Many people today think they are doing kiruv. They share a Torah video once in a while. They press "like" on a lecture. They keep a few CDs in the house and give one out when a friend stops by. They call this outreach. But the Torah demands something entirely different.

There is a fundamental difference between learning Torah and becoming a talmid chacham. Many people think that reading a few books, watching some lectures, or attending a weekly shiur will make them Torah scholars. This is not how it works.

A person cannot walk into Gan Eden with his head held high. The Gemara teaches that there are three things in this world that are acquired only through mesirat nefesh—through genuine self-sacrifice. These three are: Torah knowledge, Olam HaBa, and living in Eretz Yisrael.

Most people appreciate Torah. They recognize it as valuable, even precious. But there is a profound difference between valuing something like silver and valuing it like gold.

Most of us think we're doing well if we made one major sacrifice this year—perhaps giving a large donation, attending an extra shiur, or fasting on a difficult day. But the truth is harder than that.

A man offers to guard your silver. You accept. Later, you discover it was gold. He says, "If I had known, I would have brought a gun." The Gemara in Masechet Bava Kama teaches that a guardian cannot assume responsibility for something if he does not know its true value.