Why Learn Gemara - Part I

Before we investigate the nature of the halakhic system and process we will ask two interrelated fundamental questions: Why is there an Oral Torah and why must we learn this Oral Torah? Of course, these questions can only be understood in their depth when we first understand what is the Oral Torah.

The question of "why learn gemara" takes for granted that it is important to know practical halakha. This is important for the obvious reason that one must “learn in order to do.” On a deeper level, one needs to know halakha in order to understand the flow of Jewish life. It is possible to keep halakha but not really be in tune with the Jewish way of life. Through actively learning about the halakha one learns the rhythm of the Jewish life, much like a dancer naturally and flawlessly moves in sync with the music. The discussion is concerning the importance of intimately knowing the halakhic system and process (“Shas and Poskim”). This is obviously important for one who is aspiring to render halakhic rulings (“posek”), especially on new issues or complicated cases, since before one can create a program or use the system one must be extremely knowledgeable of the mechanics. Furthermore, many halakhic rulings must rely on intuition, and thus the posek must have acquired a “da’at Torah” (a personal and integrated understanding of the Torah system and philosophy).

But before we delve into ta'amei ha'mitzvot we must be clear about our starting point. As R. Hirsch writes (Introduction to Horeb), " Even if every Divine precept were a riddle to us and presented us with a thousand unsolved and insoluble problems, the obligatory character of the commandments would not in the slightest degree be impaired by this."


Learning Torah is a mitzvah and, therefore, one shouldn’t need reasons to justify learning. The only possible way to ever become motivated to learn the will of Hashem is if you care about the will of Hashem in the broader sense. A person cannot motivate himself to learn the will of Hashem if he is fundamentally not interested in the will of Hashem. For example, a sinner is going to have a lot of difficulty searching earnestly for the will of Hashem – he is immersing in a mikva with a rat in his hand! Therefore the first requirement necessary to come to ahavat ha’Torah – a desire to learn the will of Hashem – is to learn only because it is the will of Hashem to learn!

Lastly, asking "meta" questions can be compared to trying to see the forest. It is certainly important to take a step back and see the big picture but ultimately one can only intimately understand the forest by going into it and seeing the individual trees. This is a dialectic - sometimes we learn and practice mitzvot in simplicity and let ourselves naturally come to answers, while other times we must try to intellectually assess the meaning of Torah, mitzvot and ourselves.

Judaism - belief in the Jewish experience

We will now begin to attempt to understand Chumash - its mateial, philosophical, and mystical expressions, the nature of its system and its essence. However...

What drives our search is our sense that there is something very, very special about the Torah. We may have gotten a glimpse of lights from above - the experience of the granduer and sweetness, the wisdom and infinity of the Torah. But for those who have not merited eyes to see, we, as the Jewish people. have merited to see this vision for thousands of years. Our people - Talmudists and the halakhacists, the rationalists and mystics, the ba'alei mussar and Chasidim; ancient and modern, Eastern and Western, simple and complex, men and women - have all found the soul of the Torah and their own soul within it...

As Moshe Rabbeinu prepares to depart from this world he recounts the face-to-face relationship that Yisrael have had with Hashem (Devarim 4:34, 5:4), hearing His loving voice from heaven through fire (Devarim 4:33, 36, 37), proclaiming his eternal (Devarim 29:14) covenant (Shemot 24:7, Vayikra 26:16; Devarim 4:13). And this good voice (Devarim 5:27, 6:3), the inheritence of Yisrael (Devarim 33:4) will bring us wisdom and understanding (Devarim 4:6), and justice (Devarim 4:8, 16:19). And when we keep this Torah, which is in our mouth and heart (Shemot 13:9; Devarim 30:14), Hashem will rejoice over us (Devarim 30:9).

The nevi'im remind us that the the words of the Holy One of Israel (Yeshayahu 5:24), which made Sinai melt (Shoftim 5:5; Tehillim 68:8), is the key to our success as a nation (Yehoshua 1:7, 8; I Melachim 2:3) if it is engraved onto our heart (Yeshayahu 51:7). But it is also the life-giving waters which will bring the individual to fruition (Tehillim 1:2); a perfect, trustworthy, upright friend while an enlightening, pure, true Master (Tehillim 19); a wonderous, mind-expnading, enlightening revelation, a comforting song, more valuable than gold and silver (Tehillim 119).

