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Why is the Aron's crown written "zar" (stranger) but read "zer" (crown)? Torah (תורה) learned properly becomes a crown yielding countless blessings, but learned improperly leads to forgetting everything—not just loss of future growth but retroactive resentment. The shiur explores how relationships driven by selfish motives breed rage when they stagnate, applying this to Torah study, marriage, addiction, and the Torah principle that stagnation in any invested relationship creates explosive anger.
Rabbi Zweig opens with the Torah (תורה)'s description of the Aron having a "zer zahav" (golden crown), noting that the word is written "zar" (stranger) but pronounced "zer" (crown). Chazal teach that if one merits learning Torah properly (lishma), it becomes a crown bringing countless blessings enumerated in the Beraisa—wisdom, friendship with God and people, righteousness, humility, and the ability to benefit others with counsel. But if one does not learn Torah properly (lo zocheh), Torah becomes "zar lo"—estranged—and Rashi (רש"י) explains this means the person forgets his learning entirely. The fundamental question: why should improper learning lead to forgetting? Why not simply fail to receive the blessings while retaining what was learned, as in any other academic subject? The shiur unpacks a Mishna in Avos (5:16) that addresses love dependent on an external factor ("ahava tluya b'davar"): when the factor disappears, the love ends. The example given is Amnon and Tamar. Love not dependent on external factors, like Dovid and Yonasan's friendship, endures forever. Rabbi Zweig points out a difficulty he never noticed before: if someone marries for money and the job ends, why does the *entire* love cease? There was real affection, even if tied to other benefits. The relationship should stagnate, not vanish retroactively.
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Parshas Terumah - Aron HaKodesh, Avos 5:16
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