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1 Immersive Torah Study ה'ב The Case for Immersive Torah Study in Chabad Yeshivos By Rabbi Shmuel Klatzkin, PhD Rabbi Avrohom Bergstein, Dean, Machon Shmuel Research Institute TABLE OF CONTENTS Uniqueness of Jewish Education ............................................................................................... 1 Record of Accomplishment ........................................................................................................ 2 The Formula for Success ............................................................................................................. 3 Cultivating a Coherent Center ................................................................................................... 4 Promoting Critical Thinking ...................................................................................................... 7 Talmudic Principles of Democracy ......................................................................................... 10 Immersive Learning ................................................................................................................... 11 The Imperative for Immersive Torah Study .......................................................................... 15 Chabad Lamplighters ................................................................................................................ 22 Education Day ............................................................................................................................ 32 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 33 * Uniqueness of Jewish Education The Chabad educational network is the heir of an educational tradition that stretches back into antiquity. It understands its mission to be given in the words of Deuteronomy, “You shall teach them to your children” – that is, teach the wisdom that is found in divine Scripture and in the traditions of its teachers in every age. © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
2 Immersive Torah Study The process of education has been and remains central to Judaism. Whereas in most ancient civilizations, education was reserved for the elite, the books of the Prophets hold forth the ideal that all people should be students of G-d, that knowledge of G-d should cover the entire earth, that the whole world should seek instruction, and that a world of peace and plenty should result from the spread of this knowledge universally. The verse that enjoins parents to educate their children flows as a direct and powerful consequence of a verse that just preceded it – “Hear O Israel” – that proclaims the Oneness of G-d. Because of that Oneness, there is a coherence to all of existence. In all of its richness and multiplicity, this amazingly diverse universe displays an underlying unity that makes it intrinsically knowable. In the words of that paramount Jewish teacher, Rabbi Moses Maimonides, “The foundation of foundations and the pillar of wisdom is to know that there is a First Existent Who brings all things into existence 1 through the true nature of Its own existence.” Maimonides’ teaching, encoded by him as a law, sets forth the cardinal point of Jewish education: all of knowledge flows from one source, and all that exists comes from that same point. There is a universe of discourse that connects the simplest moral truth with the deepest insights of meditation and the truths revealed by study of the natural order. The affirmation of this unity is the basis of all. To move away from it will inevitably topple all knowledge into incoherence or irrelevance. Therefore, Jewish education, as exemplified by the practice and philosophy of Chabad yeshivos, makes it its business to constantly hold onto it and to so teach it that its students will keep hold of it throughout 2 their lives. Record of Accomplishment In this, the Oholei Torah Educational Institute has a remarkable track record. Its students pioneered the great outreach program of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, who challenged young rabbis to go beyond the reaches of protective Orthodox communities and make sense of the Jewish message in the wide world. In many, if not the majority, of the places that these rabbis have gone, they had to find active 1 Maimonidies, Yesodei Hatorah (1:1). 2 Mishlei [Proverbs] (22:6): “Educate the youngster according to his way so that even when he grows old he will not veer from it.” © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
3 Immersive Torah Study supporters among people who, on the one hand, have a higher than average secular education and on the other, a dearth of acquaintance with the texts and concepts that shaped the rabbis’ lives. It would seem like a recipe for disaster. Yet the opposite has been the result. The quality of Oholei Torah’s education, its relentless emphasis on basing all of life’s effort on the pure devotion to the Divine Unity, and of its thorough program of developing this great principle through an ordered and time-tested progression of study, has brought tremendous success. Oholei Torah graduates lead vibrant Chabad Houses in world-class universities such as Oxford, the University of Chicago, Stanford, Princeton, Penn, and John Hopkins; in high-tech centers like Los Gatos and Boston; in places where people are at the top levels of financial accomplishment, such as Midtown Manhattan, the Hamptons, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and London; in far-flung places such as Mumbai, Bangkok, Helsinki, Caracas, and Phnom Penh; as well as in places of artistic and even counter-cultural commitments, such as Santa Fe or Marin County. In each of these places, the Oholei Torah-educated rabbi has won the respect of his community and its practical effectual support, testifying to the relevance of what they all have to offer to very different kinds of people all over the world. The Formula for Success What about Chabad education makes it so effective? Unexamined habits of thought would have it that people whose curriculum is centered in religious texts and are not trained in stand-alone secular subjects should be at a loss in the modern world and a burden to society. Yet these alumni, and the women who graduated from similar schools, offer something that is highly valued today, so much so that highly educated and successful people are willing supporters of their work, grateful for how it has enriched their lives. Moreover, many prominent Jewish leaders and activists from across the spectrum of Judaism, including some who have sharp disagreements with Chabad, have noted the remarkable and unparalleled success that Chabad has achieved in Jewish outreach, © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
4 Immersive Torah Study 3 expressing their desire to emulate key attitudes of Chabad in their own work. What has eluded many is the precise formula that drives its success. What is it that enables Chabad emissaries to succeed where others have not? Its secret is the core devotion to a truth that is coherent, that reveals itself in every aspect of the universe, from the least proton to the human personality, and that is objective and lawful and challenges each person to go beyond his or her habits of thought and feeling. Each new thing learned is understood as part of this coherent whole, so that there is never any estrangement between the power of knowledge gained and the moral character of the person who will wield that power in the world. Cultivating a Coherent Center The reason that this strikes a special chord in today’s world is because the principle at the core of Chabad’s educational teachings addresses a crisis in the thought of the Western world. As the power of the Church to control culture waned at the end of the Middle Ages, scholars impatiently burst out of its enforced unity to establish truths they so uniquely expressed in the fields of their particular expertise. The Church had united physics and astronomy with religion in the great Scholastic structure of thought. The empiric observations of such scholars as Copernicus and Galileo were forcefully opposed by the Church for breaking apart its universal vision, but the scientists would not be moved. They could repeat their experiments and verify – or discard – their observations and conclusions, and seeing that nature itself agreed with them, they ignored the Church. The escape from that imposed unity allowed rapid development of many fields of investigation, from physics, mathematics and chemistry to medicine, economics and law. But as each field pushed in its own direction, came up with its novel insights and 3 See, for example, Eric Yoffie, then president of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), the congregational arm of the Reform movement in North America (http://urj.org/about/union/leadership/yoffie/biennial sermon03/): “And how will we begin? It is hard for me to say this, but I will say it nonetheless: We must follow the example of Chabad. … I envy the selflessness of their young men and women who fan out across the world to serve Jewish communities in distress. We must foster among our members the same sense of mission and spirit of service to the Jewish people. We, too, in our own way, must provide teachers, Torah, and spiritual sustenance to Jews who require them.” © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
5 Immersive Torah Study put unprecedented technical power into human hands, there also arose an increased sense of alienation. For the great powers let loose by the scientific and industrial revolutions did not teach human beings how these powers should best be used. For the bonds of tradition and religion that were now broken had addressed the issues of morality, meaning, and purpose in life; now there was great power, but moral confusion. In literature, books like Faust and Frankenstein portrayed the soul-numbing dangers of the seemingly limitless power humankind was arrogating to itself. Karl Marx addressed the horrors the newly industrialized world had for the workers who served the machines that made others wealthy. Darwin’s thought seemed to many to reveal only the struggle for survival under nature; and to some, that led directly to understanding that morality was entirely a lie, and that the only reality was power. This begat political systems that produced misery, slavery and annihilation on a scale impossible to think of before the advent of modern Western thought. It begat economies that poisoned the air, the water, and the earth as it enriched others; and it begat a series of wars unmatched in history for the sheer vastness of the death and destruction they caused. Philosophers, scientists, and poets all contemplated the deep problems of the society that had lost hold of its moorings. Anomie, the sociologist Emile Durkheim called one aspect of it – the psychological disorientation of a society that has lost its sense of moral soundness, and so its integrity and coherence. In the immediate aftermath of World War I, the poet William Butler Yeats set down his powerful forebodings in verse: Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. The massive violence and slavery of Stalin, the depredations of the Japanese militarists, and Hitler’s methodical exterminations would shortly bear out the truth of Yeats’ vision. © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
