Shavuot Hallel Paragraph VI Part Four

“I shall not die! But I shall live and relate the deeds of the Creator!” (Psalms 118:17)  It doesn’t begin with “I shall live!” It begins with, “I shall not die!” This reflects the words of the Zohar (Volume II 158b), “Torah can only thrive in one who is willing to die in it.” I must be willing to dedicate every ounce of my life toward Torah. This verse is our exhalation that no matter how much I may feel that “I am dying for Torah,” “I shall not die!” There is no life other than Torah, a life that I will use to relate the deeds of the Creator. (Rabbi Yosef Tzvi MiSacronavitch – Sh’eirit Yosef)