Q&A: Studying Torah about Commandments and Enactments
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Studying Torah about Commandments and Enactments
Question
Hello. Why is engaging in the definitions and parameters of the sages’ enactments, decrees, and customs considered Torah study? After all, this is not engagement with God's will, but with things that human beings invented (the laws of Hanukkah, the custom of sounding the shofar in the month of Elul, etc.). True, they have the authority to do this, but what does that have to do with Torah study?
Thank you
Answer
I tend to think that this is not Torah study, but rather preparatory means for a commandment, in order to know what to observe. As I recall, I noted this in the talkbacks on column 479 (and Shatzal there brought sources in both directions).