Daf Yomi - Rosh Hashana 16 - Torah Scholar is Compared to Shabbos

by Reb Ben

The Gemara states that Rabbi Yitzchak said that one is obligated to visit his teacher during the festival. This is derived from the verse that states why are you going to him today? It is neither a New Moon nor a Shabbos! This verse was said regarding the woman from Shuneim, who Elisha had blessed with a child and then the child became ill and died. When the woman told her husband that she was returning to Elisha to inform him of the child’s demise, her husband, unaware of what had occurred, inquired why she was going to Elisha. The Gemara states that the verse implies that on the New Moon and on Shabbos one is obligated to visit his teacher. It would seem that the reason for this obligation is because the Zohar states that a Torah scholar is in the category of Shabbos. If one wishes to truly experience the Shabbos, he should visit his teacher on the Shabbos. The Arizal writes that the essential obligation of one visiting his teacher is on Shabbos, because that is when a person has a neshama yeseira, an extra soul, for the whole Shabbos.