Torah study

Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the '' mitzvah'' ("commandment") of Torah study itself.

This practice is present to an extent in all religious branches of Judaism, and is considered of paramount importance among religious Jews. Torah study has evolved over the generations, as lifestyles changed and also as new texts were written.

Traditional view

In rabbinic literature, a heavy emphasis is placed on Torah study for Jewish males, with women being exempt. This literature teaches an eagerness for such study and a thirst for knowledge that expands beyond the text of the Tanakh. Some examples of traditional religious teachings:

* The study of Torah is "equal to all" of the '' mitzvot'' of honouring one's parents, performing deeds of lovingkindness, and bringing peace between people.
* In one sense, Torah study is greater than the honor of father and mother since it is one of the only commandments for which a person is allowed to move far away from his parents without their permission.
* Some Talmudic rabbis consider Torah study as being greater than the rescue of human life, but Jewish law does not codify this opinion because saving a life overrides all other commandments except murder, incest, and idolatry.
* According to Rabbi Meir, when one studies ''Torah Lishma'' (Torah for its own sake - תורה לשמה) the creation of the entire world is worthwhile for him alone, and he brings joy to God.
* As the child must satisfy its hunger day by day, so must the grown man busy himself with the Torah each hour.
* Torah study is of more value than the offering of the daily sacrifice.
* A single day devoted to the Torah outweighs 1,000 ''korbanot'' (sacrifices).
* The fable of the Fish and the Fox, in which the latter seeks to entice the former to dry land, declares that he People ofIsrael can live only in the Law as fish can live only in the ocean.
* Whoever learns Torah at night is granted grace during the day, and whoever neglects it will be fed burning coals in the World to Come.Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah, 3b
* God weeps over one who might have occupied himself with Torah study but neglected to do so.
* The study must be unselfish: one should study the Torah with self-denial, even at the sacrifice of one's life; and in the very hour before death one should devote himself to this duty.
* All, even lepers and the ritually unclean, are required to study the Torah.
* It is the duty of everyone to read the entire weekly portion twice (the law of ''shnayim mikra ve-echad targum'').
* According to R. Yehudah, God Himself studies the Torah for the first three hours of every day.
* According to Rabbi Meir, a gentile who studies the Torah (for the limited purpose of finding out about the Seven Laws of Noah) is as great as the High Priest. An even stronger statement is found in the Mishnah where it discusses the social hierarchy of ancient Israel. The High Priest was close to the top of the social pyramid, and a man born from an illicit sexual relationship was near the bottom. However, 'the learned bastard takes precedence over the ignorant High Priest.'
*Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Chajes contended that the prohibition of teaching torah to Gentiles only applies to parts of the Oral Law, but not to the written Scriptures.
*Rabbi Samuel Eidels said the prohibition only included the “reasons and secrets” of the Torah, but not the basic texts or laws.
*Maimonides said that Christians, who believe in the divinity of Scriptures, would at best come to believe in the Jewish interpretation and at worse cause no harm, so the prohibition does not apply to them.
*Rabbi Yisrael Salanter advocated for the translation of the Talmud and its introduction into the university curriculum, in order to raise the reputation of Jewish study in the broader world.

Origins

Torah study is counted among the 613 mitzvot (commandments), from the verse in Deuteronomy: "And you shall teach it to your children," upon which the Talmud comments that "Study is necessary in order to teach." The importance of study is attested to in another Talmudic discussion regarding which is preferred: study or action? The answer there, a seeming compromise, is "study that leads to action." Although the word "Torah" refers specifically to the Five Books of Moses, in Judaism the word also refers to the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), the Talmud and other religious works, even including the study of Kabbalah, Hasidism, Mussar and much more.

Forms of traditional Jewish Torah study

The Talmud defines the objective of Torah study: "That the words of Torah shall be clear in your mouth so that if someone asks you something, you shall need not hesitate and then tell it to him, rather you shall tell it to him immediately." In ''yeshivas'' (Talmudical schools), rabbinical schools and ''kollels'' (post-graduate Talmudical schools) the primary ways of studying Torah include study of:
* The ''Parsha'' (weekly Torah portion) with its Meforshim (Rabbinic commentators)
* Talmud
* Ethical works

Other less universally studied texts include the Nevi'im and Ketuvim, other rabbinic literature (such as midrash) and works of religious Jewish philosophy.