6 Immersive Torah Study The Chabad educational system directly addresses this failing. Its first goal is that the center must hold, that without the uncompromising commitment to the primacy of holiness, purity and goodness, all of civilization will only be a decorative veneer for “mere anarchy.” But when the center holds, all good things can and will spring from it, without limitation, for the center is that First Existence from which all existence and all knowledge springs. There is a classic text, written in part while George Washington was still alive, that is 4 part of the Chabad curriculum, known as Tanya. With deep psychological insight, it addresses the issue of intellectual study divorced from direct connection to the central point of holiness. It notes that we are able always to direct where we turn our mind for study and contemplation. Even when our emotions are not so responsive, and flit from one feeling to the next, the deeper part of our intellect is capable of the patience to balance and guide our emotions in light of a large harmony. 5 However, Tanya notes, if we immerse our mind in thoughts which have no overt connection to holiness, we subvert healthful mind-function. Then we are far worse off than if we had merely, in a moment of passion, engaged in some wrongdoing. Using our mind’s great power of rationalization and systematization, we are capable of turning all our human powers to evil. Surely, no one has done as much harm to the world as the MDs and PhDs who infested the SS or the Soviet theoreticians and found the way to justify the death of millions by hunger, and the enslavement of tens of millions in the Gulag Archipelago. Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson spoke about this plague of the evil, educated mind. That very nation that prided itself before the whole world in the superiority of its wisdom and science, its philosophy, its research, its ethics; that took pride that its children devoted decades to wisdom and the intellect, writing learned papers on all these topics, and raising a chain of disciples – it was precisely this nation that engaged in the most mind- boggling evil, the opposite of all that is just and upright, that our generation has witnessed. 4 First published in 1796 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of the Chabad movement. The Tanya is considered the seminal work of Chabad ideology. 5 Ch. 8. © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
7 Immersive Torah Study This was not the result of just one man who turned away from upright thinking and forced everyone else to aid him. Rather, everyone who was there (and I was there among them) could see with what fervid excitement (not just a complacent smile) the people of that nation accepted that man… In order to assure that human behavior will be righteous and upright, it is necessary that its foundation be the fulfillment of the word of the Creator of the world and its Governor. 6 The point here is not that philosophy, science, and the like are necessarily evil and should be rejected. Tanya (and Chabad yeshivos such as Oholei Torah, which profess the thought system of Tanya) only rejects these disciplines when they are not specifically related to the center core of goodness and holiness. Thus, Tanya writes: [These can be good if] he employs [these sciences] as a useful instrument, viz., as a means of a more affluent livelihood to be able to serve G-d, or knows how to apply them in the service of G-d and His Torah. This is the reason why Maimonides and Nachmanides, of blessed memory, and their adherents, engaged in them. Thus within the Chabad system itself, a respectful place is set in which the sciences and other intellectual pursuits can have both a practical and spiritual value. But that is best done when these forms of intellectual discipline arise naturally out of the holy core 7 curriculum. Then their power is always harnessed to the good. Promoting Critical Thinking The secular Western society is generally ignorant of the nature of the traditional core Jewish curriculum once it gets beyond Bible – and even the way Bible is studied in a traditional Jewish environment is not very familiar. Rather than being an exercise in repeating catechisms or memorizing verses, the focus of the study of the holy core texts in Chabad yeshivos is on the vigorous intellectual methodology of Talmud study. 6 Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, Toras Menachem 5744, pp. 43 - 44 7 It should be noted that this task is primarily given to erudite Torah scholars who are capable of elevating secular wisdom by studying them through the prism of Torah’s eternal truths. See Machon Shmuel, Secular Studies, Disencumbering the Encumbered. © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
8 Immersive Torah Study Harvard professor Harry A. Wolfson described the nature of Talmudic study as part of his introduction to his masterwork on the great medieval philosopher, Rabbi Chasdai Crescas. Wolfson began by describing the questioning process that the Talmud and its students employ: Confronted with a statement on any subject, the Talmudic student will proceed to raise a series of questions before he satisfies himself of having understood its full meaning. If the statement is not clear enough, he will ask, “What does the author intend to say here?” If it is too obvious, he will again ask, “It is too plain, why, then, expressly say it?” If it is a statement of fact or of a concrete instance, he will then ask, “What underlying principle does it involve?” If it is a broad generalization, we will want to know how much it is to include; and if it is an exception to a general rule, we will want to know how much it is to exclude. He will furthermore want to know all the circumstances under which a certain statement is true, and what qualifications are permissible… 8 These are the kinds of questions that the young scholars at Chabad yeshivos are being trained to ask. Far from simply being asked to accept all things on faith, they are taught to actively use their critical minds, to identify problems, to develop independence of thought, to learn how to defend their own thought and not to be afraid of disagreement in collegial pursuit of the truth. Professor Wolfson was describing Talmudic study in order that the unfamiliar reader should know how it helped to qualify Rabbi Crescas to be a philosopher and engage in a great scientific debate. For Wolfson’s book is about Crescas’ pioneering critique of Aristotle’s conception of physical motion that had dominated scientific thought for centuries. Wolfson was eager to show how Talmud study was an ideal preparation for such scientific thought. [Talmudic study] calls for ingenuity and skill, the power of analysis and association, and the ability to set up hypotheses – and all these must be bolstered by a wealth of accurate information and the use of good judgment. No limitation is set on any subject; problems run into one another; they become intricate and interwoven, one throwing light upon the other. And there is a logic underlying this method of reasoning. It is the very same logic that underlies any sort of scientific research, and by which one is enabled to form hypotheses, to test them 8 Harry Wolfson, Crescas’ Critique of Aristotle. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1929, p. 25 © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
9 Immersive Torah Study and to formulate general laws. The Talmudic student approaches the study of texts in the same manner as the scientist approaches the study of nature. Just as the scientist proceeds on the assumption that there is a uniformity and continuity in nature, so the Talmudic student proceeds on the assumption that there is a uniformity and continuity in human reasoning. Now, this method of text interpretation is sometimes derogatorily referred to as Talmudic quibbling or pilpul. In truth, it is nothing but the application of the scientific method to the 9 study of texts. While the emergence of a philosopher of Crescas’ stature was rare, what is not rare is that graduates of this system of education respect critical-thinking processes and are themselves able to think outside the box. The Talmud engages its questioning, critical processes in every imaginable place – logic, hermeneutics, tort law, religious ritual, calculations of the calendar and its astronomical bases, land surveying and the geometry associated with it, grammar, medicine, etymology, geography, history, human sexuality, psychology, and theology, to name only a few of the many topics touched upon. All of these things are organic outgrowths of the search to be connected to the divine mind from which all good and all knowledge emanate. Wherever one’s path in further scholarship or in life may lead one, the Talmud will have likely shown how it can fit into a unified life that is dedicated to the good and to the health of the community and the world. Most importantly, it will have laid the foundations for an intellectual engagement that will have the courage and the steady power of concentration to stay free of cliché and to look for the real possibilities of positive contributions. Chabad Yeshivah students do not just study the Talmud text, but learn it along with a wide variety of rabbinic literature that sheds further light, and interprets the Talmud texts and applies them to the ever-changing nature of society and the world. This literature spans the centuries, from the early rabbinic period of 2,000 years ago right up to the literature of the current century, and everything in between. It includes everything from commentaries and glosses to codes of law and books of responsa. There is a great deal of pride among Chabad Yeshivah students and graduates in their unique educational system and the importance of what its education offers the world. They are aware of being part of a chain of tradition of people who have been willing to 9 Ibid. pp. 26 -27 © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
10 Immersive Torah Study sacrifice everything to keep their educational vision alive. Greek and Roman rulers tried to force training in Greek and Roman thought, even punishing Jewish education by death. They did not succeed. More recently, when the Chabad movement was still centered in Russia, the government of Tsar Nikolai I, prodded by Jews opposed to traditional practice, summoned Chabad’s leader to a conference. There, the government demanded that Chabad schools teach a specific secular curriculum. Rather than comply, the leader of Chabad in those days suffered arrest numerous times. In the end, his devotion, sincerity and reasoned arguments prevailed. During the Communist rule, despite the threat of death, torture, and exile, Chabad teachers maintained underground Jewish education even in Stalin’s Soviet Union. The staff, students, families, and supporters of Chabad yeshivos are all aware that sometimes unwise or even hateful hands gain political power. They are proud that they are part of a long tradition of devoted and courageous resistance to any power that would set a hand against its holy commitments. Talmudic Principles of Democracy It is not just that the Talmud and its surrounding literature has summoned people to struggle against tyranny through the ages. It also has a direct role in the establishment of modern democracy and its freedoms. In 1629, the great English historian of law, John Selden, was imprisoned by King Charles I in the Tower of London. Selden had been one of the leaders of the fight to say that even the king was bound by law. The people themselves preserved an unwritten yet clear and sovereign law, the Common Law, and the king himself could not change it. But by continuous interpretation, the Common Law set its mark on every generation. King Charles, in pursuit of absolute personal power, had Selden arrested. When Selden was in the Tower, he had a book brought to him for study – the Talmud. He had mastered Hebrew and Aramaic. Now, with time on his hands, he delved into this great book and found what he was looking for. Here, too, was an Oral Law, to which kings were subject. In the Talmud, he saw the idea that humans were taken into partnership with G-d in governing the world. G-d entrusts the people not only with definite statutes, the decrees of the King, but also with the Oral Instructions, which set every law in a context and enable the people to interpret and apply the laws correctly © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
