I once sat in the Beit Hamidrash in our yeshiva in Lyon, learning with my students. Suddenly, an unaffiliated-looking young man entered. I waited to see if he wanted something. He merely looked around and then left. I called after him to sit with us awhile, but he declined.
I tried convincing him that he had nothing to lose by coming in for a few minutes. B’chasdei Shamayim, he finally agreed. He sat with us for a few hours, watching us learn. Slowly but surely, his frosty attitude toward Torah thawed, until he was caught up in our fiery enthusiasm.
Since then, this young man has been coming to the yeshiva for two hours a day or more. He thus fulfills the maxim in Tehillim (34:9), “Contemplate and see that Hashem is good; fortunate is the one who takes refuge in Him.”
The Torah has magnetic qualities. It draws to it the Jew who expresses a desire to learn and takes the first step in this direction.