The text of the Torah can be studied on any of four levels as described in the Zohar:
* ''Peshat'', the plain (simple) or literal reading;
* ''Remez'', the allegorical reading through text's hint or allusion
* ''Derash'', the metaphorical reading through a (rabbinic sermon's) comparison/illustration (midrash)
* ''Sod'', the hidden meaning reading through text's secret or mystery (Kabbalah).

The initial letters of the words '' Peshat'', '' Remez'', '' Derash'', '' Sod'', forming together the Hebrew word PaRDeS (also meaning "orchard"), became the designation for the four-way method of studying Torah, in which the mystical sense given in the Kabbalah was the highest point. The distinction is similar to the medieval Christian classification into literal, typological, tropological (moral) and anagogical senses of scripture (see Allegory in the Middle Ages): it is not certain whether this fourfold division first appeared in a Jewish or a Christian context.

In Haredi Judaism and much of Orthodox Judaism, Torah study is a way of life for males. In these communities, men forgo other occupations and study Torah full-time. Women do not study Torah, but instead gain merit for facilitating the Torah study of the
men. A 2017 survey of Modern Orthodox Jews found support for women studying Torah."

Haredi Israelis often choose to devote many years to Torah study, often studying at a ''kollel''. Religious Zionist Israelis often choose to devote time after high school to Torah study, either during their army service at a Hesder yeshiva, or before their service at a Mechina. Many Modern Orthodox students who study in Israel post high-school choose to study at Hesder Yeshivot, namely Yeshivat Har Etzion, Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh, Yeshivat Shaalvim and Yeshivat HaKotel. A portion of these students join the Hesder system, draft into the army and/or make Aliyah.

In addition to full-time Torah study, Jews around the world often attend Torah classes in a contemporary academic framework. The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute offers classes on Parenting, Marriage, Medical Ethics, and Business Ethics.

Methods

The Brisker method

The Brisker method consists of a methodical search for precise definitions of each concept involved in the discussion. Once the mechanism by which a law works is rigidly and correctly defined, it can become clear that one aspect of the definition applies in one situation but not another. Therefore, the final ''halacha'' will differ in the two situations, even if they superficially appear to be very similar.

Often an entire series of disagreements among the Rishonim (Talmudic commentaries from roughly the period 1000–1500) may stem back to a subtle difference in how these Rishonim understand a line from the Talmud. The Brisker method can provide a precise formulation of how each Rishon understood the topic, and thus account for their differences in opinion. This approach is most productive when a whole series of debates between two Rishonim can be shown to revolve around a single ''chakira'', or difference in the understanding of a Talmudic concept.

The Brisker method is not a total break from the past. Rabbis before Brisk sometimes made "conceptual" distinctions, and Brisker rabbis can still resolve issues without recourse to the terminology they invented. The difference is one of focus and degree. Non-Brisk analysis tends to formulate "conceptual" definitions only when necessary, while for Briskers, these definitions are the first and most common tool to be used when approaching a Talmudic issue.

One example of the emphasis on the value of precise definition can be found in a quote attributed to Chaim Soloveitchik: "One approach which answers three different problems is better than three different approaches to individually solve the three problems" (a corollary of Occam's razor).

The Luzzatto method

Moshe Chaim Luzzatto was the only one to set down the sages' thought process in an organized, systematic, and complete program that can be taught and reproduced. This method makes Gemara (Talmud) learning accessible to everyone by exploring key logical concepts of Talmudic analysis. It is claimed that based on precision and clarity of thinking, one's inherent intellectual powers are studied, cultivated and nurtured. Conscious awareness of one's thinking and thoughts is the key to understanding Torah.

The Zilberman method

The Zilberman Method, pioneered in the mid-20th century by Yitzhak Shlomo Zilberman, draws upon traditional teaching methods as outlined by Chazal and championed by the Judah Loew ben Bezalel and Vilna Gaon. The Mishnah and the Talmud set forth halakhic guidelines for teaching Torah to children. These guidelines include the ages at which texts should be studied ("Five years old is the age to begin studying Scripture; ten for Mishnah; thirteen for the obligation of the commandments; fifteen for the study of Talmud…") the times of study (including Shabbat for children; ''Hachazan roeh heichan tinokot korin'' – the chazzan observes n Shabbatwhere n the textthe children are reading) and the manner of teaching (''safi lei k’tura'' –stuffing the children like oxen; ''ligmar inish v’hadar lisbor'' –read the text and then explain it.)

