There are two aspects to the mitzvah of Torah study * The first is to know the Torah’s guidance for living * In this aspect, men and women are equally obligated * The second is to encompass the entire Torah, both commandments that are relevant to the learner’s life and those that are not, and to continue studying and examining the Torah in depth * In this aspect, only men are obligated * There is a limit to the fundamentals of the Torah, and parents were commanded to teach these to their sons, and all men are obligated to know them * The body of Torah literature available to us today is more than a thousand times greater than the literature that existed during the period of the Rishonim * The challenge of encompassing all the fundamentals of the Torah has become increasingly difficult
Today, when we study from books, there is a mitzvah to acquire the books of the Written Torah and the Oral Torah from which we actually study. Thus, the mitzvah of writing the Torah was intended so that people would study the entire Torah.
In addition, we have learned that there is an obligation to teach one’s son both the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, and even to pay for this education. We are therefore compelled to conclude that this obligation has a defined limit, since it is impossible that a father would have to finance his son’s Torah education until he reaches the age of forty.
Two Aspects of the Mitzvah of Torah Study
There are two aspects to the mitzvah of Torah study. The first is to know the Torah’s guidance for living, and in this aspect, men and women are equally obligated. As God said to Moses: “Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob and tell the children of Israel” (Exodus 19:3). Our Sages expounded: “‘Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob’—these are the women; ‘and tell the children of Israel’—these are the men” (Mekhilta ad loc.). The verse continues: “And all the people answered together and said: Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8).
The second aspect is to encompass the entire Torah, both commandments that are relevant to the learner’s life, and those that are not, and to continue studying and examining the Torah in depth. In this aspect, only men are obligated, as it says: “And you shall teach them to your sons” (Deuteronomy 11:19). Our Sages expounded: “And not your daughters” (Kiddushin 29b). Nevertheless, a woman who voluntarily studies beyond what is relevant to her guidance in life, will receive reward (Sotah 21a).
In this column, I will discuss the obligation of Torah study for men. I will only note that in the past, the difference between the obligation of men and the obligation of women was very great, whereas today it has narrowed considerably, as I will explain in the future.
The Obligation to Study the Entire Torah
The basic question concerning the mitzvah of Torah study is: What is one obligated to study? Ostensibly, the intention is to study the entire Written Torah and Oral Torah. This is the mitzvah imposed upon parents to teach the Torah to their children, as it says: “And you shall teach them to your sons, to speak of them” (Deuteronomy 11:19). The word “them” implies all the words of the Torah. This is also the mitzvah imposed upon the Sages of Israel, as it says: “And you shall teach them diligently to your children” (Deuteronomy 6:7) (Sifrei ad loc.), implying all the words of the Torah. And this is the obligation imposed upon every member of Israel: even if he was not taught Torah in his youth, he is obligated to study the entire Torah on his own initiative, as it says: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances that I speak in your ears today, and you shall learn them and observe them to perform them” (Deuteronomy 5:1) (Kiddushin 29b; Rambam, Laws of Torah Study 1:3).
What Does the Obligation Include?
However, this raises a difficulty: How can one study the entire Torah? After all, the Torah has no end or limit, and from every letter of the Torah one can derive countless laws and allusions, while numerous ideas are contained within every teaching of our Sages. As it says: “Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea” (Job 11:9), since the root of the Torah is eternal, and therefore there is no end to the depth of its ideas.
Nevertheless, there is a limit to the fundamentals of the Torah, and parents were commanded to teach these to their sons, and all men are obligated to know them. This includes the Written Torah, the fundamentals of faith and morality, the 613 commandments together with the safeguards instituted by our Sages, and the methods of deriving them from Scripture. This also includes the fact that Israelites should study the commandments pertaining to priests, and even today one must study the laws concerning the Temple.
However, the commandments and laws that are practically relevant must be studied first and in depth, while commandments that are not practically relevant, should subsequently be studied more briefly (see Shulchan Aruch HaRav, 1:1–6; 3:1; 4:4; 4:6; and Kuntres Acharon 3:1, which explains the laws of Torah study at length and in depth. Rabbi Yaakov Emden likewise wrote this in his Siddur Beit Yaakov, Laws of Torah Study 4. This also emerges from the Rambam’s introduction to his Mishneh Torah, whose purpose is to enable people to fulfill the mitzvah of Torah study in its entirety).
Evidence That One Is Obligated to Study All the Fundamentals of the Torah
This is also implied by the commandment for every member of Israel to write the entire Torah for himself, so that he would be able to study it all (see Peninei Halakha, Sacred Objects 8:1–2). Therefore, according to the Rosh, today, when we study from books, there is a mitzvah to acquire the books of the Written Torah and Oral Torah from which we actually study. Thus, the mitzvah of writing the Torah was intended so that people would study the entire Torah.
In addition, we have learned that there is an obligation to teach one’s son both the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, and even to pay for this education. We are therefore compelled to conclude that this obligation has a defined limit, since it is impossible that a father would have to finance his son’s education until he reaches the age of forty.
We have also learned that a person whose father did not teach him, is obligated to study on his own (Kiddushin 29b). This implies that there is a limited period of time, and consequently, that there is a defined amount of material that he is required to study (Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli, Amud HaYemini 55).
We also learn this from the Talmud’s question of whether it is preferable to study Torah first, or to marry first (Kiddushin 29b). This implies that there is a specific body of knowledge that one must encompass, and the question is whether one should postpone marriage for that purpose (see Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Laws of Torah Study, Kuntres Acharon 3:1; Einayim LaMishpat, Kiddushin 29b, no. 20).
