Getting to Know Your Torah - 02 Exertion & Enjoyment in Learning

Learning What the “Heart Desires”

There is a well-known statement of Chazal that “one does not learn Torah except where his heart desires” (“mah shelibo chafetz”). When a person learns Torah, he has a need to learn a part of Torah that his heart is drawn towards, and in a particular place that he is drawn towards.

From this statement of Chazal, we see that our connection to our learning Torah must not just be a connection through our intellect (seichel). Although Torah is entirely wisdom and intellect, it requires a connection from our heart (lev) as well. So both our intellect and our heart must become connected to our Torah learning.

The Two Stages of Learning

There is a rule that everything in Creation consists of a kli (container) and ohr (spiritual light) that is contained by it. In learning Torah as well, there are two parts – one of them is the spiritual “container” (kli) that holds onto one’s learning and maintains it, and the other part is the spiritual light (the ohr) that our “container” holds.

Chazal say that when one learns Torah, first he should learn it (“lisbar”) and then he should understand it (“lisbar”).The first part of learning is Torah is called “ligmar” – the actual learning. The second part of learning is called “lisbar” – which is one’s understanding of what he is learning. The actual learning (ligmar) is the “container”, the kli, that holds onto one’s understandings of Torah, and the understanding of one’s learning (lisbar) is the light, the ohr, of the Torah.

As we explained in the previous chapter, the rule of “one does not learn Torah except where his heart desires” does not always apply to all aspects of learning Torah. When it comes to acquiring knowledge of the Torah, this needs exertion - whether the person wants it or not.

Within this, however, are two parts to it, which we explained in the previous chapter. There is a part of Torah which applies to all Jews, and there is a part of Torah which applies to an individual.

There is a general aspect of the Torah which applies to all Jews - and this is the general body of knowledge that is the Torah, which all Jews must learn. But in addition to this, each individual Jew has his own portion in the Torah, which is unique only to him, as we say, “And give us our portion in Your Torah.” Each of us has our own private cheilek (portion) in Torah.

The individual role that each person has in the Torah is the “lisbar” aspect of Torah [the understanding of one’s learning, which is the enjoyable part], but not the “ligmar” [amassing the knowledge of Torah, through exertion, which does not involve enjoyment] aspect.

Lisbar - one’s personal level of understanding in the Torah he learns, is a matter thatrequires enjoyment in order to attain, as it is one’s individual and unique role in the Torah.

Ligmar - to learn and amass knowledge of the Torah,is an obligation of learning Torah that must not be dependent on enjoyment.

When it comes to the ligmaraspect of learning, there are no differences between one’s learning and another’s learning, because we all have to learn the knowledge of the Torah. (Of course, there are some people know more Torah knowledge than others, because they have more mental stamina). With ligmar, there is no concept of learning one’s private portion in Torah. It’s the same page of Gemara to every person.

But with lisbar, each person has his own unique understanding in Torah. For example, two people understand the same words of the Rashba or the Ritva in a different way. Sometimes a person simply understands the material better than another, but generally speaking, each person has his own unique understanding in even the same words of the Torah they are both learning.

The ligmarpart of our learningis essentially a kli without the ohr. In this first stage of learning, a person needs to build his “kli” [inner container] by learning the Torah and amassing knowledge. At this stage there is just “kli”, no “ohr” yet, for there cannot yet be ohr at this point when there is not yet a firm kli to hold it.

After one develops his ligmar aspect, he can then be a proper receptacle that can contain the ohr of Torah, which is the lisbar aspect.

At the beginning of one’s learning, he must “be like an ox that bears the yoke of Torah”, as Chazal say. When you begin to learn Torah, your individual role in Torah is not yet revealed to you, because you are still in the process of building yourself through the knowledge of the Torah. Ligmar (learning in order to gain knowledge of the Torah) must be the first stage, and lisbar (meriting your unique understanding of the information of the Torah) can only come at a later stage.

One cannot attempt to reach the later level of “lisbar” if he is not yet solid in “ligmar”!

Exertion and Enjoyment

There are two different abilities in our soul that we use in order to learn Torah: ameilus(exertion)and taanug (enjoyment). Both of these abilities are needed to connect us to the Torah.