Chazal, too, shared the vision of Nevi'im: The Torah is our wife (Pesachim 49b), waiting for us from before the creation of the world (B'reishit Rabbah 1:1), from before birth (Nidda 30b), given as a gift to those who so merit her (Nedarim 55a), bringing us perfection. She brings with her splendid riches (Shemot Rabbah, 33:1) and royalty (Avot 6:6, 6), ever-renewing power (Avot 6:1; Zevachim 116a) and fiery energy (Bava Batra 134a), true freedom (Avot 6:2) and life (Shabbat 88b; Kiddushin 30b; Avot 6:7). We become partners in creation (Shabbat 10a), higher than a prophet (Bava Batra 12a), like a priest (Menachot 110a; Sanhedrin 59a), yet like an angel (Moed Katan 17a). The Holy One, Blessed be He hovers in our midsts (Berachot 8a).

The so-called rationalists also encountered the Torah in her granduer:

The Rambam codifies that the mind-expanding (Hilkhot Issurei Bi'ah 22:21) waters of knowledge (Hilkhot Mikva'ot 11:12) are perfect, pure, holy and true, and that every single word in the Torah has wisdoms and wonders for the one who understands them, but the end of her wisdom will not be grasped - her measurment is longer than the earth and deeper than the sea (Hakdama l'Perek Chelek). This table before G-d...adorned with delicious fruits(Hakdama l'Mishna), the crown of Torah (Hilkhot Talmud Torah 3:1), is life itself (Hilkhot Rotzeach 7:1), and will ultimately bring one to love of Hashem (Sefer ha'Mitzvot #3).

The Derashot ha'Ran defines the Torah as the greatest thing for the human species, that which will not only save Man from the ways of death (Derush 3) and for our own merit (Drush 7), but it also serves as conduit for the Divine flow (Derush 11).

R. Hirsch views the Torah as the seed (Collected Writings, I, 194), and Divine soil (Horeb, Introduction) - spiritual riches (Ninteen Letters, Letter Fifteen) - which will make our inner self come alive (Nineteen Letters, Letter Two; Commentary on Shemot 19:10), and is the basis for our being a holy nation (Commentary on Shemot 19:6) - an ordered program for G-dliness (Nineteen Letters, Horeb).

R. Soloveitchik views the learning and living of Torah as a mighty and forceful (Halakhic Man, 84) yet intimate and warm I-Thou (On the Love of Torah: Impromtu Remarks at a Siyum), covenental (The Lonely Man of Faith, pg. 43) religious experience, where one breaks through the barrier seperating the Absolute from the contigent and finite (Worship of the Heart, 5), as the Shechinah breathes upon one's neck (RCA Convention 1975); a transgenerational (Halakhic Man, pgs. 81, 120) creative act of bringing transendance into the world (Halakhic Man, 108), and personal purification (Derashot ha'Rav, 207), through halakhic truth, cognition and epistemology (Halakhic Man, 85) - and after such an experence all questions become interesting but not tormenting (The Lonely Man of Faith, pg. 7).


And the Ba'alei Mussar saw the power of Torah in transforming the person: The Torah is the singular path (Ohr Yisrael, Letter Fourteen), which will save Man from evil (Messilat Yesharim, Chapter 1; Adam Bikar, 44; Alei Shur II, pg. 116), and the sweet and pleasurable waters (Da'a't Chochmah u'Mussar, 2, pg. 67), like rain nourishing a sprouting Man (Adam Bikar, 34), will bring him to life (Ohr Yisrael, Letter Ten), a life of self-control (Chovot ha'Levavot, Sha'ar ha'Prishut, chapter two), until his every word, eye movement and hand motion proclaims holiness (Sha'arei Teshuva 3:148; Torat Avraham, pg. 82), righteousness (B'ikvot ha'Yirah, pg. 129), and truth (Shiurei Da'at, I, pg. 304).