The Zilberman method has children focus exclusively on Tanakh and Mishnah in their younger years, ensuring that they know large portions of both areas by heart before they begin learning Gemara. Indeed, graduates of such schools tend to have impressive fluency in these areas. Two key elements in Zilberman's methodology, however, must be singled out: ''chazarah'' (review) and student participation.

In the Zilberman-styled school, a new text of Chumash is introduced in the following manner (obviously adjustments are made for each grade level). On Monday and Tuesday, the teacher chants the text with the ''tropp'' ( ''ta’amei ha’mikra'') and the students immediately imitate him. This is repeated several times until the students are able to read the text independently. Then the teacher introduces the translation/explanation of the text and invites students to participate in the process. New words typically need to be translated only once; subsequently, students are encouraged to call out the translation on their own. All translations are strictly literal. If the translation does not automatically yield a comprehensible meaning, the students are invited to try to find one. The class spends the rest of the week reviewing the material. Each pasuk is reviewed with the tropp at least twenty-four times.

Study cycles

Apart from full-time Torah study as engaged in at schools and ''yeshivot'', or for the purpose of rabbinic training, there is also held to be an obligation on individuals to set aside a regular study period to review their knowledge.
Pious individuals thus often daily review one of the major works - Talmud Bavli, Talmud Yerushalmi, ''Nach'' (Tanach), Midrash Rabba, Midrash Tanchuma, Tosefta, Sifra, Sifri, Mishna, ''Rambam'', ''Tur'', Shulchan Aruch, Mishnah Berurah, the Zohar - according to their interest.
In more recent times, structured study-programmes have become popular; these include.
* ''Shnayim mikra ve-echad targum'', study of the weekly Torah portion together with the Aramaic Targum - dating to Talmudic times - and often, Rashi's commentary.
* '' Ḥoq le-Yisrael'', a programme founded by rabbis Hayyim ben Joseph Vital and Chaim Joseph David Azulai in which, every week, one studies extracts from the Mishnah, the Zohar and other works in addition to the portion for that week: the relevant passages are often printed in book form in a multivolume set.
* Daily Chumash with Rashi each day of the week corresponding to one of the seven Aliyos read on Shabbos - one part of Chabad's '' Chitas'' study
* The '' Seder ha-Mishmarah'', used by some Mizrahi Jews, in which each weekly Torah portion is studied together with sections from Neviim and Ketuvim and the Mishnah so that all these works are read in full in the course of the year: this too has been published in book form under the title ''Ḥoq le-Ya'akob''. In some countries it was customary for groups to gather in the synagogue each Shabbat afternoon and read out the ''mishmarah'' passages for the following Shabbat.
* The ''Daf Yomi'' program, founded in 1923 by Meir Shapiro: one page of the Talmud is studied each day, on a rota to ensure that Jews round the world are studying the same passage at the same time (approximately 7 year cycle).
* The '' Amud Yomi'', similar to Daf Yomi, but only one side of a page per day (approximately 14 years)
* ''Yerushalmi Yomi'' – daily study of the Jerusalem Talmud (4⅓-year cycle)
* '' Mishnah Yomit'', daily study of the Mishnah (6 year cycle); ''Mishnatit'' covers all of Mishnah at a much faster pace (1 year cycle).
* Daily Rambam Study, one or three chapters of the ''Mishneh Torah'' (respectively, a 1 or 3-year cycle)
* '' Mishnah Berurah Yomit'' - daily study (2.5 or 5-year cycle)
* '' Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Yomi'' - daily study (1 year cycle)
* '' Halacha Yomit'' daily study of the Shulchan Aruch (4 year cycle); Breslov ''hasidim'' have a similar practice to daily review the Shulchan Aruch in addition to ''Likutei Moharan'' and ''Likutei Halachos''
* '' Tanya'' - daily study (1 year cycle) as part of the '' Chitas'' cycle as for Rashi above
* 929: Tanakh B'yachad - study of 5 chapters of Tanakh