"My teachings should come down to you as rain." Deuteronomy 32:2
Rain helps things grow. But what grows? Only what is there from before. If you have healthy vegetables
and fruits, rain will help them develop, but if there are poisonous mushrooms, rain will help them grow too. Similarly, Torah
study makes you grow, but what you will become depends on your character traits. A person with godly traits
will become a godly person, but an arrogant one will become more arrogant as he gains more knowledge. Such a person
is likely to misuse his Torah knowledge and make others feel inferior to
him.
When a power-hungry person gains knowledge, he feels more justified in manipulating others. A selfish person will utilize
his knowledge to become even more selfish. On the other hand, a person with positive character traits will use his Torah knowledge to help as many people as he can. He will readily share his knowledge with others
and the more Torah he studies the more "like His Master" he will become.
A Rabbi told his friend about the positive intellectual qualities of a young man whom his sister-in-law considered
marrying. The friend interrupted him with the question, "Will he be a good husband?" A newly married wife requested that her
husband take out the garbage, but he felt that it was not fitting for one who studies Torah
to deal with the garbage. He approached his Rabbi and asked him for his opinion. "Yes, it is not fitting for someone like
yourself to take out the garbage" the Rabbi replied.
The next day there was a knock on the young man's door. To his surprise it was his Rabbi. "Could you please show
me where you keep your garbage" the Rabbi asked him. "I came to take it out for you."