The Kabbalists and Chassidic masters described their experiences in their unique language: The Torah is the highest emanation from Hashem (Derech Hashem 4:2), the light of the Ein Sof (Chesed l’Avraham 2:10; Leshem, Sha’ar 3), the revelation of His transcendent Mind and Will (Maharal, Derush al ha’Torah and Tiferes Yisrael, 11; Recanti, Ta’amei ha’Mitzvot, 3a; Avodat ha’Kodesh 1:22; Tanya 5, 23; Nefesh ha’Chaim 4:6) – it is One with Him, yet one with Yisrael (Zohar, Acharei Mot; Derech Eitz Chayim). This timeless light (Ohr Torah, Likuttim; Sefat Emet, Nasso) finds its expression in this world, written with black fire upon white fire, in the names of the Divine as written in the Torah (Zohar, Yitro 87a; Ramban, Ma’alot ha’Torah, pg. 14), all unified in the Shem Havaya (Sha’arei Orah, hakdama), further revealed in the shapes and crowns of the letters (Hakdama Tikkunei Zohar; Ramban, hakdama l’Torah; Ramchal, hakdama l'klalei Chochmat ha'Emet; Rosh Milin), a system of word permutations and mathematics (Arizal, Likutei Torah; Tanya 23), but most fundamentally the Divine soul is found in the clothing of mitzvot (Nefesh ha’Chaim 4:30; Orot ha’Torah 2:2). The Torah, like Man, is composed of a body, a soul and a soul of a soul (Zohar 3:152a; Maharal, Tiferes Yisrael, 13), and in its different dimensions it contains all of wisdom (Ramban, hakdama l’Torah), may bring one to ruach ha’kodesh (Maggid Mesharim); and being aligned with Yisrael’s spiritual and physical composition (Sha’arei Kedusha 1:1), it has the power to break klippos (Arizal, Sha’ar Ruach ha’Kodesh; Chesed l’Avraham 2:28), to feed (Orot ha’Torah 6:6) and uplift one’s soul (Arizal, Sha’ar ha’Gilgulim, hakdama 1, 18), create spiritual energy (Tzidkat ha'Tzaddik 241), and enliven and fix all worlds (Arizal, Pri Eitz Chayyim, Hanhagas ha’Limmud; Derech Hashem 1:4:9; Gra, Mishlei 23:24).


There are literally tens of thousands of more sources like this. For me, and for most people, this was enough to inspire teshuva. However, in a future post we will consider some possible objections that the skeptic might have and address them.

"Through the recognition of the greatness of Torah they recognize her G-dliness." - R. Kook, Pinkas Rishon l'Yaffo, # 91

There are no Living Atheists

Like all discussions we will begin with the heart since it is there that much, if not most, of our thinking begins and ends. The following is an introduction to the absurdity of secularism and an emotional argument for belief in G-d.

“The pure saints do not complain about heresy, but increase faith”
– Rav Kook

We are all familiar with the proverbial “there are no atheists in a foxhole.” However, what I want to suggest is that there simply are no atheists. In order to understand this we must recognize that philosophical positions, such as Atheism, do not occur in a vacuum, nor are they free from consequences. If someone professes to believe a certain philosophy without accepting all of its necessary assumptions and consequences, can they really be said to be “believers” in the true sense? My position is that by definition it is impossible to be a coherent atheist and still be alive for long.

Atheism preaches that there is no G-d. As such, it is very difficult to conceive of an atheist who nevertheless professes a belief in a non-material spirit or spiritual world. How does the material “create” the spiritual? How does mindless, blind matter evolve into the conscious mind? For this reason there is a strong materialistic bias in the field of neuroscience; once one admits to the existence of the soul, it does not take long until one recognizes the “Soul of souls,” and the “Mind of minds.” In other words, Atheism is really an offshoot of materialistic Monism (the belief that reality is made up only of physical matter). There is no soul, no self, no mind. Your brain is mud and no more. You don’t “make up your mind” - your brain makes up your illusory experience of consciousness. There is no free-will; you are merely a predetermined animal. It can rightly be said that the “rise of materialism” translates into the “death of Man.” [1]

