Torah study is more than practical know-how.
#Gemara ispeak how to
We shouldn’t settle for the minimum knowledge needed to know how to perform a given mitzva. 4 What does that mean? We should hone our Torah knowledge in an ongoing, open-ended process, from lying down to waking up. According to Sifrei, the midrash halacha on Devarim, veshinantam means we have an imperative to know Torah with fluency. It suggests a sharpening of knowledge that goes beyond standard learning. Note here the verb veshinantam, “and you shall repeat them.” That is an unusual word choice. For example, the mitzva of hakhel enjoins the entire nation to assemble once every seven years to listen to the king read select portions of the Torah. The Torah presents Torah study in different contexts, many of which can shed light on its goals. Once we recognize that Torah study has many different guises, it’s time to explore what it’s for. 3Įngagement with Torah is not limited to formal study. 2 Just thinking about the nature of God and creation can heighten our awareness of God’s wisdom. In a broad sense, looking closely at the pious practice of a community or individual can be a form of Torah study as well. Structured learning with a teacher or through text study is only one form of talmud Torah. Since the word “Torah” can mean so many different things, it comes as no surprise that talmud Torah, literally “Torah study,” also eludes simple definition. It can refer to an all-encompassing Divine blueprint for creation, to the word of God, to the entirety of Jewish teachings and knowledge, or to any part of it. 1 The word “Torah” itself has a wide range of meanings. The Talmud teaches that there are many facets to Torah. The local batei midrash (houses of study) that women never enter and often are entirely closed to women.
The couples who make great efforts so that the husband can learn daily, while the wife finds no time to learn Torah herself. Communal initiatives for women to devote time to acts of chessed, loving-kindness, (or to less lofty pursuits,) but not to study. The dating prospect who won’t go out with a ‘girl who learns.’ The Rabbi who declares certain seminaries are off limits because of their curricula. The parents who send their sons to learn in Israel, but keep their daughters close to home. The family friends who give the bar mitzva boy religious books and the bat mitzva girl jewelry. The school that teaches Mishna to boys and not to girls. And nowadays women have access to education in all other fields.īut a closer look at many of our communities reveals ambivalence towards women’s learning.ĭeep uncertainty about women’s learning appears in many guises: The father who learns every Shabbat with his sons, but not with his daughters. After all, men do not have to entertain questions about the propriety or importance of their Torah learning. It can be hard to imagine why anyone would limit a woman’s access to Torah study. These women may wonder instead why a woman would want to study Torah at all.įor others, probably most of you here, the question itself is problematic. This question does not speak to some women, for whom Torah study holds little appeal or interest. This being what we do here on this site, learning Torah, directly from sources, including the Talmud and halachic codes. What does it mean in practice? Read on here. Women have an exemption specifically from the obligation of formal Torah study.Įxemption is not the same as prohibition. The broader concept of talmud Torah still applies to women. The Talmud quotes the midrash and concludes that, since a female need not be taught Torah, she is not obligated in the Torah-level mitzva to teach or learn it.ĭoes the exemption exclude women from talmud Torah?
The midrash on this verse reads the word “ beneichem” as “your sons,” to the exclusion of daughters, meaning that a parent has no Torah-level obligation to teach daughters Torah.
.jpg "gemara ispeak")
The Torah: “And you will teach them your children ” ( Devarim 11:19). At minimum, the mitzva entails studying a few passages of Written and Oral Torah each day. The formal mitzva of learning Torah is only one element of the broader concept of talmud Torah. Talmud Torah deepens faith, lays the groundwork for proper mitzva observance, shapes our consciousness, and brings us close to God. Talmud Torah, formal and informal Torah study, includes specific mitzvot such as hakhel, in which the entire community assembles to hear the Torah read, and the general aspiration for Torah to be the central focus of all our lives.
0 kommentar(er)
