Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz ("Evan Yisroel") Speaks on the Centrality of Toarh Learning to Judaism

On Sunday January 25, 2009 (29 Tevet 5769) Rabbi Adin ("Evan Yisroel") Steinsaltz spoke on a broadcast hosted and sponsored by Chabad Lubavitch as the first of a four part series celebrating this year (5769) of Hakhel, a Year of Gathering commanded by G-d in the Torah to bring together all of the people of Israel in unity to hear the Torah read by the King. The talk was broadcast online to hundreds of cities around the world, starting at 2:30PM EDT, thought to be the largest such Hakhel gathering of Jews ever held.

Rabbi Steinsaltz, whom I have never heard speak, is a different kind of speaker. He speaks in a very kind, soft, lilting voice, a cross between an Israeli and Yiddish accent, almost as if he were speaking to children. He didn't speak formally or use any notes and at times he was even interrupted by the opening and closing of a door to his office. He speaks slowly and carefully, pausing to think during his discourse, as if waiting for the right words or the next thought to come to him. This is not at all the aspect I expected of one of the greatest Torah sages of our time, probably the greatest Talmudist of our time, the author and editor of the Steinsaltz Talmud, one of the most anticipated versions of the Talmud in modern times.

Rabbi Steinsaltz spoke about the centrality of Torah learning to Judaism, describing it as one its three essential elements. Those elements are: 1) the practical, 2) faith, and 3) Torah study.
Elements 1 and 2 are common to all religions, although the content is different for each religion. Every religion specifies the practical side of its observance, what is to be done. Every religion specifies the elements of faith of that religion, what adherents are to believe. But only Judaism among all of the religions mandates that universal study and learning of its religious texts is an integral element of the religion. (Hence the Jews are known as The People of the Book.)

Everyone in Judaism is supposed to be knowledgeable about the Torah. If you are Jewish, you are studying the Torah. It is your way of being Jewish. This is not just to satisfy the need to know, but Torah study is in itself a religious act. You are doing worship as you study. We sit and study with Hashem in a meeting of the minds. Just as no one can eat or sleep for me, no one can study or learn for me. It is something I must do myself. It cannot be delegated to a special class or sect of people to do. Each individual must do it for himself and herself.

Torah is a shared inheritance of all the Jewish people. It does not belong to a special sect or an elite group of the Jews. It is both a vertical and horizontal connection: A vertical connection to Hashem and a horizontal connection to your fellow man as teacher and student.

What is highest level of love? The highest level of love is when two people share a love of the same thing. When we sit and learn we share our love of Torah with Hashem's love of Torah, and this meeting of the minds, so to speak, expresses the highest level of love that the Jewish people have for Hashem.

Teaching Torah to Jewish children is not just educating them. It is a way of sharing and conveying to them our common inheritance. It is not telling them, "Here is something useful for you." It is transmitting to them what we ARE. We are constantly interacting with the Torah. We have a responsibility to share our common heritage with all Jews.

The Torah has a taste for everyone. Everyone, no matter their level or learning, can interact with the Torah. Whether through the most rigorous intellectual analysis or the telling of Torah stories, there is a way to teach everyone the Torah. Just as you shouldn't teach a child to eat by forcing vegetables down its throat, so you shouldn't force feed the Torah in a single way to everyone.

In summary:
1) The Torah belongs to all Jews. It is an integral part of Jewish worship, a part of our common inheritance. Everyone learns and studies it.
2) Torah is the highest expression of our love for G-d. Our mind meets with G-d's mind in the study of Torah and this common love for the Torah expresses our love of G-d.
3) We have to share and teach Torah to all Jews, even those who have no knowledge of it yet. There is something in Torah and a unique way to teach Torah to each according to his or her taste.