This materialistic Monism, labeled Atheism, preaches that there is no G-d. In other words, there is nothing ‘above’ and ‘outside’ the physical world. As such, it is impossible to find any ultimate meaning in this game called life. Let us look at basketball: we see a group of half-dressed and oversized men, running back and forth trying to place a big brown ball into a hoop. This is a trivial presentation of a multi-billion dollar industry. Who would have guessed? Why is it, however, that cricket is not a multi-billion dollar in America? Is it any less a showing of kinesthetic intelligence? Most certainly not, and this brings us to our point. A game is only as important as the amount of importance given to it by the game’s fans. For this reason the perceptive sports fan will notice that once in a while – when the fans begin to get bored - the rules of the game change. In other words, meaning comes from outside the system. This is reminiscent of Godel’s “incompleteness theorem” which proves that a system of equations can never explain itself; there will always be an assumed axiom in any set of equations. For the theist, G-d is that assumed axiom that makes sense of our universe, the rational Creator who stands outside the system and thus grants it ultimate meaning.

So you ask an atheist: what is the meaning of life? What justifies our existence? Perhaps they will say “to love my family and friends,” but we dare to ask: why is the act of loving your family and friends important? Now, perhaps they will say “to be a good person,” and again we inquire: who cares if you are good or bad? Who stands outside your system, your world, your game, that grants it meaning? Victor Frankl taught us that there is an “unheard cry for meaning,” but he forgot that Man cannot be satisfied with social and relative meaning; we need ultimate and objective meaning.

Furthermore, according to materialistic doctrine, who cares if a blind lump of matter is moral and ethical? Furthermore, if you do not have free will, you cannot be held accountable in the first place for your love and goodness (contrary to what some philosophers have mistakenly argued). So what’s the point of being a robot?

The quintessential atheist then, the highest ideal that Man can aspire to, is to be an animal. To put it bluntly: Atheism has no ideals. Atheism has no moral basis. Atheism has no ultimate meaning. It is quite ironic how vigorously the atheists try and convince the rest of the world of the truth of their philosophy. Animals are trying to convince humans that they should become animals! The atheists preach their religion, their ideal, of Atheism, the religion without any ideals; the doctrine of meaningless existence finds its meaning in preaching meaninglessness.

Let us now ponder the age-old question “does this world consist of more good or more bad?” It cannot be denied that there is a great amount of evil in this world of ours; in fact, this is the strongest argument that the atheist’s have against Theism! According to the atheist, then, we are left with a world in which we experience a tremendous amount of brute and meaninglessness evil. Let us continue to ponder: If there is no meaning in Man’s existence, and he is just a conscious and rational ape, what existential pain will men experience? Man is the only known being in the universe that is aware of his own meaninglessness. So if we want to be honest with ourselves and not get caught up in the trivialities of ordinary life, we are left with meaningless and terrifying evil and a deep existential angst. One must wonder at the attempt of atheists to convince the world that they are correct - are atheists sadistic? It is no wonder that psychologists are busy trying to cure the modern Man of his existential emptiness. It is no wonder that sense-numbing drugs abound in our enlightened Western culture. If I were fond of conspiracy theories I would theorize that the atheists have a secret pact with the psychologists and the drug lords. Who knows…?

There is only one question that remains: under such conditions wouldn’t you kill yourself? Is life really worth hanging onto for those few moments of physical pleasure? Even hedonists burn out eventually. As the Alter of Novoradok once said, “Even the richest man only has one mouth and one stomach.” In our more vulgar times, I might add that even the best looking man only has one sexual organ. How many hangovers can one endure throughout a lifetime?

However, even the father of hedonism, Epicurus, recognized this failing of physical pleasure. Instead of unbridled hedonism, he advised a refined and mitigated search for pleasure. The refined materialist will not be a sensual primitive; rather he will search for social love and a cultured hedonism. However, we must ask: For how many years can one live the boring existence of being a refined and cultured hedonist? Moreso, is life really worth living for the emotional attachment called love (which is an illusion) with another “animal-robot”?

The correct conclusion, the best solution to the “human condition,” is suicide. However, from the fact that living atheists fail to draw the appropriate conclusions, we must conclude either one of two options. Either atheists are not all that bright and they do not know how to draw the proper conclusions, or they don’t really believe their own philosophy. In their heart of hearts the self-proclaimed atheistic philosopher is waiting for things to turn around. He is hanging onto this existence in the hope that he will eventually find justification for this existence.

