Which Book Is Torah
Luisa Rodocker
There is an argument between texts if the word "Petzua Daka" (Devarim 23:2) should be with an Alef or a Heih. Can someone fulfill his obligation to read Zachor (and normal Torah reading) with a Torah which was written not like his custom?
The Torah in Genesis 1 is telling us something radical. The reality to which Torah is a guide is moral and ethical. The question Genesis seeks to answer is not "How did the universe come into being?" but "How then shall we live?" This is the Torah's most significant paradigm shift... For the first time, religion was ethicised.
Essays on Ethics is the second companion volume to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks's celebrated series Covenant & Conversation. Believing the Hebrew Bible to be the ultimate blueprint for Western morality, Rabbi Sacks embarks upon an ethical exploration of the weekly Torah portion, uncovering its message of truth and justice, dignity and compassion, forgiveness and love.
A few years ago, in a post entitled What Is The Mechanism Via Which Torah Protects?, I discussed the concept that Torah protects from harm. This is found in several passages in the Talmud, such as with statements about how Torah scholars protect the army, or in the account of how the sotah can be at least temporarily protected from her punishment by virtue of the Torah that she enables her husband and sons to study. According to the mystical view, Torah study creates spiritual energies and thereby metaphysically influences the universe. The notion of Torah providing protection is interpreted by mystically-inclined people in line with this; learning Torah creates a sort of metaphysical protective force-field, similar to that created by mezuzah around one\u2019s home. As one Beit Shemesh rabbi said when the Grodno yeshivah relocated from Ashdod to Beit Shemesh during Operation Cast Lead, \u201Cthe yeshivah is providing an \u2018Iron Dome\u2019 for Beit Shemesh.\u201D
On the other hand, the pre-mystical classical understanding of this concept was that it related to the personal merit of the person studying (or enabling the study of) the Torah, rather than a metaphysical protection provided by the act of Torah study itself. (See that post for a discussion of the practical ramifications of this with regard to whether yeshivah students today can be said to be providing protection for the State of Israel.) The Talmud\u2019s presentation of this concept is usually not phrased as \u201CTorah study protects\u201D but rather as \u201CTorah scholars are protected.\u201D It refers to the person who has performed the act rather than the act itself. Just as Sodom could have been saved in the merit of righteous people, so too righteous people can create a merit which leads to the machinations of enemy forces being divinely repressed. Likewise, in the discussion of the sotah, it speaks about the zechus, the merit, of Torah and of the sotah enabling her family\u2019s Torah study. Torah study provides protection due to its creating a merit on behalf of the person studying it (assuming that the person is indeed supposed to be studying Torah), which changes the divine plans for that person.
But I recently found another rationalist explanation of the concept of the Torah's protection in the commentary of Meiri (to Sotah 21a). He explains: \u201CTorah protects the world \u2013 i.e., that the Torah scholar influences others, and his wisdom enables society to endure.\u201D Meiri is removing all supernatural components from this concept. In his view, the meaning of the statement that Torah protects the world is simply that Torah scholars, with their wisdom, influence society for the better, thereby enabling it to thrive. For many, this will be seen as distasteful and even heretical. Still, this is what Meiri says, and there can be little doubt that Rambam would have explained it the same way. Fascinating!
This is hilarious. Mir Yeshiva has decided that it's finally safe for its students to return from the US to Jerusalem. And they write a letter to the parents saying, "Now that we see that it's safe to come back to Jerusalem, Torah protects!"
