Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
It's coming. In a little while the festival of Shavuot, the celebration of Matan Torah (giving of the Torah), will be here. Most of us are not huge Torah scholars, and we certainly do not pretend to know the entire Torah. The following story explains what motivates us, nevertheless, in our own personal Torah study.
A great rabbi came to a yeshiva of outstanding students in order to determine who among them was the best student. He entered the study hall and said he had a serious Torah question, a complex conundrum that only a genius could solve.
The rabbi asked the question. For a long time, everyone tried to answer it without success. The rabbi left the yeshiva disappointed. Everyone went back to his studies when, all of a sudden, a young man dashed out of the yeshiva and ran after the carriage of the rabbi. "Just a moment, but what is the answer to your question?" the young man excitedly asked. The rabbi answered: "You are the best student! I was looking for you. The main thing is the heart, the desire, the thirst, the sparkle in your eyes."
Chag sameach.
