Avimi Goes to Rav Chisda to Relearn Menachos
The great Avimi forgets Maseches Menachos and walks to his own student, Rav Chisda, to relearn it. Rashi explains that the effort of going is itself toil in Torah.
The Gemara in Menachos (7a) relates that the great scholar Avimi forgot Maseches Menachos and went to his student, Rav Chisda, to relearn it. The Gemara asks: why didn’t Avimi simply summon Rav Chisda to come to him? The Gemara answers, “Avimi thought this way would be more beneficial.” No further explanation is given. Was Rav Chisda’s beis midrash quieter or more conducive to learning?
Rashi offers a different explanation, citing the Gemara in Megillah: “If a person says, ‘I toiled and I found it,’ believe him.” According to Rashi, Avimi deliberately expended the effort to travel to Rav Chisda’s beis midrash. The Gemara in Megillah teaches us that success in Torah comes through toil. Even the act of walking is considered yegiah. Although the walking itself does not directly enhance one’s understanding of the Gemara, it still counts as toiling for Torah.