The outer layer of the connection to Torah - our knowledge of the Torah, which is what builds us - requires ameilusin order to get it. (There are some people who enjoy this part too, but generally, amassing knowledge of the Torah requires exertion and doesn’t involve enjoyment or a feeling of connection). The inner layer of our connection to Torah is to enjoy our learning.

Chazal always mention the concept of ameilus, exerting oneself, in order to acquire the Torah. On the other hand, Chazal also say that we must enjoy our learning and delight in it. These are two opposite powers we need to make use of in order to become connected to our learning.

Man has a body and a soul. When one learns Torah, his body is learning it, but he must also make sure to involve his soul. The body is used for exertion, while our soul needs to have enjoyment in the Torah, because the soul seeks spiritual pleasure.

Thus, learning the Torah is not just meant for us to have exertion in it. It is also the delight of our soul. So there is a connection to Torah that can either come from our body or soul.

Before the sin of Adam, the Torah we had was of the Eitz HaChaim, the original “Tree of Life”, andit was a Torah that required no exertion to understand it; it was purely enjoyment. We were primarily a soul then, and our soul would have connected to the Torah entirely through the enjoyment in learning, which is the nature of our soul. Had Adam not sinned, we would have only taanug in Torah, and there would be no need for ameilus.

After the sin, man was cursed with having to work hard with his body, to have ameilus, so now we have to learn Torah with ameilus, which involves exertion of our body.

When we have both aspects of the connection in our Torah learning, we have the complete connection. With exertion alone in Torah and no enjoyment in it, such a life is not a life, for there is no enjoyment involved, and this imprisons the soul’s need for [spiritual] pleasure. On the other hand, with enjoyment alone in Torah and no exertion, such a life is frivolous. We need to have a balance between the two abilities of exertion and enjoyment.

How much do we need to balance them out? There is no exact balance for all people, because the balance differs with each individual.

In the beginning of one’s learning, one is experiencing his learning through the prism of his physical body, and his soul isn’t that revealed to him; his mind develops as he gets older and more mature - some more, and some less.

Thus, one first connects to Torah through his body, because all he can have in the beginning of learning is the ligmar\ameilus aspect. There is a little of ohr\taanug too, but the beginning of one’s learning is mostly ameilus - and this is indeed the required basis of one’s learning.

Exertion Must Come Before Enjoyment

At the beginning stage of a person’s learning, there is only exertion of the body, as well as exertion of the brain. This begins to open up the way of connecting to the Torah.

This is the basis of learning Torah: ameilus. This is the first stage, ligmar – to study the Torah and to work hard at knowing it.

Only after exerting oneself in learning can a person begin to connect to his Torah learning through his soul. This is the second stage, lisbar.

This is written as well in a letter from the Chazon Ish. At first there must be hard work at learning the Torah, and there is little enjoyment. After proper exertion in learning, though, the intellect begins to revel in it and enjoy it - and one then enters the spiritual bliss that is the enjoyment of learning.

In today’s generation, there is a problem going on: People usually don’t want to exert themselves in learning, and they want to see the great light of Torah right away, as soon as they begin learning; they are impatient and want to feel the enjoyment right away.

There are pros and cons to this.  It is commendable of course for a person to search for the ohr of Torah, but the problem with this is that people are skipping over the first stage they need to have in their learning, which is ameilus. When a person skips over the stage of ameilus and he wants to go straight to getting the ohr of Torah, he is learning Torah with an undeveloped soul, and eventually, he will realize his mistake. 

This is a very common problem nowadays.

What, then, is the correct way to learn Torah? There must be a balance between how much one is exerting himself in learning together with how much he is enjoying it. If someone has too much exertion in learning, though, and he never attempts to get enjoyment out of his learning, he is straining his mind too much.

There are some people who strain their mind so much in learning that they have even become bedridden from such behavior! Chazal state that one has to have exertion in his Torah studies, but they did not intend that one become too extreme with this and harm himself.

When people have only a superficial understanding towards the concept of ameilus b’Torah, they may read statements of Chazal about ameilus, and they misunderstand the concept, taking it too far; people erroneously think that one has to exert himself way beyond his capabilities. He might look like a righteous and holy saint in doing so, but his soul is suffering inside when he does this.

Ameilus needs a little bit of taanug to balance it, or else the soul will suffer. When one has a ratzon (desire) alone to learn Torah and to exert oneself a little beyond his capabilities – with no enjoyment whatsoever involved - it will cause him to suffer inside, since he has no taanug at all in his learning. There must always be a balance between exertion and enjoyment in one’s learning. It is impossible to say exactly how to have a balance, though, as we explained.

In other terms: there is exertion in Torah both through our body and of our soul. Our body is here on this world to work hard, while our soul wants spiritual pleasure. When one is totally controlled by his body, then even his soul will work hard – but this is not the ideal state of the soul, and it will cause one’s soul to suffer. The root nature of the soul is to want pleasure – spiritual pleasure, that is. “Man was not created except to have pleasure”, as the Mesillas Yesharim wrote – the essence of man is the soul, and the soul’s nature is to seek spiritual pleasure and bask in it.

After the sin of Adam, exertion became a curse for the soul as well, and this is the depth of the curse. The real nature of the soul is pleasure, not exertion. Therefore, when a person exerts his soul, the soul suffers from this.

How much should one have exertion in his body? Exertion means for one to go a little above his natural physical capabilities. Otherwise, it shows that he isn’t trying as hard as he can.

However, as we explained, exertion isn’t everything, because if we have only exertion and no enjoyment, the soul will feel imprisoned.

We will repeat this so that it should be very clear: if there is only exertion in one’s learning and there is no enjoyment whatsoever in one’s learning, his soul will suffer inside.

Chazal state that “one should eat only bread dipped in salt, and water in a pitcher, and to live a life of pain.” What does this mean? It does not simply mean to strain our soul, which is the mistaken notion of many people who misinterpret this Mishnah. It means that we should work hard with the body and endure pain in the physical sense. The soul, however, must never be pained in any way!

Thus, if someone is forcing himself to learn with diligence more than he can handle, his soul will have pain inside from this, and such a life is not a life. What we need is a balance of physical exertion of the body, together with a relaxed soul.

How To Properly Exert The Soul In Learning

The soul seeks spiritual enjoyment, therefore, there must be enjoyment in our learning.

In the original state of mankind, before the sin, only enjoyment in learning was required, and there was no concept of exertion. However, now that we live after the sin, we also need exertion in our learning. We retained our soul’s need for enjoyment, so we must enjoy our learning, but in addition, we also need some exertion of the soul as well.

Therefore, in the beginning stage of learning Torah, which is mainly exertion, we need both exertion of the body and the soul when it comes to learning.

We will explain what proper exertion of the body is, and what proper exertion of the soul is.

The way we exert our body in the Torah is that we need to exert ourselves in learning Torah in order to acquire the knowledge about it - whether we want to or not. That concerns our body’s exertion, and this is what we spoke of in the earlier chapter, that the body’s role is to have exertion in learning.

But our soul requires both exertion and enjoyment. Therefore, even when one begins to reach the level of lisbar and he is enjoying his learning, he should give some exertion to his soul by also learning areas of Torah which he doesn’t enjoy, because the soul needs to go through some pain a little bit.

At first, one is in the ligmar stage, and there is [mainly] no taanug yet, just ameilus. After that stage comes lisbar, in which he has taanug in his learning, but it cannot be entirely taanug. In the lisbar stage, there must be both ameilus and taanug – in the soul (enjoying one’s learning, in addition to also learning parts of Torah that one doesn’t feel an affinity for).

Exertion of the body is to learn Torah even when you don’t have strength. This exerts the body, for it is a physical kind of perseverance. Exertion of the soul in Torah is when one learns parts of Torah which he doesn’t enjoy - it is a mental kind of exertion.

Most people, though, only know of physical exertion in their learning, while the exertion of the soul of learning [mental exertion, via learning parts of Torah that you don’t feel like learning] is often not accessed.  

Thus, when Chazal say that “one should not learn Torah except where his heart desires”, this is no across the board. It concerns only one part of our soul, the part in us that needs enjoyment in learning. It is not a statement referring to the entire soul; because there is another part in our soul which requires exertion in learning, and this part should not involve “what the heart desires” – for that would be detrimental to the whole idea of exertion in learning.

Now that we live after the sin, even our soul needs both taanug and ameilus in the soul. But in order to know how much exertion and enjoyment we need in our soul, this requires a balance.

