|
Jewish World Review June 23, 1999 / 9 Tamuz, 5759
TORAH STUDY HAS BEEN THE HALLMARK of Jewish life over the generations. A passage in the Talmud, recited
each morning in our prayers, lists a series of mitzvas for which there is great reward, including honoring
one’s parents, visiting the sick, providing for a bride, escorting the dead, and fostering peace — “and the
study of Torah,” it concludes, “is equivalent to them all.”
In recent days there are signs that an appreciation of the merits of disciplined, daily study are being
recognized anew, with a nod toward contemporary society. Curiously, this comes at a time when many
are searching for meaning, spirituality and melodic prayer services, and critics say the cold pages of the
Talmud cannot ignite a spark of warmth in American Jewish life. Such criticism is not new, nor is a
defense of the Talmud as the source of all knowledge. Our sages tell of a young man who, after years of
Talmud study, was encouraged to go out into the marketplace to see the world for himself. On his return
he told his father, “everything is in the pages of the Talmud.”
Throughout Jewish history, Torah scholars were the venerable leaders of the community, the source of
wisdom and respect not only in synagogue but in making communal policy. Only in the last half of this
century has their role been usurped by philanthropists, reflecting our value system where wealth holds
sway over scholarship.
But clearly the Orthodox have led the way in placing supreme importance on scholarship, and have
encouraged everyone to devote at least a part of each day to Torah study. In the last two decades, the
growing number of Orthodox Jews participating in the Daf Yomi — the universal study of a page of
Talmud a day, often during pre-dawn hours in the synagogue — has grown tremendously. More than
20,000 men filled Madison Square Garden last year for the Agudath Israel-sponsored celebration
completing the 71/2-year cycle of Talmud study, and they were joined by tens of thousands of others in
arenas around the world.
Now, recognizing the positive benefits of such devotion and openly emulating the Daf Yomi project, the
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism is going national with its own Perek Yomi initiative,
encouraging its membership to study a perek, or chapter, a day of the Bible, beginning this fall on
Simchat Torah. “The Orthodox have already demonstrated that disciplined and systematic study can be
both valuable and enjoyable,” says Rabbi Jerome Epstein, executive vice president of United Synagogue.
“It is time to experience that ‘high’ ourselves.”
The project is geared toward individual study, encouraging Conservative Jews to begin with the Book of
Joshua (assuming most previously read or studied the Torah, or Five Books of Moses) and continue
through the Prophets, the Writings and then the Torah, the three components of the Tanach, or Bible,
over a period of 2 1/2 years. Study guides will be made available, as well as a web site and chat room.
In addition, participants can e-mail or call a panel of experts with specific questions.
Coincidentally, Amit Women, an Orthodox Zionist group, is about to launch a very similar project, called
Tanach Yomi, which has also been several years in the planning stage. It will start on July 11 with
Deuteronomy, the fifth of the Five Books of Moses, in conjunction with the organization’s annual
convention and the weekly Torah portion. Esther Farber of Amit said the self-study program will
encourage participants to learn a portion of the Bible a day, and will offer a guide, with summaries and
questions, prepared by six scholars.
Officials of the United Synagogue and Amit Women acted independently in devising their study projects
but expressed satisfaction along with surprise on hearing of each other’s plans. The more Torah study,
the better, was the gist of their reaction. And representatives of the Agudath Israel’s Daf Yomi, the
granddaddy of such study programs, were similarly pleased. “Any time Jews are engaged in Torah, it’s a
healthy thing,” said Rabbi Avi Shafran, a spokesman for Agudah.
He’s right, of course, and this trend toward promoting individual study of Jewish texts is a hopeful one,
not only because of the mitzvah in and of itself, but because it can provide Jews from all streams a shared
text — a common language with which to appreciate and better understand their history and tradition.
The more we explore the pages of our heritage, the more we will see how much we have to talk
A Daily Diet Of Torah
By Gary Rosenblatt
The Orthodox community still treasures its rabbinical scholars, and places the highest value on the study
of Torah. Supporting a scholar by providing funds so that he could devote his life to the Talmud remains
a way of life in some parts of the Orthodox community. Indeed, this has become an increasing source of
tension as more and more young men view kollel study — full-time immersion in the Talmud — as a
norm, rather than reserved for the most brilliant.
In a letter to member rabbis, Epstein said that those “who truly want to enrich their Jewish lives will find
the requisite 15 minutes each day to learn something new.”
JWR contributor Gary Rosenblatt is Publisher & Editor of the
New York Jewish Week. Send your comments to him by clicking here.
