Torah study

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Torah study is the study by Jews of the Torah, Tanakh, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts, for the purpose of the mitzvah ("commandment") of Torah study itself, meaning study for religious (as opposed to academic) purposes.

This practice is present to an extent in all religious branches of Judaism and is considered of paramount importance. Torah study evolved over the generations, as lifestyles changed and new texts were written.

Contents

[edit] Origins

Torah study is counted amongst the 613 mitzvot ("[Biblical] commandments"), finding its source in the verse (Deuteronomy 6:7): "And you shall teach it to your children," upon which the Talmud comments that "Study is necessary in order to teach." The importance of study is attested to in another Talmudic discussion about which is preferred: study or action. The answer there, a seeming compromise, is "study that leads to action."

Although the word "Torah" refers specifically to the Five Books of Moses, in Judaism the word also refers to the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), the Talmud and other religious works, even including the study of Kabbalah, Hasidism, Mussar and much more.

[edit] Traditional view of Torah study

In rabbinic literature, the highest ideal of all Jews was Torah study. Jewish society taught an eagerness for study and a thirst for knowledge that expanded beyond the text of the Torah to all Jewish literature and related theology. According to many historians, this carried over into the general characteristics of Jewish society, both religious and non-religious, down to the present. Some examples of traditional teachings:

  • The study of Torah is considered to outweigh a number of mitzvot, such as visiting the sick, honouring one's parents, and bringing peace between people (Shabbat 127a). This paragraph was incorporated in the daily prayer service.
  • A number of Talmudic rabbis consider Torah study as being greater than the rescue of human life, than the building of the Temple in Jerusalem, and than the honor of father and mother (Megilah 16b).
  • As the child must satisfy its hunger day by day, so must the grown man busy himself with the Torah each hour (Yerushalmi Berakhot ch. 9).
  • Torah study is of more value than the offering of daily sacrifice (Eruvin 63b).
  • A single day devoted to the Torah outweighs 1,000 sacrifices (Tractate Shabbat 30a; comp. Tractate Menachot 100a).
  • The fable of the Fish and the Fox, in which the latter seeks to entice the former to dry land, declares Israel can live only in the Law as fish can live only in the ocean.
  • Whoever learns Torah at night is granted grace during the day and whoever neglects it will be fed burning coals in the World to Come. (Avodah Zarah 3b).
  • God weeps over one who might have occupied himself with Torah study but neglected to do so (Tractate Hagigah 5b).
  • The study must be unselfish: one should study the Torah with self-denial, even at the sacrifice of one's life; and in the very hour before death one should devote himself to this duty (Tractate Shabbat 83b).
  • All, even lepers and the ritually unclean, are required to study the Law (Tractate Berakhot 22a).
  • It is the duty of everyone to read the entire weekly portion twice (the law of shnayim mikra ve-echad targum, Tractate Berakhot 8a).
  • According to R. Meir, a Gentile who studies the Torah (for the purpose of finding out about the Noachide Laws) is as great as the high priest (Tractate Avodah Zarah 3a).
  • According to R. Yehudah, God Himself studies the Torah for the first three hours of every day. (Tractate Avodah Zarah 3b).

[edit] Forms of traditional Jewish Torah study

The Talmud (Tractate Kiddushin 30a) comments: "The words of Torah shall be sharp in your mouth so that if someone asks you something, you shall not fumble and then tell it to him, rather you shall tell it to him immediately." In yeshivas ("Talmudical schools"), rabbinical schools and kollels ("[post-graduate] Talmudical schools") the primary ways of studying Torah include study of:

Other less universally studied texts include the Nevi'im and Ketuvim, other rabbinic literature (such as midrash) and works of religious Jewish philosophy.

Most Orthodox Jews study the text of the Torah on four levels as described in the Zohar:

  • Peshat, the surface meaning of the text;
  • Remez, allusions or allegories in the text
  • Derash, a rabbinic or midrashic way of reading new lessons into the text
  • Sod, the hidden mystical Kabbalistic reading of the Torah.

The initial letters of the words Peshat, Remez, Derash, Sod, forming together the Hebrew word PaRDeS (also meaning "orchard"), became the designation for the four-way method of studying Torah, in which the mystical sense given in the Kabbalah was the highest point. One can find examples of its use in The Humash: The Stone Edition (Mesorah Publications), used in many Orthodox synagogues.

In some traditional circles, most notably the Orthodox and Haredi, Torah study has become a way of life. In some communities, men forego other occupations and study Torah full-time.

[edit] Torah study by other Jewish denominations

Like Orthodox Jews, other Jewish denominations may use any or all of the traditional areas and modes of Torah study. They study the weekly Torah portion, the Talmud, ethical works, and more. They may study simply the peshat of the text, or they may also study, to a limited extent, the remez, derash and sod, which is found in Etz Hayyim: A Torah Commentary (Rabbinical Assembly), used in many Conservative congregations. It is common in Torah study among Jews involved in Jewish Renewal. Some level of PaRDeS study can even be found in forms of Judaism that otherwise are strictly rationalist, such as Reconstructionist Judaism. However, non-Orthodox Jews generally spend less time in detailed study of the classical Torah commentators, and spend more time studying modern Torah commentaries that draw on and include the classical commentators, but which are written from more modern perspectives. Furthermore, works of rabbinic literature (such as the Talmud) typically receive less attention than the Tanakh.

Before the Enlightenment, virtually all Jews believed that the Tanakh was written by the prophets who heard it from God, and that it directly reflected God's intentions in human language. They also believed that as both divine intentions and human language are complex, the Torah required interpretation. After the Enlightenment, many Jews began to participate in wider European society, where they learned critical methods of textual study, the modern historical method, hermeneutics, and fields relevant to Bible study such as near-Eastern archaeology and linguistics. Many Jews found the findings of these disciplines compelling and considered them relevant to Torah study. According to this view, the Bible was written by different people who may have been "divinely inspired", but who lived at different times and in different societies; and these factors should be taken into account when studying their works. Consequently, one way to add more to Torah study would be to learn more about the intentions of these people, and the circumstances in which they lived. This type of study depends on evidence external to the text, especially archeological evidence and comparative literature. See the entries on Biblical Higher criticism and the Documentary hypothesis.

Today, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist rabbis draw on the lessons of modern critical Bible scholarship as well as the traditional forms of Biblical exegesis. Orthodox rabbis reject most or all critical Bible scholarship considering it highly speculative or simply false.

Religious Jews of all denominations hold as a belief that one must constantly strive to engage in Torah study. Orthodox Jews tend to place a higher value on this requirement than Jews in other denominations, although committed Jews of all denominations engage in regular study as well.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links and references

  • Bibliography
    • A Practical Guide to Torah Learning, D. Landesman, Jason Aronson 1995. ISBN 1-56821-320-4

[edit] Wikimedia Torah study projects

Text study projects at Wikisource. Please note that in many instances, these projects proceed much faster in Hebrew than in English!


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