So on one hand, we need to learn parts of Torah we don’t enjoy, but at the same time, we have to learn parts of Torah that the “heart desires”. When a person has physical and spiritual exertion in learning (included in this is to try to understand another’s opinion of the material, which exerts the mind), he is closer to learning what his “heart desires”, because then his soul has become more purified from the state of after the sin, due to his exertion in learning; the inner light of the soul begins to become more revealed to him, which will affect his learning.

The less developed a person is in his Torah learning, the more physical exertion he needs. The more he develops in his learning, the more he should be focused on spiritual exertion – to learn the parts of Torah that he doesn’t feel like learning. And the more he progresses and matures with this, the more he will merit to really enjoy his learning and reach what his “heart desires” in the Torah.

Balancing Exertion and Enjoyment

Thus, we have explained that there is a certain system of steps to take. Now that we have explained this, we can better understand a problem of this generation with regards to learning.

People these days first want to enjoy their learning, to learn what they want, to experience the soul’s enjoyment in learning - before anything else. There is actually an inner reason to this: we are in the End of Days, nearing Moshiach. There is more light of Torah that has begun to shine nowadays, for we are nearing the great light of the Torah of the future, which will be entirely taanug.

However, this creates a contradiction in ourselves.

Torah learning requires both exertion and enjoyment, both in the physical as well with our soul, as we explained. But now that we are in a time in which the future is almost here, there is a tremendous pull towards spiritual enjoyment, and therefore, people aren’t that interested in the exertion part, which is causing people to skip over a crucial part of connection to their Torah learning.

The problem is that people are learning Torah in-depth solely for the enjoyment in it, getting down to the finest subtleties of the words of Abaye and Rava with the sole agenda of getting to enjoy the most subtle points of their analysis. Another example is that there are people who only learn what their heart desires, such as people who will only learn the sefarim of a certain author, because they like that author’s style.

Of course, the words of Torah are always holy, but if a person only wishes to dwell in the pleasure of the inner light of Torah, this is detrimental.

Thus, the current time we are in is contradicting the way of how our soul needs to be developed through learning Torah.

The exertion in learning Torah today has a certain difficulty that previous generations didn’t have. Today, as the generations decrease, there is more materialism, so it is harder to have physical exertion and leave the materialism of the body. This is also besides for the general evil inclination that we have.

But in addition, there is a deeper aspect to the problem: in this generation, there is an inner contradiction that our soul is faced with. A person these days can know deep down that he must exert himself in his learning, but at the same time, there is a great pull towards spiritual taanug that exists now that we are in the End of Days, and since the soul wants this taanug, it would rather not have exertion.

What happens as a result from this contradiction that one feels? Either a person will only choose the path of exertion in his learning - or he will only have enjoyment in his learning, depending on what is drawn towards; and a lack of balance is created. Whether a person mainly has exertion or whethere he only has enjoyment in his learning, either way, we still are presented with a contradiction in our learning that we face. The End of Days is a time in which people want taanug very badly, and this challenges our need to have exertion in our souls when it comes to learning Torah.

This contradiction is the inner reason that prevents many people from connecting to learning Torah in our generation.

We all have some degree of this contradiction in ourselves that we feel (the desire for enjoyment in learning vs. the need for exertion in learning); some people feel it more and some feel it less, but all of us at some point notice it.

The Inner Clarification: Body Connection Vs. Soul Connection

Let us return to discussing the root of these words.

To summarize until now, we need to connect to the Torah through both exertion and enjoyment. Our body’s role is to have exertion in Torah, and our soul wants the enjoyment in Torah (and now that we live after the sin, our soul as well requires some exertion too).

So when a person learns Torah, he has to identify the following sharp awareness: “Which part of me is learning Torah now – my body, or my soul?”

Obviously, it cannot be only the body, because a body without a soul means that the person is dead. But the question is: “What level of existence am I at right now? Is my body learning Torah, or is it my soul that is learning Torah?”

It’s possible that a person is learning Torah for many years, yet it is only his body which learned Torah, not his soul!

Torah is called ohr, a spiritual light; it is called Torah ohr. The mitzvos involve our body, but the Torah is entirely a soul matter, for it is an ohr. (On a deep note, the Torah can take on a garment of the body, but in essence, it is a soul matter).When a person learns Torah, he must be connected to it with both exertion and enjoyment, but before this, he needs to identify, with sharp clarity: “Which part of me is learning Torah now – my body, or my soul?”