This new view of the atheist has dramatic implications for how we deal with him or her. The wise approach to the “denier” is not to deny or reject, but rather to show them that they are believers! To the one who preaches Atheism, we must ask: do you also believe that you are meaningless animal with no justification for your existence? Do you act as if you have no free will? Do you speak like a materialistic neuroscientist? Would you be willing to sign off on your share in the next world? Somehow the holy atheists are always preaching morality and ethics, human rights and dignity. Perhaps it is time that we point out to them that they are not the real deal; they are half-baked atheists. Just like the way to ignite goodness within a man is to point out the good already manifest within his soul, the way to ignite faith within the denier is to point out that they are far from being faithless.

ALSO SEE: http://www.torahlab.org/haberblog/the_last_class/


[1] Perhaps some spiritually concerned atheists will counter: the soul has always existed perhaps along with some sort of a spiritual reality. In other words, perhaps the atheist could maintain a physical/spiritual duality or a spiritual monism as found in Buddhism (although most atheists certainly don’t choose this option). However this approach is fatally flawed. How does a disembodied soul enter into my dumb body? What is the nature of this spiritual reality (eternal or created) and does it interact with the physical?…. We are left to conclude that the only option left for atheism is materialistic Monism. See Plato, Apology, 26A.

Welcome - part III: Intellectual Humility

אני לא מבין כל מיני דברים
אבל זה לא מפריע לי
כי אני
הקטן שבקטנים

The story is told of a student of the Maggid of Mezritch who fell from the path of Torah.[i] The Alter Rebbe commented that “even as this student began his studies a worm – the ego – was eating at him.” And as I continue to encounter skeptics, and the skeptic within, I see that the worm has only grown. Arrogance, the dual perspective that we understand more than we do and that we must make sense of everything that we do not yet understand, is a sure way to increase emotional dissonance during our intellectual journey in this life.

There are obvious reasons why intellectual humility is called for. Besides the sheer amount of information available today, we seeprogress in our own lives - seeing what we once thought certain overturned and what we once thought ridiculous to become our anthem. "Even Ma'asu ha'Bonim Hayita l'Rosh Pinah." And we see tremendous progress through history. R. Soloveitchik, commenting on a passage in Newman whose most important argument for Christianity was that G-d seems to have rejected the Jewish people, observed, that with the stablishment of the state of Israel this arguement is not as strong. Remember! This argument was around for 1500 years or so and the Jews held on to the string of faith. And of course let us not forget the Rambam's comment on Aristotle's cosmology and the findings of 20th century physics!

Lastly, intellectual humility comes much easier to those with an inclincation for the mystical and mysterious. Quantum physics and paranormal psychology provide good modern day motivations for embracing the mysterious. The bottom line is that we live in a stranger world than most college professors would like to admit. And the more one lives the more they see this with their own eyes.

So, in short, I close with a quote from R. Hirsch (Nineteen Letters, Letter 15): "But do not expect me to be an infallible master. I shall honestly show you where I mystelf am still in doubt and groping in the dark, and shall encourage you to continue studying by yourself."

[i] Perhaps Solomon Maimon?

Welcome - Part II: Emunah

Being that much of the time we will be exploring the fundamental faith propositions of Judaism let me first introduce some thoughts on the process of coming to belief. This introduction should give a good idea of where we are heading and frame future discussions.

The choice to believe is a choice that is constantly made throughout our lives. We make belief-choices in the complicated issues of politics, ethics and religion. But we also commit to beliefs in regard to the most fundamental questions of our identity, history and security. However, our belief commitments are almost never informed by absolute proofs (because outside of 1 + 1 = 2 there are no absolute proofs!). In varying degrees, our beliefs are based on probability, which in turn is based on intuition (see the hakdama to the Milchamos vs. the Cartesian view on knowledge). We shall apply this methodology to religious belief as well. Let us look at the arguments in favor of religious belief and the counterarguments against religious belief, and then let us weigh them.