The Educational Program in the Time of the Sages
In the time of the Sages, the educational program was designed so that the boys would be able to learn all the fundamentals of the Torah by approximately the age of twenty. As Rabbi Yehuda ben Teima said in the Mishnah: “At five years old, Scripture; at ten, Mishnah; at thirteen, commandments; at fifteen, Talmud; at eighteen, the wedding canopy; at twenty, pursuing” (Avot 5:21). Since he had learned the fundamentals of the Torah and was married, he was to pursue his livelihood and engage in settling the world, while establishing regular times for Torah study. From that point onward, he was also held accountable for his sins, since the heavenly court does not punish a person under the age of twenty (Rav Ovadiah of Bartenura).
Details of the Program
“At five years old, Scripture”—from the age of five to ten, the children were taught to read the Five Books of Moses. A great deal of time was devoted to memorizing the vowel signs and cantillation marks, since in those days it was forbidden to write the Torah with vowel signs and cantillation marks, which were part of the Oral Torah. During these years they also studied the Prophets and the Writings.
“At ten, Mishnah”—that is, the laws of the entire Torah, since in their time the study of halakha was called Mishnah. Moreover, since in the days of the Tanna Rabbi Yehuda ben Teima the Mishnah had not yet been compiled, the students were taught within the framework of “Mishnah” only the opinion that was ruled to be halakha.
“At fifteen, Talmud”—that is, an explanation of the parameters of the laws and their reasoning, as well as the methods of deriving them from verses of Scripture. Thus, by approximately the age of twenty, the young man had learned all the fundamentals of the Torah. Later, toward the end of the Amoraic period, the discussions of the Amoraim were compiled around the tractates of the Mishnah in the two Talmud’s. These are what are now called the Gemara, or the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud. However, their content is many times broader than what was taught to the young men in the days of Rabbi Yehuda ben Teima.
The Expansion of the Content of Study in the Mishnah and Gemara
Following the destruction of the Temple and the abolition of the Sanhedrin, uncertainties and differing opinions multiplied, the authority to determine halakha was lost, and the exiles became increasingly dispersed. Eventually, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and his court concluded that it was necessary to permit writing down the Oral Torah, so that it would be available to all of Israel, wherever they were. For this purpose, he organized all the laws into six orders.
Following the completion of the Mishnah, the study of Mishnah among the public expanded. Initially, the framework of Mishnah focused primarily on practical halakha. After its completion, the study of Mishnah expanded to include opinions that were not accepted as halakha, as well as laws that were not frequently applicable (see Eduyot 1:4–6).
Approximately three hundred years after the completion of the Mishnah, the Babylonian Talmud was completed. It contains the profound discussions of the Amoraim surrounding the Mishnah. The study of Talmud likewise expanded greatly, since before the completion of the Talmud, each rabbi taught his students only his own explanations, whereas the Talmud included the opinions and reasoning of many Amoraim, far beyond what had previously been customary. Nevertheless, the most outstanding students could still encompass the entire Torah before entering practical life.
The Expansion of the Content of Study During the Period of the Geonim and Rishonim
During the five hundred years following the completion of the Talmud, the rulings of the Geonim were added, as they derived practical halakha from it. At that point, even the most talented students found it very difficult to finish studying the Talmud together with the halachic rulings derived from it by the age of twenty.
In order to make things easier for learners, Rabbi Isaac Alfasi (the Rif, 1013–1103) composed his work, known as the “Small Talmud,” in which he copied only the Talmudic discussions relevant to halakha during the exile, together with the halachic rulings derived from them.
Several generations later, Maimonides (Rambam, 1138–1204) wrote his great work Mishneh Torah in the style of the Mishnah. In it, he included all the laws of the Torah, including laws applicable during the period of the Temple, together with a concise explanation of their reasons and sources.
However, the vast majority of rabbis held that it was not sufficient to study Maimonides’ work alone, since it does not explain the reasoning behind the halakha in detail. They therefore continued to instruct students to study the source material in the Babylonian Talmud. In practice, each student studied the Talmud together with one or two commentaries, which had to be copied by hand onto paper, which was quite expensive. In this way, the outstanding students encompassed the Talmud together with the laws derived from it.
As the period of the Rishonim progressed, the number of commentaries and halachic rulings increased, to the point that through studying a single commentary, one could no longer know the entire Talmudic discussion. For this reason, the Rosh (Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel, 1250–1327) wrote his rulings on the Talmud, summarizing the opinions of the Geonim and Rishonim up to his time, together with their reasoning. Practical halakha could be learned from the Arba’ah Turim, written by his son, Rabbi Yaakov.
More than two hundred additional years passed until the end of the period of the Rishonim. In order to include the rulings of all the Rishonim and their reasoning, from Spain and Ashkenaz, Rabbi Yosef Karo (1488–1575) wrote his great work ‘Beit Yosef’ as a commentary on the Arba’ah Turim. He also wrote the Shulchan Aruch as a summary of the laws derived from his great work. However, because of the multitude of opinions and lines of reasoning, the works of the Rosh, the Tur, and the Beit Yosef contain only the laws that were practically applicable during the period of exile. Even so, the Beit Yosef is very long, and apart from particularly outstanding scholars, young Torah scholars are not capable of encompassing the Talmud, the Beit Yosef, and the Shulchan Aruch.
During the five hundred years that have passed since then, many commentaries have been written on the Talmud, as well as numerous books of responsa and halachic rulings. The halachic rulings themselves have also become longer and more detailed, since the Acharonim have needed to address the words of the Rishonim as well. As a result, the body of Torah literature available to us today is more than a thousand times greater than the literature that existed during the period of the Rishonim, and the challenge of encompassing all the fundamentals of the Torah has become increasingly difficult.
With God’s help, next week I will discuss how it is possible to practically fulfill the mitzvah of studying all the fundamentals of the Torah.
This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper and was translated from Hebrew.