11 Immersive Torah Study and authoritatively for all in each generation. As Prof. Stephen Grosby of Clemson University wrote: What is germane is that the rabbis have a legal framework where universal laws are a part of, more accurately borne by and conveyed through, a developing national body of common law. And this is precisely how Selden viewed the 10 matter; and, no doubt, accounts for why he studied the Talmud in prison. Selden also saw in the Talmud, foremost among the political ideas that captivated him, the idea of the Seven Noahide Laws, as set out in the tractate Sanhedrin. He understood their significance as a divine mandate for religious freedom. If in G-d’s own kingdom of Israel, non-Jews were not compelled to follow Jewish worship, then certainly, no human authority should dictate religious conformity. Selden influenced many of the thinkers of his day, who together moved the English- speaking world towards religious freedom and the rule of the people’s law. How wonderful it is, then, for American democracy, that study of the Talmud should be lovingly and devotedly preserved, with a full sense of how important it is for the whole of our lives, as individuals, as communities, as a nation, and as a world seeking peace and freedom. This is surely in the supreme interest of all that such study should be encouraged. Immersive Learning Another aspect of Talmudic learning is its immersive nature. Immersive learning is increasingly being seen as an excellent method of acquiring skills that require much interaction. Stanford University’s medical school has recently opened an immersive learning center to give students an interactive, hands-on medical experience. Talmudic learning as practiced at Chabad yeshivos requires much interaction of the students in discussions, problem solving, and active debating. The Talmud itself is a highly condensed kind of a text, requiring a great deal of unpacking, decoding, and puzzle solving – it demands vigorous interaction to get through a page. As well, the 10 Stephen Grosby, Reading the Talmud in the Tower of London (http://www.libertylawsite.org/2013/ 07/31/reading-the-talmud-in-the-tower-of-london/). © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
12 Immersive Torah Study Talmud is dealing with issues that students often will see in the life of the community in which they take part, and in whose value system Talmud study ranks high. So, for instance, when the students study the tractate Shabbat, they will be discussing things that they do as a part of the community, and which they will be practicing, even as they learn the textual underpinnings of those practices in the classroom. It is an organic form of what today is called immersive learning, in which the student’s immersion in a learning environment is understood as crucial for educational success. The whole student is addressed, for the basic idea in Chabad yeshivos is not that its students acquire only a series of abstract concepts and facts, but that they become whole and integrated in a life dedicated to the service of G-d. The development of the intellect plays a large role in this, but it is always as a part of a whole – a person with spiritual and emotional realities as well as intellectual ones. Chabad yeshivos aim that their students should care passionately about what they are doing. The school appeals forthrightly and systematically to their personal dedication to making their lives worthwhile as individuals before G-d and as members of a covenant community. How significant is it that the school focuses on studies consciously and seamlessly integrated with the community’s religious identity? A college educator reflecting on new insights in education sets out a case that lends significant support to the educational methodology of Chabad yeshivos. Put simply, if you don’t care, you don’t learn. If the information seems meaningless in your world, you probably don’t care about it. There are many ways to stimulate caring about subject matter. Some study areas, particularly psychology, ecology, and some of the humanities, seem innately interesting to many students because their connections to personal life are so obvious. Sometimes students learn to care because the knowledge presented is something they need to know in their roles as campus leaders or resident assistants. Sometimes students care because the information is related to their own sense of self or group history (e.g., women’s studies, ethnic studies, queer studies). And sometimes they learn because they are uncomfortable in class and the professor provides new skills and information that allows students to reduce their discomfort. This kind of learning occurs when the subject matter produces conflict and the professor knows how to teach conflict management strategies. © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
13 Immersive Torah Study Finally, students care if the professor cares. A professor who is passionate about her subject matter can easily ignite a student’s interest in the field. Learning that lasts and is meaningful for students has four essential elements: 1. Information acquisition; 2. Skill development, which includes physical skills of application, verbal skills of discussing and writing, and possibly behavior change; 3. Emotional engagement that allows students to be intrigued, confused, mystified, or upset by the information; 4. Meaning making, the process by which students place the other three dimensions of learning into some broad context or pattern that has personal, social, or spiritual meaning for them. People generally don’t learn or retain information unless it matters to them. It has to fit into their lives and become useful. They have to know why they need to know. 11 And that connection to purpose in life is the focus of Chabad yeshivos, which aims to give lifelong inspiration first of all. The inspired student will learn well. Chabad education is grounded on principles set out by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the Chabad movement and author of the previously mentioned Tanya. His thinking stresses control of attention as key to development of personality. The attainment of such lofty things as love of good and hatred of evil seem distant to most people, he notes. But, he writes, while we cannot act directly on our emotions, our brain does direct our heart, and we can control our attention. By directing one’s attention to meditative texts that engross the mind in contemplation of holiness and G-dliness, of the root of existence and of consciousness, one experiences great ideas rather than just reads about them, and the effects permeate one completely and are life-changing. 11 Jane Fried, “Engaged Learning: Why Feelings Matter,” About Campus, March 1, © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
14 Immersive Torah Study This is an achievement modern psychologists have come to value highly. University of Chicago Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a major authority often cited by proponents of immersive learning, writes: To control attention means to control experience, and therefore the quality of life. Information reaches consciousness only when we attend to it. Attention acts as a filter between outside events and our experience of them. 12 The goal of Chabad yeshivos is to use the ever-engaging Talmudic method, which leads one to constantly probe for truth and meaning, to unlock the treasures of one’s soul, so that one can be an inspiration for others. It aims for a core truth that animates every branch of the human experience, especially its unstoppable quest for knowledge. It teaches the Talmud and its entire related curriculum as not just texts, but also the keys to the divine mind that thinks the universe and speaks it into being. It shows its students how its texts can show that active mind, and that their mind is a part of it when it finds itself within that great flow. Of this kind of experience, Prof. Csikszentmihalyi writes: Many of the things we find interesting are not so by nature, but because we took the trouble of paying attention to them. Until one starts to collect them, insects and minerals are not very appealing. Nor are most people until we find out about their lives and thoughts… Racine’s dramas are rather boring except to those who have invested enough attention to realize their intricate complexity. As one focuses on any segment of reality, a potentially infinite range of opportunities for action – physical, mental, or emotional – is revealed for our 13 skills to engage with. There is never a good excuse to be bored. The students who experience Chabad education have not then learned and mastered just a certain set of concepts of texts, but most importantly, they have touched on that which underlies all thinking, the principles of consciousness. In classic American higher education, this was roughly the idea behind a liberal arts education: There are certain skills of critical thinking, of humane devotion to the love of knowledge and of truth itself, that form the basis of our entire culture, and with these in hand, a person then may meaningfully specialize as he or she follows the flow of life. 12 Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Finding Flow. New York, Basic Books, 1997, p. 128 13 Ibid. © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
15 Immersive Torah Study The Chabad graduate as well has the sense that this education makes him a part of a conversation with all who think, in which he will have the attentive mind and the discipline necessary to follow out the flow of the divine thought wherever his life’s course may take him. In this light, it is clear why Chabad graduates so often command both the intellectual and spiritual respect of highly educated congregants. It also explains why those who choose other paths find themselves equipped to pursue complex studies and to devote themselves to work that demands great attention and creativity. The Imperative for Immersive Torah Study Jewish law as codified by Maimonides mandates that a Jewish child study Torah the 14 entire day as well as a portion of the night. The children are to study without interruption, and may not be disturbed even for the noblest of causes, such as to assist 15 in the construction of the Beis Ha-Mikdash (the Holy Temple in Jerusalem). Numerous 16 sources are cited for this novel ruling, as it does not appear in the Talmud. Yet, this law 14 Rambam (Laws of Torah Study 2:2): “One should teach them [the children] the entire day and part of the night in order to educate them [in fulfilling the mitzvah] of learning day and night.” 15 Rambam (Ibid.): “Children should never be left idle [from their studies] other than on the eve of the Sabbath and Festivals, towards the end of the day, and on the Festivals themselves. On the Sabbath one should not study new material with them, but rather review [previously studied texts] even if this is the first review. Children should not abandon their studies even to build the Beit HaMikdash [the Temple].” 16 See Midrash Rabbah (Shemot, Ki Tissa 47, referenced in Bnei Binyamin on Rambam ad loc): “The Sages established that teachers of young children [those who teach Mishnah to young students, Eitz Yosef, Matnat Kehunah] should sit [and learn] with them morning and evening, in order to fulfill the verse “[What is written in] this Torah Scroll shall not depart [from your mouth, and you shall toil in it day and night].” From the Rebbe’s note in Likutei Sichos (vol. 34, p. 42 n. 18 – “It seems that Rambam’s words are derived from the mitzvah of ‘[they] shall not depart’”) – it appears that this is the preferable explanation. The Mishnah Kesef (commentary on Rambam, R. Chaim David Shiriro, Salonica c. 1816), comments: “[The ruling that children] should be taught Torah the whole day is derived from the statement in the Talmud that ‘children should not abandon their studies even to build the Beit HaMikdash.’ If there were no obligation to teach them the entire day, why shouldn’t they be idle for half the day and study the other half? It follows that we certainly must teach them the entire day. However, at night, when the Beit HaMikdash is not built (as stated in Shevuot 15b) they should be taught for a short time in order to educate them in Torah study, so that studying Torah will become a habit.” © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
16 Immersive Torah Study 17 is enshrined in normative Jewish law, in the Tur by Rabbi Jacob ben Asher (1269-1343), 18 Shulchan Aruch of Rabbi Joseph Karo (1488-1575) as well as the Shulchan Aruch HaRav 19 by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812) and other later authorities. 20 17 Tur (Yoreh De’ah 245): “We teach them [children] the whole day and part of the night in order to educate them to study day and night.” Perisha (ad loc) comments: “The Talmud uses the expression ‘harness him like an ox.’ Rashi explains that this means one should nourish [a child] with Torah study, even if he is unwilling, just as one places a yoke on an ox [harnessing him to the plough].” 18 Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 245:11): “We teach them [children] the whole day and part of the night in order to educate them to study day and night.” The Gaon of Vilna (Biur HaGr”a, note 20) comments: “As the Talmud (Ta’anis, end; Bava Basra 121b) states: ‘One adds…’ and the expression [used there] ‘his mother will bury him.’ Such an expression is relevant only as regards a child.” His reference is to the Talmudic statement, “It was taught in a Beraisa (Bava Batra 121b): Rabbi Eliezer the Great declared: ‘The sun’s strength begins to wane from the 15th of Av and they would no longer fell trees for wood for the altar.’ Rabbi Menashe said, ‘That day was called “the day of the breaking of the sickle.” From that day on, whoever adds [in Torah study] - mosif - will be added to - yosif. But whoever does not add [in Torah study] - mosif - then yesif.’ What does yesif mean? Rabbi Joseph taught: ‘His mother will bury him.’” Migdal Oz (Rambam, Talmud Torah 2:2) citing Pirkei Avos (1:13) explains: “[The Mishnah states] ‘He used to say: one who seeks renown loses his reputation; one who does not increase [hours of study at night from the 15th of Av on, Rashi] yasif…’ [Rabbi Joseph said this means his mother will bury him.]” According to the Gr”a’s version of Rashi, this refers specifically to young children (since the expression “his mother will bury him” is only relevant for a child). 19 Shulchan Aruch Admur Hazaken (Yoreh Dea’h, Talmud Torah 1,10): “All Torah teachers, even those who teach little children to read the verses of Torah, even if they are not paid, must teach the entire day and part of the night in order to educate them to study day and night. Young children should not be left idle [from Torah study] at all, other than on the eve of Sabbaths and Festivals towards the end of the day, and on Festival days themselves… Young children should not be allowed to slacken from Torah study for any other mitzvah, even to build the Beit HaMikdash.” It should be noted that Rambam and Shulchan Aruch HaRav both use the double expression “kol hayom kulo” (translated here as “the absolute entire day”) whereas the Shulchan Aruch and the Aruch HaShulchan use the expression kol hayom (“the whole day”). 20 Aruch HaShulchan (Yoreh De’ah 245:122) rules similarly: “Their teacher should study with them the entire day and part of the night in order to educate them to learn day and night. See also, Rabbi Moshe Sofer (1762-1839) Responsa Chasam Sofer (vol. 5:92); Nehora De-Oraisa (Talmud Torah, 3:7). R. Yehudah of Pressburg (Omer Mi-Yehudah, Brno 1831, Talmud Torah, p. 5) finds expression for this law in the passages of the Psalms (19:3-9) related to the study of Torah. Only when one studies Torah with children for the entire day and a portion of the night (“Each day conveys [G-d’s] utterance, each night © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
17 Immersive Torah Study During the era of the Enlightenment, enormous pressure was brought to bear on the rabbinate to adjust the Jewish educational norms. Proponents of change wrote various works in their attempt to persuade the public to alter the time-honored, traditional methods of Jewish education. Some claimed that the ethics developed by humanity predate those of the Torah, and must therefore be introduced first during the formative 21 years of education as the foundation for successful living. Others forthrightly touted assimilation to the powerful surrounding culture as the best way to escape persecution. During this tumultuous time, a number of halachic authorities ruled that it would be permissible to devote several hours a day within the framework of the Talmud Torah to teach children how to read and write the local language. Their primary consideration was the perceived need to provide the young Jewish students with the necessary 22 communication skills to be able to earn a livelihood. Although conceding this to be a expresses knowledge of Him”) can the Torah restore the soul and make the simple wise (“G-d’s Torah is perfect, restoring the soul; G-d’s testimony is trustworthy, making the simple wise”). 21 The view of the Maskilim (lit. “intellectuals” – Jews who regarded themselves as more enlightened or scientifically oriented) is expressed in the work Divrei Shalom ve’Emet (Naftali Tzvi Hertz Wiesel, Berlin 1782): “The laws of man preceded supernal Divine Law, and therefore it is fitting that a person in his youth should adorn himself with the fear of Heaven, with social mores and views by virtue of which he is worthy of being called a human being. On this basis, he should prepare himself to learn Divine Laws and teachings… And this is the meaning of the statement of our sages that derech eretz (lit. ‘The ways of the world’) preceded the Torah by 26 generations, since there were twenty-six generations from Adam to Moses where only human law was followed.” R. Yishmael Cohen (1723-1810, Chief Rabbi of Modena, Italy), notorious for his efforts in countering the influence of the Enlightenment, dismisses the aforementioned position in his responsa Zera Emes (Livorno, Yoreh De’ah 107, p. 118a): “Although derech eretz preceded Torah by twenty-six generations this does not mean that it is necessary to acquire derech eretz prior to Torah in one’s personal education, but rather that the first 26 generations were unworthy of receiving the Torah. Our Sages already state (Midrash Rabbah, Bereishit 24:5): ‘Rabbi Yehudah ben Simon said: Adam was worthy of receiving the Torah. On what basis? Because the verse states, ‘This is the Book of the generations of Adam…’ But [after Adam’s sin] the Holy One, blessed be He, declared, ‘I gave him only six laws to observe and even these he did not keep. Should I now give him 613?’ The words of [the author in the previous quote] are unacceptable. If we overturn tradition and begin [children’s education] with human teachings rather than Torah, what will the future of Torah be? (See there at length).” 22 Responsa Ta’alumos Lev (Livorno 1878, Yoreh De’ah 4, by R. Eliyahu Bechor Chazan, 5668–1908, chief rabbi of Alexandria): “How can a person be active [in this world] and go out to work devoid of the ability to converse [in the local language]? How will he be able to conduct business with non-Jews in the big © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
18 Immersive Torah Study 23 24 necessary evil, they emphasized the negative religious implications this would have, and in an effort to limit the damage, categorically forbade the use of classical secular cities if he can’t read or speak their language? Many very good things came to the Jewish People in the lands of our diaspora as a result of knowing their language, although it is impossible to specify and explain these here.” 23 Responsa Ta’alumos Lev (Ibid.): “Here, too, in this city there is a Christian school which some Jewish youth attend. There they hear lectures in ethical conduct from gentile teachers, study their texts, mix with other gentile students, and learn from their behavior. All this I have seen and taken to heart. My stomach churns in anger and my bones shake with fear. Whose heart would not mourn and who would not break into tears at seeing this? And far more than - which cannot be stated or written here - [is also a fact]. Therefore I have decided to seek respite [from this situation] with a request to all equally - rich and poor and poverty-stricken alike - that we should establish our own school, a large and roomy school, with wise teachers who will instruct the students in G-d’s Torah, Mishnah and Talmud. And an hour or two a day they can also learn to write in Hebrew and in Italian, something necessary in this city. In this way we can remove the shame from those who have to hear lectures in ethics from non-Jews who are devoid of Torah and mitzvot. In addition, those who are eternally in disgrace, bereft of Torah and mitzvot and derech eretz [moral behavior], can all now come to understand Torah and Scripture and [relevant] aspects of derech eretz from a Jewish teacher, in a place that gives full honor to G-d and His holy Torah under the supervision of principals who are learned in Torah and are G-d-fearing. They must oversee all aspects of running the school under appropriate conditions and in the best possible way.” At the end of the same responsum (p. 16c) he adds: “As far as we are concerned, the entire reason for arriving at this point of view is to save numerous young boys and girls from stumbling over serious transgressions by studying with non-Jewish teachers, as mentioned previously, which is absolutely prohibited . . . And even if there is (G-d forbid) something prohibited about learning the languages of the nations from a Jewish teacher, it is proper to choose the lesser evil in order to avoid the greater evil. As mentioned, as regards a number of Jewish youths, even those who have not embraced the Christian ethic, the days will come when they will also walk away [from their own roots] because it appears to them to be permitted. In this way the Torah will be forgotten, especially when experience shows that more and more [youth] are going there to get instruction. This is what we should mourn about.” 24 Responsa Sha’arei Rachamim (Jerusalem 1880, Yoreh De’ah p. 23:2, ch. 29:3 by R. Rachamim Franco, 1835- 1901): “To tell the truth and not hide anything, it is because of the sin of our generation that we see what studying the languages of the nations and their writings has done – they are poison and a trap for pure souls, particularly those of our youngsters. After studying their worthless books, any person who touches them is not untainted and will take leniencies with the very foundations of the Oral Torah.” Responsa Vezos Li-Yehudah (Yoreh De’ah 24, Cairo 1937, by Rabbi Yehudah Chaim of Salton): “Our own eyes have seen and our own ears have heard that the Judaism and the fear of Heaven of numerous students who learned their language was ripped away from them, due to our numerous sins. And those who still have a residue of Judaism and the fear of Heaven in their hearts merely offer lip service to Torah study and prayer because all those who enter [the gates of secular studies] don’t return with a complete heart and soul. Therefore, those who are discreet and who fear the word of G-d withhold themselves and their children from studying their languages.” © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
19 Immersive Torah Study textbooks. Only materials produced by G-d-fearing Jews would be permitted to be used 25 for instruction by G-d-fearing teachers. In their responsum, they suggest that the law cited above requiring Torah study the entire day only applied in the age of the Talmud when the Jews inhabited cities of their own. In contemporary times, however, Jews live dispersed among the nations, and it is imperative for them to dedicate a number of hours a day to study the local language so 26 they can communicate with their neighbors and find ample employment. Further on he states: “You have seen words that flow from the heart, but we see an upside-down world, where trivial matters have become primary and primary have become trivial: Two or three hours of Torah study a week for youngsters, which comprises some Jewish history and Hebrew language, etc. without [even] the Amidah prayer, is regarded as sufficient. Our eyes behold and turn dim; no one pays attention or even hears, may G-d forgive us. Accordingly, in our case, the volunteers’ and donors’ intention was certainly to strengthen Torah study specifically, because they foresee the end result that studying local languages without Torah and prayer will not leave a trace of Jewishness in the hearts of our youth. For ‘if there is no Torah there is no fear of Heaven, as the verse states (Jeremiah 9, 11): “Why was the Land lost? Because you abandoned My Torah.” ’ ” 25 Responsa Talumos Lev (Ibid.): “Regarding this matter it is appropriate to issue a decree that it is obligatory for all the Sages of Israel to gather together and take a strong stand prohibiting teachers from teaching Jewish children secular ideas when teaching languages (as we have done ourselves, invoking all the “curses of the covenant” that those types of books may not be brought into Jewish schools). Youngsters may learn [languages] only from [authentic] Jewish works that have been translated into that language. This is the first condition that must be fulfilled in such a school. 26 Responsa Zera Emes (Ibid., p. 119) regarding Rambam’s ruling: “It follows that one must teach youngsters Torah the entire day and time should not be wasted on nonsense and extraneous matters. However, it appears that the Talmud is referring to those times when, even though they were in exile [in Babylon] they had their own cities set apart [from the Babylonian cities]. They also spoke and wrote in Aramaic, so that it was unnecessary to teach them another gentile language. We, on the other hand, live scattered among the gentiles and we do have to teach our children to read and write the local language properly – while they are young – so that they can become familiar with it. If we do not do this, it will be more difficult for them to learn when they are grown up. Therefore, we must devote a little time to this too so that when they go out into the workaday world they will be men among men. Even one whose Torah study is his trade needs to do this, and it is included in the Mishnaic teaching of ‘Torah together with derech eretz is a good thing.’ [Learning the local language] can be counted as part of [learning] a craft or trade.” Responsa Ta’alumos Lev (Ibid.): “If you find difficulty with the statements of Rabbi Yehoshua (Pe’ah 1) and Rabbi Yishmael (Menachot 99) that [the requirement to learn Torah day and night] includes the aspect of “it shall not depart [from your mouth]” and therefore [secular studies] are forbidden at any time – and this applies to any sort of wisdom that is not Torah wisdom – this needs a response. We would have to answer that [those statements] were said only to those generations whose Torah study was constant and unchanging. In addition, they lived on their own land and spoke the language of their own people and © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
20 Immersive Torah Study However, the argument that the law was relevant only in Talmudic times is balanced by that very law being preserved by halachic codifiers throughout history, even when the Jews were embedded among the nations and would have had many reasons to communicate with their gentile neighbors. Thus, a strong argument can be made that the ideal form of Jewish elementary education from a legal standpoint remains one that requires complete devotion to Torah texts. Moreover, the various halachic dispensations (referred to by these authorities) to engage in studying secular wisdom for the purpose of achieving ample employment 27 apply only when one subsists on his own labor. However, one who is supported by 28 others is obligated to fully devote his time to study Torah. Indeed, the law clearly mandates that a father provide for all the needs of his child 29 while attending yeshivah, even when the child chooses to study in another city. This they did not need to learn those other languages and skills. This is not true of us: because of our sins, we are scattered and isolated among the nations and we must learn their language in order to converse [and do business] with them. . Perhaps even during Talmudic times these statements were relevant only to those whose Torah study was constant, such as ben Dama, Rabbi Yishmael’s nephew, who affirmed that he studied the entire Torah. Or perhaps [it refers to people like] those who asked Rabbi Yehoshua for a ruling – perhaps they were doubtful about studying Torah for its own sake day and night.” Further (Ibid. p. 16a) he also cites the view of Zera Emes (Ibid.). See also V’zot LiYehudah (Ibid.). 27 Shulchan Aruch Admur Hazaken (Talmud Torah, 3:2): “If, however, a person cannot [live] without a wife because his natural inclination overpowers him and his heart is not free, he should marry first. In this way, he will be able to study in purity without [distracting] thoughts. He should then study the entire Oral Law. Once he has children he will have to work to support his wife and family, and will not be able to engage in Torah study throughout the entire day […].” 28 Shulchan Aruch Admur Hazaken (Ibid. 3:5): “All of the above [leniencies] apply to a person who derives his livelihood from the actual work of his hands. If, however, one’s work is done by others, or if one’s livelihood is provided by communal or private tzedakah, he is obligated to engage in Torah study by day and by night under literally all circumstances. He does not at all fulfill the obligation the Torah imposes upon him if he [merely] establishes fixed times for Torah study. “This applies even when he is intellectually incapable of studying the principles underlying the laws. For to every Jewish male, without distinction, the Torah prescribes: ‘And you shall speak of [the words of the Torah] when you sit at home and while you walk on the way.’ Our Sages interpret this command as requiring a person to establish [his Torah study] as his fixed occupation and [to look upon] his work as a transitory [necessity, only] when he must work.” 29 Shulchan Aruch Admur Hazaken (Ibid. 1:7): “A father is responsible not only for tuition fees, but also for all the [associated] costs, for example, to arrange provisions for his son who goes to study with a teacher in another city and to provide for all his needs there.” © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
21 Immersive Torah Study requirement expires once the child has studied the entire Torah, at which point the father has discharged his obligation of teaching Torah to his son, and it is then that he is 30 obligated to teach him a trade. With this in mind, the Rebbe has explained that the obligation of a father to ensure that his son masters a trade should not be misconstrued to mean that this instruction should be introduced at a young age. Young children must be permitted to focus purely on Torah study without any other distractions. The requirement to be trained with the necessary skills to earn a livelihood become relevant only a short time before one must assume personal financial responsibility, at which point a father becomes obligated to 31 facilitate his son’s mastering a trade. 30 See Shulchan Aruch Admur Hazaken (Kuntres Acharon 3:1) where it is explained that the obligation to teach a trade to one’s child only applies once the child has studied the entire Torah: “Rabbi Shimon does not dispute the law cited in tractate Kiddushin that a father is obligated to teach his son a trade after having taught him [the entire*] Torah, and it appears that there is unanimous support for this.” See R. Mordechai Shmuel Ashkenazi on Hilchos Talmud Torah (vol. 4, p. 603): “The language of the Kuntres Acharon implies that all are in agreement in this regard” – i.e., even R. Yishmael, according to whom the law is cast. (For further elaboration, see Machon Shmuel, Secular Studies, note 60). *) See R. Ashkenazi (Ibid.) where he demonstrates this to be the intention. 31 Toras Menachem (27, p. 103): “The Evil Inclination is cunning (‘a clever one’). He approaches one with ruses and appears wearing a ‘silken cloak,’ using the verbiage of the Tana’im and Amora’im, quoting the statement of our Sages that ‘one who does not train his son to know a trade is considered to have taught him to steal, as it were,’ and other similar statements. With these he seeks to persuade the person that it is necessary to teach his children secular studies in order to ensure them a livelihood. Therefore, we must know that our Rebbeim, our Nesi’im, have already clarified this. The Rebbeim have cautioned that should an individual appear and proceed to demand that one must consider how the children will earn a livelihood and have them engage in secular studies – one should disregard the style of the delivery, whether their [true intent] appears openly or [obscured by scholarly] citations from the Sages. One should disregard the ‘silken cloak,’ and recognize that within the cloak lies the Evil Inclination! Although this individual cites various statements of the Sages – the interpretation of these statements is not as he purports. For example, regarding the statement about the need to teach one’s son a vocation, the intent is not that one must begin doing so when he is yet a child, before having the knowledge to distinguish between good and evil. Rather, [this should be done] as it was practiced throughout Jewish history, that a short while before one is prepared to assume financial independence, one should be taught to master a trade. But G-d forbid to permit the secular atmosphere to penetrate the atmosphere of young schoolchildren!” © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
22 Immersive Torah Study With respect to the many other halachic and theological issues with secular studies in general, and in particular when studied during the formative years of a child’s education, we refer the reader to an extensive exploration of these issues in the two responsa by Machon Shmuel on the subject. Chabad Lamplighters The students of the Chabad educational system prove themselves to be lamplighters, to use the metaphor of one of the Chabad leaders – people who inspire others to engage more deeply in life and to contribute to the building of a better world. A tenet of Chabad ideology and a shared ideal of the community is that each person 32 must serve as a “lamplighter” – a beacon of inspiration and kindness. The achievable ideal is a person whose spiritual vitality is positively infectious, and whose enduring luminosity of character and mind raises the moral consciousness of society. However, the human is, by default, a social being who is influenced by his/her 33 surroundings. To defy societal norms and achieve the positive transformation of one’s surroundings so that it embraces a moral and productive lifestyle as expressed in the 34 Torah requires enormous personal determination and an acute sense of purpose. Precisely this clarity of purpose is what the Chabad educational system seeks to impart. 32 Sefer HaSichos 5701 (p. 136): “The chasid R. Yitzchak Gurevitch (known as Itche the Masmid) asked my father, the Rebbe Rashab, ‘What is a chasid?’ The Rebbe Rashab answered: ‘A chasid is a lamplighter. A lamplighter has ready a long stick, lit at one end. He knows the fire isn’t his, and he goes around igniting lamps.’” 33 See Maimonides, Guide to the Perplexed, II:40; Maimonides, Mishneh Torah (De’os 6:1): “It is natural for a man’s character and actions to be influenced by his friends and associates and for him to follow the local norms of behavior.” 34 Likutei Sichos (vol. 23 p. 449): “The Rambam (De’os 6:1) rules that man was created in such a way that he is drawn after the views and actions of his social circle, and he should therefore associate with saintly people and reside among wise people. However, this is all true when a person is on the receiving end, which is [merely] at the beginning. But he must immediately make himself into one who influences others [in a positive way] as well, as my father-in-law the Rebbe Rayatz declared: “See to ensure that you [pulsate with] life, and enliven others.” Likutei Sichos (vol. 13 p. 17, fn. 19): “This is no contradiction to what the Rambam ruled (De’os 6:1) that ‘if a person lives in a place where the leaders are evil… he should leave…’ because the reason for that ruling is stated in the preceding law – ‘man was created in such a way that he is drawn after ... and conducts © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
23 Immersive Torah Study 35 Chabad emissaries see themselves as ambassadors of the divine, on a mission to 36 elevate the consciousness of the Jewish people and of humanity in general to the truth of the divine ideal, the unity of G-d and to the divine imperative. In fact, in Chabad 37 thought, the potency of one’s personal faith in G-d and devotion to the Torah can only 38 be truly internalized if one proactively engages in illuminating one’s surrounding. himself according to the customs in that place, therefore ... if he lives in an area that . . .’. In other words, this refers to a person who is on a spiritual level where he is drawn after the customs of the place. But if he makes a decision with all [the required] firmness that it is incumbent upon him to affect his environment and change it for the better – as our Sages say ‘one who comes to purify (himself - Likutei Torah, Shemini Atzeret 88b) is helped (Yoma 38b). He is given the strength from above to avoid being drawn after… On the contrary, he will change the people of that area…’ as stated there.” 35 Likutei Torah (Vayikra 1c): “[Jewish people sanctify time, making it holy]... in the sense that our sages declare regarding shlichus (agency or representation): ‘A person’s representative (or emissary or agent) is like him,’ and therefore a deaf or mentally impaired person or an underage child cannot be [legal] representatives, since they are not similar to the person who sent them. But when a potential emissary is capable of representing another person, he is [legally] just like the one he represents to the extent that [from a Jewish legal point of view] a man can betroth a woman himself or by way of an emissary. In a similar way, an emissary ‘betroths’ supernal levels to ordinary workaday levels, thereby inviting the weekdays to become days of holy convocation. But that is only possible if the emissary is like the agent of his dispatcher, that is to say that about you, Jewish souls that [the verse states], Israel is sanctified to G-d, because their root is from supernal wisdom (chochmah) … and therefore through them and by them the light of the supernal chochmah is drawn down to the day on which the Festival falls. Therefore, the verse states explicitly that you call them [using a double entendre here where the word םָתֹא – you call them – is also understood as םֶּתֲא meaning you, implying that [it is] through you [your agency] that they are made into holy days, ascending to the aspect of supernal holiness. From this is it understood that the concept of agency (shlichus) above is that a radiance is drawn down [from above] by means of some other aspect. It must be that the agent [who draws down the light] is in some sense comparable to the source from which the radiance is drawn, for if not he would not be an agent.” 36 Chovos Ha-levavos (Gate I, Sha’ar haYichud chap. 3): “It is not possible for the nations of the world to acknowledge the superior qualities of chochmah and binah until they are aware of the proofs and demonstrations and rational explanations of the truth of Torah and the fidelity of our faith. Our Creator has already promised us that the web of foolishness enveloping their intellect will be revealed as such, and that His luminous glory will be revealed as a sign for us regarding the truth of Torah, as the Prophet declared, ‘Nations will walk by Your light and kings by the brilliance of Your radiance’ (Isaiah 60:3); ‘Many people will go and say: Come let us go and ascend the Mountain of G-d’.” 37 “I will place you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations” (Yeshaya [Isaiah] 42:6). Malbim comments: “This refers to idolaters who will be illuminated by faith so that they won’t walk in darkness [any longer] and they will recognize the Oneness of G-d.” 38 Likutei Sichos (vol. 36, p. 113-114): “The way to gauge the strength and permanence of an individual’s belief and faith, [testifying to its having been inculcated to the degree] that no worldly influence can © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
24 Immersive Torah Study The Chabad doctrine imparts a deep sense of purpose and encourages each of its adherents to embrace their personal role in fulfilling the purpose of existence – to create the moral, productive and divinely conscious society that G-d has set forth in the Torah. Deeper still, the spiritual dynamic that drives the unparalleled dedication exhibited by the Chabad movement worldwide is the ideal expressed in the Talmudic adage, “I have 39 only been created to serve my Master.” Chabad teachings seek to instill a sense of 40 personal selflessness, and shows how to channel the ego so that it becomes transparent in light of the Divine Will. Raised in these teachings, each is shown how their individual achievements and lifelong goals are components that contribute to the larger picture of life’s purpose. Chabad thought – beginning with its seminal work, the Tanya – teaches that egotistical self-absorption is the greatest impediment to the divine. Greatness is measured by the extent to which one’s ego yields to – or is channeled in the service of – 41 its Creator. This mission is communicated with a sense of urgency and intense focus, and considering the all-encompassing nature of this lifestyle, is only achievable with an educational regimen that is equally intense and focused. A child in the ideal Chabad educational system will be exposed to the richness and purity of Jewish tradition, and introduced to the breadth of its scholarship already in his formative years. At his most tender age, a child is likened to a seedling upon whom the faintest blemish can engender undesirable and sometimes irreversible consequences, devitalize it and sway it even minutely, is when his belief and faith in G-d influence other Jewish people in his vicinity. The same applies to one’s Torah: when does the Torah truly become embedded in one’s soul – when the Torah and mitzvos not only influence the one practicing it, but also those outside oneself, particularly those who at present are still distant from Torah and mitzvos.” 39 “I was created [only] to serve my Maker.” (Kidushin 82b) 40 Toras Shalom (Rabbi Sholom Dovber of Lubavitch, p. 180): “The central theme of a chasid is not being preoccupied with his own ego [which results] from being illuminated with a supernal light. Not that the light that illuminates him is provided from on high, but rather that he himself elicits a supernal illumination, and this brings about his lack of a self-absorption.” 41 Tanya (part one Chap 6): “For this is the meaning of sitra achra - ‘the other side’ - i.e. not the side of holiness. For the holy side is nothing but the indwelling and extension of the holiness of the Holy One, blessed be He, and He dwells only on that which nullifies itself to Him, whether actually, as in the case of the angels above, or potentially, as in the case of every Jew down below, each of whom has the capacity to nullify himself completely to the Holy One, blessed be He, through martyrdom for the sanctification of G-d.” © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
25 Immersive Torah Study 42 only appearing at a later stage of development. Every effort is therefore made to provide children with an educational message that is entirely focused and 43 unfragmented. In this way, the child is raised with a robust Jewish identity, a healthy sense of purpose, and is prepared to relocate (physically or figuratively) to a locale where one has the opportunity to lift the standards of Jewish identity and education, and promote the vision of a world in harmony with its Creator and divine purpose. Regardless of the path one may eventually choose, the bar is set high: a Chassid must be a “lamplighter.” When a child is introduced to the study of other languages or secular studies in general, he will conclude (either on his own or by the direction of others) that his mastery of these disciplines is necessary in order for him to achieve a comfortable livelihood and success in the material realm in the future. He then begins to reconsider his life’s purpose, his devotion to the ideals outlined above, and eventually seeks to devote even more time to the study of these disciplines, depriving him of the opportunity to study the Torah intensely, and negating the altruistic spirit his education had inculcated. 44 42 Likutei Sichos (vol. 1, p. 71, Hebrew rendition): “Man is like a tree, [as the verse states, rhetorically], ‘man is a tree of the field?’ Now when a gash is made in a grown tree, that gash is localized to that specific place and does not damage the remainder of the tree. However, when even a small scratch is made in a seed that is about to be planted – it is liable to blemish the entire tree. So, too, as regards education.” 43 Likutei Sichos (vol. 1, Ibid.): “As regards all matters of holiness, from the very outset they should be done in the fullest and best way possible. The same is true of education of young boys and girls: from the earliest years, Judaism in its fullness should be conveyed to them, without compromises or leniencies. The promise that ‘even when he is old he will not depart from it’ cannot be achieved if he is only informed when he grows up and goes out into the everyday world that he now has to fight, [remain resolute and] not allow any hurdles to impress him, and that he has to practice mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice). If you want him to be able to withstand tests later on in life (‘when he is old’), you have to begin [educating him in this way] while he is still a youth. It is for this reason that the sages of Israel invested tremendous efforts to ensure that the education of Jewish boys and girls will remain at the highest level of holiness. They entered the fray for even what would seem to be minor details, and they were not willing to compromise in this regard, because they knew that the years when a child gains his or her education are vital for his or her entire life. They knew that one must give children the strength and the ordnances to foil any assault on their [religious] way of life.” 44 See Igros Moshe (Yoreh De’ah 3, 82): “... And with time, secular studies will become his primary focus. This is inevitable, given the power of the yetzer hara [evil inclination] for which they began to annul Torah study and study secular subjects [in its place]. After a time it will then tell him that he needs more time for secular studies if he wants to earn a living.” © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
26 Immersive Torah Study Altruism is not an easily acquired trait, and for the most part runs counter to human nature. A U.S. Marine does not simply take a four-year college course on battle techniques, followed by the writing of a Master’s thesis on military strategy, and suddenly find himself prepared for combat. Rather, the immersive experience of boot camp where the trainee is subjected to circumstances that simulate the stressors faced in combat and stimulate the relevant physiological responses, is what fortifies their stress- immune system and equips them with the counter-intuitive instinct to face danger, to 45 put the lives of their comrades before their own, and to follow orders unquestioningly. In the same way, the ideal graduate of the Chabad educational system will be prepared to place the spiritual and physical lives of his brethren before his own, abandon the comforts, conveniences and camaraderie of community and friends, and devote his/her life to the higher calling they together have been raised to aspire to. He will be armed with the resilience and determination of self-sacrifice, and with an innermost drive to fulfill his divine mission despite all odds. However, these overt manifestations require a totally immersive experience in the spiritual ideology of the movement. The secret to successfully discharging this mission is a profound sense of humility before the divine, 46 which engenders total devotion, coupled with the harnessing of all one’s internal 47 capabilities to accomplish the divine mandate. 45 See http://www.onr.navy.mil/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2008/Demonstrates-Revolutionary-Infantry- Immersion.aspx 46 Letters of the Rebbe (Igros Kodesh, vol. 3, p 265): “It is obvious that in order to impart life to others one has to be alive oneself. It is here that the evil inclination finds a place to try to convince us with the argument that ‘who are you and what power do you have to vitalize other souls? If only you could save even yourself!’ Here my father-in-law, the Rebbe Rayatz, explains: ‘Even though that is all true, it is not apropos … for what can a [lone] soldier do – all he can do is shoot and be willing to give up his life, even joyfully, and that is what makes him victorious. He didn’t make the gun, nor can he. He doesn’t even understand how the gun shoots or the tactics of war at all. But he devotes his life and his will to his commander, and does so joyfully. It is precisely then that he will be victorious. We see with our own eyes that the foundation of all of this is faith in the commander, the king, and the leader. In the spiritual battle [the commander] is the nasi and leader of the generation. In our generation in particular, the nasi is my father-in-law, the Rebbe, who instructed each and every one of us and placed us in a particular position on the battlefield against the side opposing [holiness].” 47 Sefer HaSichos (5748 vol. 1 p. 587 ff): “In order to fulfill his shlichus (mission in life) there are two seemingly opposing components: a) First and foremost – the knowledge and recognition that he is a representative of the Holy One, blessed be He. Accordingly, he may not change any aspect of what G-d demands from him, G-d © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
27 Immersive Torah Study To achieve this mindset, the child’s formative years of education must be entirely immersed and undistracted from the organic exposure to the Torah’s guiding 48 principles. In order to impart an attitude in which one’s mission and service supersedes all other considerations, especially one’s own, an entirely focused educational 49 message must be conveyed to the child with clarity from the start. forbid, as instructed in His Torah, even if it seems to him that by doing so he will be able to influence his environment to an even greater extent. If the representative (the shliach) does change anything he is no longer a representative, may G-d spare us. Furthermore, the emissary (the shliach) must be permeated with the awareness that everything he achieves in this world is not by virtue of ‘his power and the strength of his hand,’ but by virtue of the power of He who sent him (the Holy One, blessed be He), who sent him and endowed him with the power that he can be ‘a representative [who] is like he who sent him,’ to the extent that he is literally ‘just like him.’ b) At the same time, in order that the shaliach can be fully involved with spreading Judaism and can have an influence on people in his surroundings, he must use his own intelligence, just like an agent [in a legal sense] must be endowed with intelligence [and cannot be mentally impaired if he is to represent anyone].” 48 Igros Kodesh (vol. 18, p. 414-417): “It is very worthwhile for him to continue his visit in the Holy Land … and in the coming months he should study in a yeshiva where they learn only Torah the entire day. Of central importance is that he stay in the yeshiva dormitory, i.e. in the yeshiva atmosphere the entire day. It is precisely the years at this age that are vital in shaping a person’s self-image for his entire life. In addition, and this is also a principle of extreme importance, this will establish him firmly and vaccinate him against the winds that are currently blowing in the world. It is in our era precisely that these winds are blowing with unusual strength, and at the same time are very widespread, as is easily understood. Even though the task he wishes to fulfill in … is of understandable importance – a position in education in a traditional institution – a more foundational preparation for the abovementioned will also pay more, and will broaden his influence, on top of the benefits to himself. It is therefore unnecessary to stress that the effects of education depend more on the teacher’s outlook and his devotion to the task of being an educator and guide than they do on his level of knowledge. As regards this point, the influence of the yeshiva atmosphere, particularly if it is infused with the light and warmth of Chassidus, is of utmost importance.” 49 See also Unpacking Chabad: Their Ten Core Elements for Success: http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/unpacking- chabad-their-ten-core-elements-for-success/. Will this form model of organizing work for others? One needs to keep in mind the religious imperative that sustains Chabad. This highly focused commitment to traditional practice and to service is not easily transportable. This unique alignment of faith with outreach clearly requires a particular type of community and movement where individuals are able to transcend their personal agendas in order to foster a shared global mission, as Prager noted, “The self is subordinate to the good of the organization.” © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
28 Immersive Torah Study A legendary Chabad figure once explained it this way. If one wishes to heat a home so that it reaches 20°C, a furnace whose temperature is much more intense would be required; should the furnace itself burn at a mere 20°C, it would be no surprise that the home would remain cold. Similarly, to inculcate the values and dynamism of Shlichus (mission) and to empower a generation with the tools to be selfless, determined pioneers who are willing to scale mountains, traverse valleys, and pursue their mission with fortitude and conviction, the intensity of their education must burn at a 50 temperature that far surpasses the level they anticipate to share. Thus, introducing career considerations – and the attendant skills – at this crucial juncture would undermine the entire edifice of this education, contradicting the entire premise of public service to which they are taught to aspire. Considering its impact on the worldview of the child, the Rebbe viewed the exposure of children during the formative years of education to secular studies as spiritually and 51 religiously harmful. In a private audience with the Rebbe, Rabbi Herbert Weiner once questioned the merit of the Chabad educational model, seeing that all of the Rebbe’s students seemed to be simple-minded, and lacking an inner struggle. The Rebbe responded by saying: “What See Dennis Prager here: http://www.jewishjournal.com/dennis_prager/article/lessons_for_the_rest_of_us_from _chabads_success_20100713/. 50 Reb Mendel (Rabbi Mendel Futerfas, p. 350): “Reb Mendel once gave an analogy: If you want the temperature in the house to be 20 degrees Celsius your furnace has to be many times hotter than that. A furnace that is itself only 20 degrees cannot warm the house to even that degree. The analogue of this is that a student in Tomchei Temimim who wishes to influence his surroundings must first heat himself up in the furnace, the yeshiva, to a very high degree so that when he goes outdoors he will be able to warm up his surroundings.” 51 See Toras Menachem 5715 (p. 73 ff): “They contend that if they teach him English etc. he will reap material benefit, that it will be easier for him to manage his affairs in life. This is a claim that has no basis at all because no one knows what will be in the future, and one’s conduct must always be according to Torah. Anything that is of benefit is written in the Torah. If there were any material benefit in studying secular knowledge, it would have been a Torah law obligating one to study it. Since there is no such law, to the contrary, it is explicitly forbidden because it contaminates the chochmah, binah, and da’at [the intellectual faculties] of the soul, this means that such studies cannot bring a person any material benefit, but rather the opposite.” (For further analysis, see Machon Shmuel, Secular Studies). See also, Sicha of Purim 5762 (1962), Sichos Kodesh 5762, p. 338. © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
29 Immersive Torah Study you see missing from their eyes is a kera (a split)!” – they do not experience the inner spiritual turmoil and fragmentation (“split”) that comes from trying to live in two 52 worlds at the same time. Recognizing that not all constituents of Chabad would embrace the intensity of these ideals, the Rebbe provided for the representatives of Chabad in each locale to determine 53 the degree to which Chabad schools should engage in secular studies. A similar 54 approach was adopted by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. 52 http://m.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/524749/jewish/Alone-with-Little-Moses.htm “I pressed my question from another angle and told him that I sensed a desire in Chabad to oversimplify, to strip ideas of their complexity merely for the sake of a superficial clarity. As a matter of fact, I blurted out, all his Hasidim seemed to have one thing in common: a sort of open and naive look in their eyes that a sympathetic observer might call t’mimut (purity) but that might less-kindly be interpreted as emptiness or simple-mindedness, the absence of inner struggle. I found myself taken aback by my own boldness, but the Rebbe showed no resentment. He leaned forward. “What you see missing from their eyes is a kera!” “A what?” I asked. “Yes, a kera,” he repeated quietly, “a split.” The Rebbe hesitated for a moment. “I hope you will not take offense, but something tells me you don't sleep well at night, and this is not good for ‘length of days.’ Perhaps if you had been raised wholly in one world or in another, it might be different. But this split is what comes from trying to live in two worlds.” 53 From a translated letter of the Rebbe to Merkos l’Inyonei Chinuch, Illinois [regarding the inclusion of secular studies in the Cheder of Chicago]: “This depends on the conditions in that place (as is known, there are differences between Chabad institutions in different places). Accordingly, those who hold executive positions in the local institutions should make that decision.” 54 Responsa Igros Moshe (Yoreh De’ah vol. 3, 81): “Regarding the establishment of yeshiva high-schools, i.e. places where secular studies are also learned, as in Europe: As is known, there are places and situations where this is warranted due to the educational conditions where one without the other is impossible, for whatever reason, whether this is due to the parents or to the students. If one would not have a short time for secular studies in the school, under the supervision of G-d-fearing Jews and Torah scholars, the students would enroll in state schools where they would be completely removed from G-d and our holy Torah. Whereas if they learn in yeshiva high-schools under the supervision of … , and spend only a short time on secular studies after a lot of time studying Torah, they can also become Torah scholars and G-d- fearing Jews. However, there are places where this is totally unnecessary, and it is forbidden to establish yeshiva high-schools in such places, even if there are a few students who need such an institution. It is not within my purview to issue instructions from a distance in such a serious matter, for this is like a matter where life is at stake. Only the local rabbinic authority can make such a decision, since he knows the situation locally, and it is proper that he should rule on this matter consonant with his knowledge of Torah and his pure fear of Heaven. He should keep in mind those places that are close by where this is not necessary so © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
30 Immersive Torah Study However, these dispensations for maintaining dual curricular programming are viewed as temporary allowances; to see them otherwise would compromise the core principles 55 of Jewish education. For the long term, the Rebbe led an intense campaign to establish institutions such as Oholei Torah that would adhere to the ideal path of permitting a Jewish child to be entirely immersed in the study of Torah for the entire day without being encumbered by the study of secular wisdom. The Rebbe viewed the assault on uncompromised Jewish education as an existential threat, and drew parallels between the Communist efforts to undermine Judaism through educational reform and the 56 educational compromises made in the yeshivos of the day. During that time, Rabbi Sholom Dovber of Lubavitch (the fifth Rebbe of Chabad) foresaw the need to establish a unique educational program that would enable its students to devote themselves entirely to the study of Torah, and absorb a truly unique devotion to its values, to the point that they would be willing to sacrifice their lives for its sake. This yeshivah was called Tomchei Temimim. To Rabbi Sholom Dovber, the young men who studied in Tomchei Temimim were not merely students, but foot soldiers who would lead the battle against a society that increasingly rejected religious that they don’t rely on a leniency intended for that place only and thus cause more problems than are solved thereby.” 55 Toras Menachem (vol. 20, p. 116): “We see among the activities of the Rebbes [of Chabad] that there were certain activities that in the past in Lubavitch were not considered in any way at all. Nevertheless, because of the needs of the hour, they had to occupy themselves with these matters as well, in order to rescue the [divine] sparks found down below [in this world]. One of these matters is that – at a certain point – they did not wage war against teaching secular studies (from a certain age) in institutions for religious studies, even though in the past this was absolutely out of the question. But from the outset the Rebbes invested additional energy in the children, with additional revelations of concepts that are the polar opposite of secular matters – [concepts from] the luminary of Torah [i.e. Chassidic teachings], which generates love and awe of G-d. Only then did they not wage a war against the decree of secular studies – because of the necessity of saving those sparks. However, one must remember that this manner of conduct, or anything similar to it, is only a time-bound instruction in that particular situation, in that particular place, and with those particular people. But it is not to be taken as the general modus operandi.” 56 Toras Menachem (vol. 11, p. 144): “When the Yevsektzia and Bolsheviks forbade Torah study [in Russia], they did not ban it entirely. They argued that when a child grows up and can form his own opinion, and he chooses to study [Torah], it is permitted to study with him. Their prohibition was only against studying with young children. At that point, [the Rebbes of Chabad] stood up to them with utmost firmness and self-sacrifice, since the entire existence of the Jewish People depends on education in the childhood years specifically. So, too, now, one should stand up with unwavering strength that the education of Jewish children be according to the purity of Torah, with no compromises, because it is on this that the entire existence of the Jewish People depends.” © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
31 Immersive Torah Study belief and practice. He issued a clarion call, referring to it as a covenant, that the students fortify themselves to resist the imminent onslaught of religious persecution (which fomented in the wake of the Enlightenment) that was soon to dominate the 57 country. Through immense self-sacrifice, the mandate of Tomchei Temimim prevailed with the eventual collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union. The Chabad of today leads a similar global battle against religious apathy, reaching out to all Jews – as disenfranchised as they may be from religious life – seeking to inspire them to reconnect with their heritage and forge a closer bond with G-d and His Torah. In a strikingly similar analogue, the Chabad community views todays attempts to impose changes upon religious education, and Chabad education in particular, with utmost 57 Toras Sholom (Rabbi Sholom Dovber of Lubavitch, p. 294): “Rabbi Shalom Ber stood to his full height, turned to the students and said: The students of Tomchei Temimim who study in all its divisions, and all those who will study in future times, those who are here and those who are not here – I am establishing a covenant with you today, a covenant regarding self-sacrifice in your service [of G‑d], in the [study of] Torah with Yiras Shamayim (awe of Heaven), and Avodah (engaging in meditative, heartfelt prayer), without surrender or compromise. “Let the Law [i.e. Torah Law which must be carried out whatever the difficulties or consequences] pierce the mountain” – the proponents of the Enlightenment… The [soldiers] who are assigned to fight the wars of the House of David first issue a bill of divorce to their wives. In the natural world, a soldier must be healthy, not only must he not be injured, but also he must be [physically fit and] healthy in all of his two-hundred-and-forty-eight limbs and three-hundred-and- sixty-five tendons. Only in this way, can a military man function as a soldier – if he is healthy. This is so in the physical realm, and certainly in the spiritual realm. Similarly, the character of the soldier who is needed for the battle of the House of David must be healthy. It does not suffice that he merely has all his limbs intact – an allusion to the performance of the two- hundred-and-forty-eight [positive] commandments, and the three-hundred-and-sixty-five tendons, which correspond to the three-hundred-and-sixty-five negative commandments. Rather, he must be of superior energy and strength in terms of his divine service and awe of Heaven. Chassidic doctrine refers to this strength with the Hebrew term, eisan. This refers both to strength as well as resilience. Strength has many levels, strong and even stronger. But resilience is not defined by levels, it is solid the likes of which do not exist elsewhere. This means that the resilience regarding Yiras Shamayim is of such character that no influence in the world can move it from its ‘place’ in the study of Torah and [contemplative] prayer. This describes an individual of genuine self-sacrifice, and no hurdles or tests will get in the way of his service. Such a military man can serve as a soldier in the battle of the House of David, who can save – and will indeed save – the state of the Jewish People from the hands of the enemies of G-d and those who ‘disgrace the footsteps of Your (G-d’s) anointed one,’ through the dissemination of Torah and the awe of Heaven, and by arousing others to return to G-d.” © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
32 Immersive Torah Study gravity, evoking the resilience, fortitude, and self-sacrifice of countless generations of Jews who have triumphed over all odds and are here to tell the story. Education Day The Rebbe saw that the products of the education he advocated could help the world at large to better understand what constitutes good education. In response to Congress designating his birthday as Education Day USA, Rabbi Schneerson, in an ad taken out in the New York Times, asked all to remember that the point of education must not be just to make a good living, but to make a good life. The prophets of the Bible had a vision of a peaceful world united as one, even as G-d is One. In this world that has not yet realized that vision, education often has lent itself to the clever pursuit of selfish aims at others’ expense. Writer and critic Wendell Berry described a community meeting with certain powerful professionals who were all-too common products of this flawed education: When they appeared before us, they were serving their own professional commitment and their own ambition. They had not come to reassure us so far as they honestly could do so or to redress our just grievances. They had not come even to determine if our grievances were just. They had come to mislead us, to bewilder us with the jargon of their expertise, to imply that our fears were ignorant and selfish. Their manner of paying attention to us was simply a way of ignoring us. 58 The education as envisioned at Oholei Torah is of another sort, training its students to pay attention to the true good, and to find great happiness in the flow of its creative energy that benefits all. As Berry put it: Education in the true sense, of course, is an enablement to serve—both the living human community in its natural household or neighborhood and the precious cultural possessions that the living community inherits or should inherit. To educate is, literally, to “bring up,” to bring young people to a responsible maturity, to help them be good caretakers of what they have been given, to help them be charitable toward fellow creatures. Such an education is obviously 58 Wendell Berry, Home Economics. Berkeley, CA: North Point Press, 1987, p. 53 © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]
33 Immersive Torah Study pleasant and useful to have; that a sizeable number of humans should have it is probably also one of the necessities of human life in this world. 59 Conclusion The unique work carried out by Chabad yeshivos is indeed a necessity, and not just for a particular Jewish community. It is a living example of what Berry is talking about, and as our civilized world faces severely disruptive forces both from within and without, the need for what Chabad yeshivos offer is immense. Its education – immersion in the great holy teachings that have meant so much for the world over the course of millennia – is something to be commended and supported, not opposed. The preservation of this ancient culture and its sense of flow that embraces the image of G-d that is the birthright of every human being – this is a project of universal significance. Everyone in the Chabad community is committed with all the power of self-sacrifice. America distinguished itself in world history by forever prohibiting its government to interfere with the free exercise of religion, and thereby honoring its vital role. Let the government now preserve its founders’ wise and unselfish vision and acknowledge that Chabad yeshivos and the education of Oholei Torah make a vital contribution to that great, variegated, and diverse society that finds a greater unity and strength through acknowledging the special gifts each of its citizens and communities offer. *** 59 Ibid., p. 52 © All Rights Reserved, JLI’s Machon Shmuel: The Sami Rohr Research Institute, 2015 For more information, visit MachonShmuel.com or email [email protected]