Precious books

We spoke of the Mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah. Today this includes, or even perhaps is only, buying and writing sefarim – the books we use everyday to learn Torah. Each and every sefer that one buys is a mitzvah, a biblical mitzvah (keep it in mind while you buy!) and we may not sell sefarim unless the money is needed for marrying or learning Torah, (the two Mitzvot the world stands on) or redeeming captives. Let us appreciate our hebrew books! (Maybe this is why we are called the people of the book – do you know anyone else who will refuse to sell their books unless faced with the most extreme situation possible? 🙂 )