Menachos Daf 99 מנחוס דַף 99

In addition to the שולחן הזהב in the היכל, there were two tables in the אולם, one of silver (Rashi says it was marble, but white like silver), and one of gold. The Kohanim placed the לחם on the silver table as they were entering the היכל, and on the gold table upon exiting, שמעלין בקודש ולא מורידין – because we ascend in matters of sanctity, but do not descend (so the לחם is not placed onto the silver table after being on the golden שולחן in the היכל). Rebbe says the source for "אין מורידין" is the passuk which describes Moshe’s erecting the משכן, which both begins and ends with the loftier term "ויקם" – and he raised up. We derive "מעלין" from the fact that the shovels of Korach’s followers began as תשמישי מזבח – accessories to the מזבח (when they were used for offering קטורת), and later were used to cover the מזבח הזהב itself. Relatedly, both the second לוחות and the שברי לוחות – broken pieces of the first לוחות were placed inside the ארון, which teaches us regarding a תלמיד חכם who forgot his learning involuntarily, שאין נוהגין בו מנהג בזיון – that we do not treat him in a demeaning way.

Reish Lakish said: פעמים שביטולה של תורה זהו יסודה – sometimes the cessation of Torah is itself its establishment, because the passuk says about the לוחות, "אשת שברת" – which you broke, hinting that Hashem told Moshe: יישר כחך ששברת – “May your strength stay true, for you broke the לוחות.” Reish Lakish also said: תלמיד חכם שסרח – regarding a talmid chochom who sinned, אין מבזין אותו בפרהסיא – we do not disgrace him in public, based on a derashah. He also said: כל המשכח דבר אחד מתלמודו עובר בלאו – anyone who causes even one word of his Torah learning to be forgotten transgresses a prohibition, as the passuk says: השמר לך ושמור נפשך מאד פן תשכח את הדברים – beware for yourself and greatly guard your soul, lest you forget the things [that you saw at הר סיני], and the term "השמר" constitutes a לאו. Ravina says "השמר" and "פן" constitute two לאוין, and Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak says "ושמור" constitutes a third לאו. This prohibition does not include forgetting מחמת אונסו – involuntarily, because the passuk’s expression "ופן יסורו מלבבך" – and lest you remove from your heart implies במסירם מלבו – one who removes them from his heart. Also, the word "רק" – “only” excludes forgetting because תקפה עליו משנתו – his learning overwhelmed him.

In a Baraisa, Rebbe Yose says (disagreeing with the Mishnah’s Tanna Kamma) that even removing the לחם הפנים in the morning and placing new לחם on it in the evening fulfills the "תמיד" – “continuous” requirement. Rebbe Ami derives from this: אפילו לא שנה אדם אלא פרק אחד שחרית ופרק אחד ערבית – even if a person only learned one chapter of Torah in the morning and one chapter in the evening, he fulfilled the mitzvah of לא ימוש ספר התורה הזה מפיך – “this Book of the Torah shall not leave your mouth; [rather, you shall contemplate it day and night].” Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai taught that even reciting שמע in the morning and evening fulfills "לא ימוש". Rebbe Yochanan added that it is forbidden to tell this before עמי הארץ, but Rava said it is a mitzvah to do so. Rebbe Yishmael’s nephew asked him, having learned the entire Torah, can he learn Greek wisdom? He quoted the above passuk and said: צא ובדוק שעה שאינה לא מן היום ולא מן הלילה ולמוד בה חכמת יונית – go out and seek a time which is neither day nor night, and learn Greek wisdom then! However, Rebbe Yonasan is quoted as saying that this passuk is neither an obligation nor a רשות, but a ברכה, which he proceeds to explain.