Torah Protects from Pain

Shavua Tov. The Torah tells us that the people had trouble believing Moshe because of קוצר רוח ועבודה קשה, shortness of breath and hard work.

The אור החיים comments that because they were not yet בני תורה, Torah scholars, they were unable to listen to Moshe, because the Torah widens the heart of man.

This “widening of the heart,” enables a person to be strong and tolerate the most difficult situations. One who is engrossed in Torah is not as affected and worried about the problems of the world.

There are stories told about both Rav Elazar Abuchatzeira זצ״ל as well as Rav Ovadia Yosef זצ״ל who both did medical procedures without anesthetic, because they didn’t want to lose that precious time for Torah study.

Their ability to be so focused on their learning, allowed them to be protected from the pain.

This was what the אור החיים meant about the shortness of breath of the Jews in Egypt.