18: Writing and Buying Sefarim

Write this song [the Torah] for yourselves.... (Devarim 31:19)

One should either write or buy a sefer Torah and other sefarim from which to learn.

The Rosh explains that the mitzvah nowadays includes buying those sefarim which one will study from on a regular basis.

The Midrash says that a person should record his learning and that will be considered as an offering of atonement to Hashem (Midrash Tehillim 48:2).

This mitzvah is the last of the 613 recorded in the Torah. The first is the mitzvah to be fruitful and multiply, in Parashas Bereishis. These two mitzvos encapsulate the purpose of a Jew’s life: “Produce a nation that will serve Hashem” (Rambam, Moreh Nevuchim 3:51).

Text Copyright © 2006 by Rabbi Moshe Goldberger and Torah.org.