Okay? One more offering for today. Recording stopped.