48 Ways - 027 Rejoicing In Your Portion of Torah

Cheilek\Undivided Portion and Chalukah\Divided Portion

To prepare for the Torah, the Mishnah in Avos lists 48 ways of how the Torah is acquired. One of these ways is someiach b’chelko, “to rejoice in one’s portion”. Each person has his own cheilek (portion), and he must also rejoice in it.

The word “cheilek” is related to the word cholok, “smooth”. It is also from the word chalukah, “a divided portion.” It can also imply a union of parts, when each person has a cheilek (portion) in one thing. The Mishnah in the beginning of Tractate Bava Basra discusses a case of partners who wish to make a divide between their property, which the Gemara explains as a split between their portions. First the partners each had their own cheilek (portion) in the property, but they did not make an actual divide yet, and afterwards they split their property, where it becomes a chalukah, a divided portion.

A division is called machlokes. In a machlokes, each person had his own cheilek, such as in a family where each of the children was allotted a portion to inherit, and later there is machlokes – a division of the portions.

Each person has his own cheilek (portion) in Torah. This has a root, as well a branch, to it. As explained above, a cheilek is a portion that is connected to a greater whole. When each person has a cheilek, the parts are all connected together, and it is just that each person has his own portion. That is the root. In the branches of the cheilek, each person’s cheilek is divided from the other.

The classic example of chalukah (divided portions) is when it comes to owning a portion in the land of Eretz Yisrael. The Gemara argues if the division of the land was allotted to the descendants of the 12 tribes who left Egypt, or to those who entered the land. The land of Eretz Yisrael therefore undergoes chalukah, a division of parts.

The Gemara[1] has an argument if Yerushalayim is divided amongst the 12 tribes or not. According to one opinion, the Beis HaMikdash (which was in Yerushalayim) is divided between the portion of Yehudah and the portion of Binyamin. According to the other opinion, Yerushalayim cannot be divided.

On a deeper level, the argument can be explained in terms of two dimensions of Eretz Yisrael. The lower dimension of Eretz Yisrael can be divided, but in its inner dimension, it cannot be divided. The opinion that holds that Yerushalayim was split between Yehudah and Binyamin is speaking of the lower dimension of Eretz Yisrael, which can be divided. The opinion that holds that Yerushalayim cannot be divided is speaking of the higher dimension of Eretz Yisrael, the root, which cannot be divided. Rather, everyone has a cheilek (portion) in it.

On a more subtle level, every inheritance as well contains this root and branch to it. In an inheritance, each of the children divide their portions. At first, each of the children have a portion, where there are no divisions yet. Later, when they are inheriting the assets and dividing it, their portions become split from each other.

A Jew’s Portion in Gan Eden, In The Beis Midrash, and In Olam HaBa

One of the Sages had a prayer, שתשים בחלקנו בגן עדן, “That you place our portion in Gan Eden.”[2] Everyone has a portion in Gan Eden. The Gemara says that if one is meritorious, he can take another’s portion in Gan Eden. Each person has his own personal portion in Gan Eden (which he may lose due to his sins). But when one connects to the general portion in Gan Eden which each person has, he takes not only his portion but another’s portion, because his portion is part of a greater whole which is more inclusive of the other parts.

The Mishnah says that one must be someiach b’chelko, to rejoice in one’s portion. This is true both on a physical level, that one should be happy with his physical situation, as well as on a spiritual level, that one should rejoice that he is able to learn Torah in the Beis Midrash, as we say in the prayer, ששמת חלקינו מיושבי בית המדרש, ולא שמת חלקנו מיושבי קרנות – “That You have placed our portion amongst those who dwell in the house of study, and not amongst those who dwell in the marketplaces.”

But there is a deeper understanding of someiach b’chelko, as mentioned above: “Place our portion in Gan Eden.” Even more so, above Gan Eden is Olam HaBa (the World To Come), as the Mishnah in the end of Tractate Sanhedrin states: “Every Jew has a portion in the World To Come.” Every Jew has his own personal portion in the World To Come, a “room befitting his honor” which his own divided portion, but in addition to this, every Jew has a share in the World To Come which is connected to everyone else’s.

The Root of Our Portion – The Torah

Each person has his portion in the Beis Midrash, in Gan Eden, and in Olam HaBa. Yet, there is a deeper portion than all of the above. The very root is our portion in the Torah, as we say, ותן חלקינו בתורתך, “And give us a portion in Your Torah.” The words of Torah are received on two levels – in the general sense, and in the individual sense.

When Hashem gave the Torah, He said the Ten Commandments, which became split into the 70 languages. Even in the Ten Commandments, there was first only one commandment (Anochi Hashem) which became split into ten. This represents two different aspects of Torah. There is the general part of the Torah, which everyone has a share in, and there is each person’s private share in the Torah.

The Sages state that there are 600,000 letters in the Torah, parallel to the 600,000 souls in the Jewish people, because each person has one letter in the Torah. This is in the individual portion that each person has in one part of the Torah, but there is also each person’s share in the Toras Hashem Temimah, the complete level of Torah.

Torah study therefore has two parts to it. There is each person’s individual portion in the Torah, as we ask, “And give us a portion in Your Torah.” Each person must aspire and pray to reach his private share in the Torah, which is his own personal obligation. But each person must also strive to connect to the general, complete Torah which the entire Jewish people has a share in.

It is written, “For the portion of Hashem is His nation.” Each person has his own private portion in a connection to Hashem, and each Jew as well can connect to the general connection to Hashem which is for the entire Jewish people, for they are Hashem’s nation that He is more intimately connected with.

Finding Your Personal Share and General Share In The Torah

When preparing for the day of the giving of the Torah, in order to be someach b’chelko in the words of Torah, there are two parts to it which one needs.

On one hand, a person needs to exert himself in reaching his own private portion in the Torah. When one reaches his soul root (shoresh haneshamah), he can merit his personal share in the Torah, which is his own, unique level of comprehension in the words of Torah. Along with this, time, one needs to also learn the parts of Torah which are not of his own personal share, by amassing much knowledge in Torah.

Through these two aspects together, a person connects both to his personal share in the Torah and general share in the Torah that belongs to the Jewish people.

If one only connects to the general Torah which belongs to the Jewish people (by amassing much Torah knowledge) but he never finds his own personal share in the Torah, although he will gain by nullifying himself to the general whole of the Jewish people, he has not yet found his true potential in the Torah, so even his self-nullification to the Jewish people will not be complete.

One needs these two aspects together: to reach his own personal share in the Torah which belongs to him and no one else, which requires study and exertion, and in addition, one needs to connect to the completed level of Torah, and this requires him to learn all the other parts of Torah and gather much knowledge in it.

From finding one’s personal share in the Torah, one also connects to Hashem. From connecting to the general Torah that is for all of the Jewish people, one also connects to Hashem, just as the entire Jewish people heard Hashem at Har Sinai and answered, “The voice that Hashem has spoken, we shall do” ­– the complete connection to Hashem.