Every time we take out the Torah we repeat a beautifull pasuk thats found in Mishle 3;18 “She a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy [is every one] that retaineth her.”
the chafetz Chaim explains this pasuk proverb witha beautiufll Mashal.
Imagine you are drowning in a river, the current its hard and its taking you away, you cry out for help, not knowing how to save your life. and suddenly you see a little branch to wich you try to hold on to very strongly, you have it! softly you start climbing up holding to more and more branches until you reach the top. you take a deep breath and suddenly you feel alive, you are not drowing any more, you can breath! you see the world is so beautifull< it was scary and so hard to hold on to that little branch but Bh now you are alive!
is the same thing with our lives! we are drowing in this world in all this materialism, all this competition about who has more, who is better, etc. we forget that this is not real life! and then hashem sends us His biggest life guard! The torah! we see it we are so scared! but if we can hold to one little branch even one little mitzvah! little by little we will climb up until once more we will be able to breath and realize how beautifull the world really is! it takes effort, it takes work, but it gives you life! dont let yourself go with the current, is the easier way but YOU ARE DROWNING! lift your head up over the surface there is so much more to life! its hard to fight back! but as they say! the only way of knowing wich fish is alive is looking at the one thats swiming against the current! its time for us to hold on to that lifeguard and refuse to let ouselves go!
Shlomo Hamelej (the writer of proverbs) had all the wealth in the world and he writes in kohelet its all nothing! Torah is the only tree of life, only with torah are we really living! we should hold on to it and help others also save their lives!