Here is a simple example that illustrates the concept. Imagine if a non-Jew would come to sit and learn Torah (which is forbidden). What is the difference between a Jew learning Torah, or some Christian or Muslim who learns Torah? Is the entire difference because we get reward and a non-Jew doesn’t, or because we were at Har Sinai and they weren’t? Without getting into the esoteric differences which are hidden from us (which are also true), what is the difference we can openly identify between a Jew who learns Torah and a non-Jew who would learn Torah…?

(For example, let’s say he is sitting and learning the chapter in Tractate Sanhedrin which deals with the Seven Noachide laws, and he is earnest about fulfilling them.)

This is a deep inner clarification to ponder.

There are all kinds of intellectual differences between a Jew’s learning and a non-Jew’s learning, and these are all true explanations. But the real question we need to ask ourselves is, if our soul is consciously connected to our learning in a way that differs from a non-Jew’s act of learning Torah.

There are many basic and fundamental differences between a Jew’s learning and a non-Jew’s learning, but these differences are not always revealed in the open to us. If the difference between a Jew’s learning and a non-Jew’s learning is not brought into one’s conscious awareness, there is a lot missing from one’s learning.

Of course, a Jew remains different from a non-Jew, and that is clear, whether we see the differences or not. But when it comes to one’s personal connection to learning Torah, the difference between a Jew’s learning and a non-Jew’s learning must be openly revealed into one’s consciousness, and if not, one’s connection to learning is sorely lacking.

This is a subtle inner test, which every soul at some point needs to go through. One has to clarify to himself, inwardly, how exactly he is connected to his learning – how it is defined.

This is a deeper test than what was discussed in earlier in Chapter One, which was about clarifying why one learns and how to connect to it; now comes another step, which is to clarify, if I am connecting to it through my body or through my soul.

Of course, we learn Torah with our seichel, the intellect; but within our intellect is our spiritual essence, which is soul, and our human logic. So the question one needs to ask himself is: “Is it the soul within my mind that is learning Torah, or is it my logic that is learning Torah?”

Whether you can feel this consciously or not, it always remains true that there is a soul in our brain which is learning Torah. Our Rabbis wrote of this, so it is true. But although this is true, it will not be enough for one to become connected to the Torah. One has to reveal his soul within his intellect, so that the soul within his intellect is being used as he learns Torah.

This is the meaning of “Torah ohr”. Torah is called the neshamah (soul) of the world. The world is like the body, and the Torah is the soul of the world. When a person learns Torah, he must know, is my body connecting to it, or is it my soul that is connecting to it?

When a person learns Torah only through his body, he does not have even mental enjoyment in it, and when he tries to enjoy it, he is like a person who desires the yefas toar; (captive woman) he is desiring something that is not his right now. It is a merely an outlet for his desire.

When someone utilizes his intellect, he has exertion in his learning; when someone has revealed his soul, he has enjoyment in his learning. A person who has revealed his soul in his life lives a life of taanug.

(There are people who misuse the need for taanug and they seek unhealthy pleasure, which is an abuse of the element of water in the soul. But when one seeks spiritual pleasure all the time, it is because he has revealed his existence as a soul, so he is using the nature of his soul.)

When a person lives a materialistic life and he mainly enjoys materialism, or he learns Torah only through his body, he has no taanug of the soul. Even people who are used to “thinking in learning” might only be used to intellectual enjoyment, but they still haven’t reached real taanug yet.

The way one can know if he has reached real taanug in learning yet is to see where his thoughts are pulled to. If one finds that his thoughts are naturally drawn towards thinking into one’s learning, it shows that he has found taanug in learning.

If a person hasn’t reached real taanug yet in learning, (of course, we always have a body, so there is always a part in us which is not perfect), generally, he will need to change his perspective towards learning [as was described here], and it in order to tell if he has really changed his mindset towards learning, the difference on him has to become apparent. When we see him davening, or when he’s shopping in the supermarket, does he look like anyone else… or does he look different? When someone reaches real taanug in his learning, he lives with an inner kind of joy, and it can be clearly seen on him; he does not look like his non-spiritual counterparts.

Shabbos: The Power To Expand Pleasure

Now we will add on the following point.