i think you have a solid point. we are throwing around this line that torah protects too much. we really believe that it does, just like working is only hishtadlus to make money and the real reason is what we deserve from rosh hashana, but (almost) no one doesn't go to work because of that. so here too, practically, the army is very important. (incidentally, one of the questions which led me off the path back when was this very question: we say that hishtadlus isn't the real deal, yet we literally see how important it is)
i hereby retract my statement. even though the torah and teshuva is what really protects, practically we need to do hishtadlus, which is through the army and safety precautions. the reason chareidim don't join the army is because they want to be kulo Torah, especially during those formative years and going to the army would mess that up. we "justify" this (i put that word in quotes because it isn't merely a justification) by saying that there already is an army and what we need more of are ovdei Hashem. incidentally, that is our service and protection. but (a) we must treat it like that and strengthen our service to be as intense as if we were in the army (only moving forward slowly so that it is tenable) and this requires extreme honesty and intense self awareness. and (b) we should be more clear about which point is responding to which point. the reason we don't go to the army isn't actually because Torah protects, rather because we have a specific mission. it so happens that fulfilling this mission helps the cause and our true victory will come from strengthening our service of God, but at the same time this doesn't explain why we don't need to do hishtadlus when necessary, and the real answer is because we aren't as needed as you make it, and that we have very important (and yes, unselfish) things to take care of that proceed the obligation of going to the army
This is clearly an encouragement for nervous parents, Israel is certainly no safer than it was on October 7th. And by the way, if there was more unity rhetoric and less anti-unity rhetoric from the likes of yourself, this letter would hardly be necessary. I encouraged my American relatives in EY to stay, and they are doing so.
In many previous post, you have claimed point blank that "Torah doesn't PRACTICALLY protect". In a recent post, you seemed to acknowledge that the merit of Torah protects (but mistakenly thought the chareidim don't possess this merit). In this post, you seem to be moving backwards toward the rejection of this belief. So it looks like you are deeply confused about your own beliefs. That's ok, but please don't project your own internal confusion onto others.
Regarding the underlying issue, the protection of Torah is not a chareidi belief, but a belief of Judaism, the same as belief in God, in God's control of the world, in reward and punishment, which is what Torah protection is in fact a subset of. See here -torah-protect It is something believed by all faithful Jews, whether litvish, chassidish, or dati, including soldier that are serving right now, see here -voice-from-the-front-2 (but evidently not fake Anglo dati-lites).
One of your errors is in imagining it as some magical forcefield, when in fact, it is part of the Hashgacha of Hashem. This answers most of your "questions". However, if one rejects the Hashgacha of Hashem, he obviously won't believe in the protection of Torah. To understand the importance of bnei Yeshivos better, see here -pleasant-it-is-when-brothers
It would appear that Rabbi Slifkin might weakly hold on to the belief that Torah protects, but wouldn't "bet" on it. That is to say, he would encourage people to learn Torah, but not at the expense of any safety precautions, and would encourage people to join the IDF over learning in Yeshiva.
You haven't really addressed most of Rabbi Slifkin's concerns. How does Torah protect? Who is protected? Clearly, it isn't everyone, all the time. Is it random? That's not a Jewish approach. Is it for individuals? Then that is "selfish protection," engaging in reward earnings that benefit just oneself as opposed to the wider Jewish community. Is it to those specific communities that engage in Torah learning? They still aren't protecting the wider population.
Asking exactly how Torah protects is like asking exactly how God rewards and punishes. As we see in this week's parsha, the merit even protects רשעים. Nobody is "betting" on anything, just that Torah is an immensely valuable service, and with which the loss of, Israel would be much worse off.
Merkava tanks are considered to be very useful. But we don't spend the entire defense budget on buying more and more Merkavas. We do cost-benefit analysis, and figure out when the opportunity cost of buying a new Merkava exceeds the benefit of it.
We don't do this for Torah learning. We don't say, "this is how much Torah learning is needed, after that we stop." But we know such a stop exists, because no one pours in quite literally every single resource out there to put in more Torah learning. Roads exist. Houses exist. Segulos exist. Those are all resources that could be put into more Torah learning. But we don't, because we know that such a stopping point exists.
It bear pointing out, at this hectic time, that TG the large majority of time the army is NOT in the midst of war. There is training and other duties, but there is also plenty of down time. Maybe not a three-hour morning seder, but there is time to set up daily learning. The difficulty is not in changing schedules but in mindset, and from what I have seen, we are moving in that direction.
The problem however even here is that a secular government is in control and we are at their mercies...who knows what kind of restrictions they will make on any accommodations and when it will change....like with a new government...and then those soldiers are in trouble....but this is the first discussion before any other.
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