But before we do so, we must check the “I” making this intuitional judgment. Which arguments are weightier than others depends on who is making the value judgment. An intellectual will find value in an air-tight logical proof; an emotional person will find more value in a strong emotional argument. We furthermore must ask: am I open to religious belief or will I scoff at even the most outstanding arguments, am I open to the spiritual world or am I so caught up in physicality that the very notion of the transcendent is a laughable one? It has been said, for this reason, that only a religious person can truly understand and value religion; only someone who has acquired an internal self can understand and value internal knowledge.

However, even purity of heart is not sufficient for coming to the proper intuitional conclusion. Only through acquiring a deep and wide knowledge of the subject matter (religion, science, philosophy, theology, history, literary theory, the occult etc.) – an expertise – can we hope to develop the proper intuition in these fields. Only through understanding the nuances, the strengths and the weaknesses of the field, can we hope to grasp the specific arguments.

Yet, there is a deeper intuition that does not require expertise in every, or any, field of knowledge. This subtle intuition –what religious people call faith – is more basic than knowledge. It stems from “a subtle inclination from the sensitivity of the soul.” A sensitivity to transcendence and wonder; a sensitivity to holiness and purity. The greatest argument for religious belief is not phrased in the language of the intellect but in the language of the soul. When one senses the Transcendent One in the world and in the Torah, and one’s own transcendent soul, all questions fall away. Yisrael v'Oraysa v'Kudsha Bruch Hu Chad Hu.

Welcome - The Goal

The sea of Torah is an infinitely vast and deep body of knowledge and experience. In her waters we immerse and are washed with purity. We drink her waters and are given life. Today, however, the sea is stormy; ships sink, people drown, waves overpower. The winds of the day are blowing. Confusion abounds, complexity reigns. This world truly is a funny place – ironic, paradoxical, and incongruous. It is a world of contradictions; a world of dialectics. Heaven and earth clash in spirituality and hedonism, faith and science, meaning and disillusionment, individuality and conformity. Man and G-d are once again battling. Some sail to the peaceful waters of the East or to the bays of Western Liberalism, while most seek comfort in the mirage-filled deserts of hedonism. But some choose to stay in the stormy sea of Torah. And until that time when the whole world will be filled with the great hidden light and be inundated with the sweet waters of knowledge, we are drowning in confusion - the Torah has become a potion of death. Some choose to sleep in the holds of the ship but the sons of truth choose to confront the storm. Perhaps they can be saved in the belly of the fish, pleading to the Almighty to ease the winds and bring us to safety – to clarity, to enlightenment, to illumination, to unity. Perhaps through our struggle we will uncover higher lights, deeper waters and wider vistas.

Our way of navigating this storm will not merely be in the one dimension of logos. Our search does not end in the brain but extends to our existential core. Certainly, we must fearlessly encounter the collective winds of the day – the challenges of science and philosophy, the confrontations of history and psychology and, of course, the current Zeitgeist – but we must not forget that ultimately our G-d will be found through our own inner spirituality.

It was once said that our generation is in need of long introductions. The need for introductions, frameworks and organization serves practical, intellectual and religious functions. There is a ‘practical’ need of seeing the general before the particular, grasping the root before the branch. Certainly there are many beliefs and positions held by religion, and Judaism in particular, that will only be understood within the greater context of the religious worldview. In our age, the religious and the secular have grown so far apart; speaking different languages, functioning within wholly different frameworks, believing in radically diverse worldviews. The only way one can understand the specific idiosyncrasies of the religious is by entering into the general perspective of religion. Again, we will do that intellectually and emotionally.

In the world of the intellect we are presented with an overwhelming amount of information, debate and opinions – a wild forest of ideas. Introductions should create and apply methodologies for analyzing and dealing with this vast body. We are in great need of boxes within which to frame our discussions. Light will come to the intellect not through more details, or more bits of knowledge, but through clear methodologies, models and paths.

Lastly, the need for long introductions is a religious need in our search for truth. We are not so immature and naïve as to think that there are no conflicts. There will not be any knock-out arguments for either side. In the serious questions of life the color grey reigns. Full enlightenment is for future times, not for those of mere flesh and blood. Until then we must take the Yiddish idiom seriously: A person doesn’t die from a question. How do we accomplish this feat of acknowledging difficulties but not being fledged with doubts? Only by seeing the bigger picture, the grand view of religious philosophy and experience, will we be able to confidently face those questions that are born – and reborn – in every generation.