We have six days and Shabbos. On Shabbos, which is called yoma d’nishmasa, “day of the soul”, it is a time of taanug. There is more revealed taanug in our soul on Shabbos, which most people can feel at least a bit. Our body also has some more pleasure on Shabbos, as Rashi states, that the extra soul we receive on Shabbos extends to the body and allows it to have more pleasure in food. Shabbos is the time in which we access pleasure.

There were even some tzaddikim in the past who were very involved in exertion in learning during the week on, but on Shabbos, they detached a bit from exertion and instead allowed their soul to purely enjoy their learning.

Therefore, although we need to have exertion in learning, Shabbos can give us a balance to our exertion, by providing us with the power of taanug\enjoyment. Our soul lives in a world in which materialism is dominant, so we mainly experience exertion during the week, both in our body (physically) and soul (mentally). Shabbos is an opportunity for us to gain spiritual pleasure and thereby give balance to our exertion.

If one who only has exertion in his learning during the week, and he has no enjoyment, then when Shabbos comes, he hasn’t yet opened his faculty of pleasure, so he won’t be able to experience the pleasure of Shabbos. But if one has already opened up himself a bit during the week for spiritual pleasure, then when it comes Shabbos, Shabbos will expand his point of pleasure that he has already begun to open up.

This is also the depth of preparing for Shabbos. During the week we have exertion in body and soul, but we also need a little bit of a connection to pleasure during the week.

There is a kind of person who only has physical exertion in learning, and he rarely has enjoyment in his learning; perhaps he will see a nice Torah thought and he will find pleasure in it, or he will enjoy a good speaker that comes to town and he hears a nice idea. But he rarely has pleasure in his learning on an ongoing basis, thus he isn’t yet connected to pleasure in learning. He must open up himself to a little bit of pleasure in learning.

Chazal said that one should open up for himself an opening the size of a needlepoint, and then Hashem will do the rest. The Kotzker zt”l explained that it has to be a kind of opening which can allow something to enter and it and exit it. So too, we can apply this concept to our discussion, that one must open himself a little to spiritual pleasure so that his ‘opening’ can further be expanded.  So if he just waits for Shabbos to do it for him, it won’t work, because there has to have already been an ‘opening’ from during the week.

Opening Yourself Up To Pleasure In Learning

Thus, during the week there must already be pleasure in learning, and then Shabbos can come and expand that pleasure.

Now we will say how this concept can be practical.

If a person is exerting himself in learning Torah during the week but he isn’t enjoying his learning at all, what should he do? Generally, he can tell himself that the more he exerts himself in his learning, the more he purifies the body from its materialism, so he should continue exerting himself, because his very exertion is what will enable him to eventually discover the enjoyment in learning.

But what should he do in the meantime, when he hasn’t yet reached the enjoyment? He should find areas in Torah which his heart desires to learn, and from there he will draw pleasure.

Every person needs exertion in learning, and exertion means that one must push himself a little more than his natural abilities; but at the same time, he must open himself a bit to having pleasure in learning (even though he’s not fully at that level yet), and connect himself to his learning through getting enjoyment out of it.

(This all concerns the beginning stage of one’s learning [which is what we are currently addressing]).

Thus, there must be some small revelation of pleasure in learning, even in the beginning stage of one’s learning which mainly involves exertion.

These days, people don’t like to exert themselves, and when they seek advice about this, they are often told to try to exert themselves in learning for just 30 minutes to try it out and get used to it. The problem is, though, that by the time it comes 30 minutes, they’ve already given up…

Here is the inner method: Exert yourself just a little more than you can naturally do, and along with this, have some enjoyment in learning, by learning a part of Torah which you feel drawn towards.

However, one should not spend too much time learning those parts of Torah he is drawn towards, because then he will enjoy it so much that it will become his top priority, and he will harm his entire soul from this.

The point is not to simply get pleasure; the point is that through pleasure in learning a part of Torah you are drawn towards, you drawn pleasure from the Torah.

So although the beginning stage of your learning is mainly exertion and not about pleasure, still, you must have a little bit of pleasure in your learning as well, even when you start out.

To summarize: With exertion in learning and no enjoyment in it, Shabbos will be no different than the week. But if you have already experienced some pleasure in your learning during the week (by learning parts of Torah that your heart feels drawn towards), then Shabbos will be able to expand that pleasure.

Although this is the general idea, the concepts here need to be further broadened and clarified.