One’s ability to remember the Torah he studies reflects the degree of esteem in which he holds it, how deeply the subject matter penetrates his being, and how much it suffuses his 248 limbs.
A famous rabbi, renowned for his great genius and recollective ability, was once asked how it was that he never forgot anything he studied.
He replied: “How is it that people never forget that food must be inserted into one’s mouth?”
We do not forget something upon which our lives depend.
The degree to which a person is involved in his studies, how intense and encompassing they are, determines how deeply they are instilled and preserved within him.
Therefore, when a person studies Torah in a manner that it is “ordered” within all of his 248 limbs, that Torah will never be forgotten.
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz