From Parsha to Halakha: Vzot HaBracha: My Torah, not yours
“Our sages taught [in a beraita]: … A child who knows how to wave [the four species] – is obligated in lulav, to wrap [himself in clothes] – is obligated in tzitzit, to safeguard tefillin – his father buys him tefillin, knows how to speak – his father teaches him Torah and Keriyat Shema.
What is ‘Torah?’ Rav Hamnuna said: ‘Torah tziva lanu Moshe, morasha kehillat Yaakov,’ ‘Moshe commanded us the Torah, and inheritance for the congregation of Yaakov.’”[1]
The first verse
A child is not obligated in mitzvot before they reach the age of majority – twelve or thirteen. The obligation described in the beraita quoted above is that of chinukh – educating a child to follow Torah and mitzvot. This is a process meant to grow and develop along with the child’s faculties. Most halakhic authorities place the age of chinukh somewhere between six and nine, when a child begins to read and understand they are also taught how to perform mitzvot properly.
Yet here we see that a child’s education begins even earlier, and that a child should be taught Torah and Keriyat Shema when they first learn to speak. The gemara teaches that Keriyat Shema is the first verse of Shema Yisrael, “Hear Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” Torah is also just one verse, found in the beginning of our parsha: “Moshe commanded us the Torah, and inheritance for the congregation of Yaakov.”
Why this verse?
At first glance this verse seems strange, as if Moshe both refers to himself in the third person and speaks for all of Israel, “Moshe commanded us the Torah.” The following verse is cryptic as well, “There is a king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people assemble, altogether the Tribes of Israel.”
Who is this king? What is the meaning of these verses?
Some commentaries explain that Moshe is the king, the earthly leader who commanded the people to follow the Torah. Others read the King as God. According to this reading, these verses mention the collective of the Jewish people four times – twice in relation to the Torah and twice to God. Ramban teaches that these are not the words of Moshe, but declarations by the people of Israel. These statements affirm their faith in God’s sovereignty – which they accepted directly from God when they were gathered at the revelation at Sinai, and their commitment to the Torah – which God commanded them through Moshe.[2]
Following Ramban’s commentary, it seems that this is also the meaning of the first two verses we teach children. Shema is a plainspoken and child-friendly affirmation of our faith in God; “Torah tziva lanu” affirms our commitment to the Torah.
My Torah, not yours
This verse is used several times throughout Talmud, midrashim, and halakhic texts in a variety of contexts.[3] One of the more controversial uses is as a prooftext to preclude non-Jews from Torah study:
“Rabbi Yochanan said: A gentile who is engaged in Torah is liable [to be put to] death, as it says, ‘Moshe commanded the Torah to us, an inheritance [for the congregation of Jacob.’ It is an inheritance (morasha) [given] ‘to us,’ and not to them.”[4] [5]
The gemara questions why the prohibition against a Gentile learning Torah isn’t included in the Seven Noahide Laws and counters that it can be included in one of two prohibitions. If the Torah is an inheritance as the verse says, such a Gentile is stealing. Alternatively, based on a midrashic reading of “morasha” as “me’orasa” – betrothed – the Torah is Israel’s betrothed, making a Gentile with intimate knowledge guilty of a prohibited relationship.[6]
The gemara continues to challenge Rabbi Yochanan’s statement, now with a beraita quoting Rabbi Meir who taught that a Gentile who engaged in Torah is like a High Priest. The gemara reconciles that this is referring to a Gentile who studies the Seven Noahide Laws. A parallel midrash offers a different approach with an added word, “a Gentile who converts and engages with Torah is like a High Priest.”[7]
The question of Gentiles and Torah study also appears in the gemara in Chagiga that discusses when it’s permitted to transmit “the secrets of the Torah;” Rabbi Ami gives a list of character traits a student must possess. In that context Rabbi Ami teaches: “We do not transmit words of Torah to gentiles, as it says, ‘[God] did not do this for every nation and did not inform them of laws.’”[8]
The parameters of the prohibition
Tosafot explain that the gemara in Sanhedrin forbids a Gentile from studying Torah, Chagiga forbids a Jew from teaching them Torah. The two statements in Chagiga apply to different types of Torah. With the exception of the Noahide Laws, it’s forbidden to teach Torah to Gentiles; teaching the secrets of the Torah – what we would call kaballa – to unqualified Jews is also prohibited.[9]
In his commentary on Chagiga, Meiri doesn’t differentiate between types of Torah, but between different types of Gentiles. Just as teaching the secrets of the Torah to a Jew who isn’t upstanding is forbidden, so too teaching any Torah to pagans who don’t believe in God is prohibited. He gives a slightly different, although complementary explanation in Sanhedrin. There he clarifies that the issue is with a Gentile who studies our Torah to understand it, but not to fulfill it. Others may consider this learned person to be “one of us” and mistakenly learn from their path. Conversely, a Gentile who wishes to study Torah to understand it, with the goal of fulfilling it is permitted – even if they do not plan on converting.[10]
While some halakhic authorities rule that there is a blanket prohibition against Gentiles studying Torah, there are several other suggested limitations.[11] Shiltei Giborim explains that the prohibition only applies to the Torah (Five Books of Moses), but not Nevi’im (Prophets) or Ketuvim (Writings).[12] Based on the idea that the Oral Torah was not written down so that Gentiles could not claim it as their own, Maharatz Chayut teaches that Gentiles may study the Written Torah but not the Oral Torah.[13] Rambam indicates that the issue is teaching someone who does not believe that the Torah is from God.[14] Seridei Eish goes as far as to suggest that the prohibition only applies to a Gentile who wants to use the Torah to found a new religion.
Why can’t we share?
