Book A Tour  |  

Parshat Yitro
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Discovering the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

והודעתי את חקי הא-הים ואת תורתיו

 

‘And may You, HaShem our God, make pleasurable the words of Your Torah in our mouths and the mouths of Your people Israel... Blessed are You HaShem Who teaches Torah to His People Israel.’

Teaching Torah is a dominant part of the commandment to study Torah. To begin with, the source of the obligation to study Torah is taken by the Rambam from the words ‘you shall teach’ (veshinantem) in the first portion of Shema. In addition, many Rishonim place ‘teaching Torah’ as part of the core principle of this commandment and not as a detail or extension of this commandment. Thirdly, the poskim rule that one does not say the blessing on Torah study on thought alone. Rather, speaking Torah, and, according to some, even writing Torah, requires that a blessing on Torah be said beforehand. This matter shows that expressing Torah outwardly, as one would do through teaching, is an integral part of Torah study and its prerequisite blessing.

This emphasis on teaching Torah is explained by R. Tzi Yehuda Kook zt”l as being indicative of the nature of Torah as HaShem’s Word directed to the public, the People of Israel. In addition, our Rabbis teach us that there is a spiritual chemistry between those who study Torah together and that the spiritual power of their learning is multiplied manifold with the increase of the number of those who study together.

The largest Torah institution of Hebron today is ‘Yeshivat Shavei Hebron,’ containing approximately 300 students. The name of this Yeshiva means ‘the Returners to Hebron’. Indeed, Hebron has been for many generations a center of Torah study, and this yeshiva continues this great legacy. Some examples of the famous yeshivot of Hebron that existed before the Tarpat Massacre are ‘Toras Emes’ of Habad and ‘Yeshivas Hebron’ also known as the ‘Slobodka Yeshiva’, both of which are located today in Jerusalem. It should also be noted that Habad even considered Hebron to be the ‘capital of Habad in the Holy Land’, for one of Habad’s earliest settlements in the Land of Israel was in Hebron.

In any case, it is clear from the Zohar that Hebron’s very name indicates Torah - ‘Hebron - this Torah for one who occupies oneself with Torah is called a haber - Torah scholar’.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Real Stories from the Holy Land #208

‘Last Shabbos a man named Elisha visited me. We decided to study Torah together, so we randomly chose to open a section in the Zohar on the parsha. ‘It turns out’ that the section chosen dealt entirely with the miracle conducted through Elisha the Prophet regarding the Shunamite woman.’ 

Sources: Rambam Sefer HaMitzvot, Zohar III Shlah, Avot ch. 3

Comments, questions, and/or stories,email  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.