דִי וועֶלט דאַרף האָבּעֶן טַהֲרַת הָאֲוִיר. טַהֲרַת הָאֲוִיר אִיז נאָר דוּרךְ אוֹתִיּוֹת הַתּוֹרָה. דִי אוֹתִיּוֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה זַיינעֶן אַ שְׁמִירָה כְּלָלִית אוּן אַ שְׁמִירָה פְּרָטִית. חֲלוּקַת הַשִּׁתָּא סִדְרֵי מִשְׁנָה (בְּעַל-פֶּה) אִיז אַ "וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ"'דִיקעֶר. דִי מִשְׁנָה מִשְׁנָיוֹת וואָס מעֶן וועֶט חַזֶרְ'ן וואוּ מעֶן וועֶט זַיין, אִין וואָס פאַר אַ פְּלאַץ מעֶן וועֶט זַיין, וועֶט בּאֶלַייכְטעֶן דִי פאַרְבִּינְדוּנג פוּן יִשְׂרָאֵל מִיט קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא. מִשְׁנָה אִיז אוֹתִיּוֹת נְשָׁמָה. עֶס אִיז זֵייעֶר שְׁוועֶר צוּ געֶפִינעֶן דִי וועֶרטעֶר אוֹיסצוּדרִיקעֶן דעֶם גְרעֶסטעֶן תּוֹעֶלֶת בְּעֶזְרַת ה' יִתְבָּרֵךְ אִין דעֶר שְׁמִירָה כְּלָלִית אוּן דעֶר שְׁמִירָה פְּרָטִית, וואָס דעֶר כְּסֵדֶר'דִיגעֶר חַזֶרְ'ן מִשְׁנָיוֹת וועֶט בְּעֶזְרַת ה' יִתְבָּרֵךְ בְּרֵיינגעֶן, אוּן עֶס פעֶלעֶן אוֹיס דִי וועֶרטעֶר צוּ בּאַשׁרַייבּעֶן דעֶם גְרוֹיסעֶן נַחַת רוּחַ, וואָס מעֶן וועֶט פאַרשׁאַפעֶן דעֶם בּוֹרֵא עוֹלָם בָּרוּךְ הוּא.

This world needs to have its air purified, and this can be accomplished only through the letters of the Torah [that one recites].1 These letters afford both universal and individual protection. The division of the Six Orders of the Mishnah (to be studied by heart)2 fulfills [the mandate to study Torah] “while you walk on your way.”3

Every single mishnah that a person reviews [from memory], wherever he may be, lights up the connection between the Jewish people and G‑d. Significantly, the word Mishnah (משנה) shares the same letters as neshamah (נשמה) — “soul.”

It is difficult to find the appropriate words to express the great benefit, and the universal and individual protection that will be gained through the constant review of mishnayos. And there are no words to describe the great satisfaction that [such review] gives the Creator of the World.4

Probing Beneath the Surface

This is not the only discourse in which the Rebbe Rayatz discusses the power of memorizing and articulating Torah words to purify the air. At times he seems to be referring to the physical atmosphere. At other times it is clear that he is referring to the spiritual quality of the air, the cultural atmosphere in which a Jew finds himself. For these statements were made in the 1940s, when countless Jews found themselves hurled from the devout courtyards of a European shtetl into the hectic ratrace of a materialistic American city. It was this mood in the air that the Rebbe Rayatz sought to refine.

To achieve this goal, he suggested reviewing mishnayos by heart. For when a person learns something from a book, he and the Torah’s words can remain somewhat distant from each other. When, by contrast, he learns something by heart, the Torah becomes part of him. To borrow the image used by the Alter Rebbe:5 These words, instead of being merely written with (a) ink that is superimposed on (b) parchment, become indelibly engraved as an integral and inseparable component of his spiritual personality.

A Jew who is fused with the Torah’s words in this way then radiates his learning outward, thereby changing the spiritual climate of his environment.