Why is there such a wide array of opinions? It seems that we can trace these back to the opinions in Sanhedrin. Those who read me’orasa, betrothed, understand that the relationship between the Torah and the “congregation of Yaakov” is intimate. Yes, the Torah is beautiful and has much to teach the world, but its true depth is reserved for those sanctified through an exclusive commitment.
If the Torah is our inheritance the relationship does not have to be exclusive. It is a precious gift each generation hands to the next to nurture and grow and sharing that gift with others who are worthy does not diminish it. Its wisdom and beauty can be appreciated by like-minded individuals who acknowledge the Divine source and the ongoing relationship with Israel, provided they do not try to “steal it” – usurp this relationship or pervert the Torah’s teachings.
Rejoicing with the Torah
The gemara teaches that the seventy bulls offered on the altar over the seven days of Sukkot atone for the seventy nations of the world. On Shemini Atzeret, the eighth day, one bull is offered for God’s one special nation. For seven days all nations of the world are welcome to rejoice in God; on the day after, the eighth day, the inner circle – God’s beloved Israel – makes a smaller celebration of their unique bond. It’s no wonder that this date was eventually chosen to celebrate the end and beginning of the yearly cycle of Torah reading, Simchat Torah. Without the Temple it’s harder for us to feel that closeness to God, the Torah serves as an essential tether.
Recently, while discussing women’s participation in the celebrations of Simchat Torah, a woman told me, “I don’t need to dance around with the Torah, I don’t feel that the celebration is mine. I don’t really learn Torah.” This is a woman who diligently goes to shul every Shabbat and listens to the Torah reading. She raised her children in Torah and mitzvot, is a kind and giving member of the community, and seems to be careful in her mitzvah observance. Why doesn’t she think she is a part of this celebration?
Weekly Torah reading has an element of Torah study, but it is also (and perhaps primarily) experiential. As we’ve seen, our Torah is not meant to be limited to intellectual study; it is incomplete, and perhaps forbidden, if the ultimate goal is not active fulfillment. Torah study itself can’t be limited to the four walls of the House of Study – see what happens if you let someone who only learned kashrut from books into the kosher kitchen of someone who can barely understand Hebrew. The beraita on the mitzva of chinukh clearly demonstrates that we learn through doing. According to Dr. Chaim Soloveitchik the stress on books and study has grown over the past few generations , previous generations inherited the Torah in a mimetic tradition – from practice, not from books. This was by design.
“An inheritance for the Congregation of Yaakov”
All Jewish people, not just those who frequent the House of Study, inherit the Torah and bequeath it to the following generation. This is the message of the first verse we learn – Moshe commands us to follow the Torah, and when we do so we are part of the Congregation of Yaakov – the chain of generations that preserve our inheritance from previous generations and cultivate it for future heirs.
Anyone who has spent time around young children is familiar with the possessive phase. Before most children can string together a few words they figure out they can assert their ownership with a pointed finger and a petulant “mine.” Sometimes funny, often challenging, this developmental milestone means a child not only sees themselves as an independent individual, they also understand that they can control what is theirs.
Psychologists have noted that children are more likely to retain novel words for objects when they are told it belongs to them. This creates an association, turning the object into something that relates to them personally. Even before a child can begin to understand the significance of Torah they learn that it is “theirs.” Or, rather, “ours.” Our privilege and our responsibility.
[1] TB Sukka 42a; Devarim 33:4.
[2] Based on a midrash that the people heard the first two commandments directly from God at Sinai and the rest of the Torah from Moshe.
[3] For example, Rambam uses this verse as a proof that the Jewish people are not permitted to force Gentiles to accept the Torah, in his words “Moshe did not give the Torah and mitzvot to anyone other than Israel… and anyone who wanted to convert from other nations… But we may not force anyone to fulfill Torah and mitzvot if they don’t want.” He continues that they can be forced to accept the Seven Noahide Laws, as anyone who does not fulfill those laws is liable for the death penalty.
Hilkhot Melakhim u’Milkhamot 8:10
[4] TB Sanhedrin 59a
[5] Without delving into manuscripts it’s often difficult to discern if the original source is referring to pagans or Gentiles in general. Both Talmudic and rabbinic texts may have undergone censorship; there are many instances where the term “oved kokhavim” for pagan was substituted for “Goy,” Gentile. This well-documented phenomenon was especially popular in Catholic areas where statements about Gentiles were changed to idol worshippers – so that Christians would not think it included them. The Munich Manuscript, dating back to 1342, is reputed to be the only uncensored copy of the Talmud. So, while most texts we have refer to “ovdei kokhavim” – star worshippers or pagans – the Munich Manuscript speaks of Goyim – Gentiles.
[6] See TB Pesachim 49b, where Rabbi Chiyya condemns speaking Torah before an “am ha’aretz” – ignorant layperson. And Chagiga 13a
[7] Bamidbar Rabba 13:16
[8] TB Chagiga 13a quoting Tehillim 147:20.
[9] Within context the gemara speaks of Ma’aseh Merkava – the description of the Divine Chariot in Yechezkel Chapter 1 and Ma’aseh Bereishit – the act of Creation in Genesis. These are typically understood to be the basis of the kabbalistic tradition.
[10] The question of Torah study for a potential convert is addressed at length, but beyond our scope.
[11] A few, such as Tosafot, explain this is a Torah-level obligation. Others see the prooftext as an asmakhta, a verse used to bolster a rabbinic obligation.
[12] Avoda Zara 3a quoting Riaz.
[13] Sota 35b. See also Yehudah Ya’aleh OC 1:4; Meishiv Davar 2:77.
[14] Teshuvot HaRambam, Blau Edition 149; Chiddushei Chatam Sofer Chulin 33a “v’ayen”.
