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Torah Discussion at Worship and Study

The name of our minyan – “Worship and Study” – reflects the content of our service. The “study” component is represented primarily by our discussion of the weekly Torah portion (parashat hashavuah). When Rabbi Ben-Zion Gold founded our minyan more than 30 years ago, he integrated Torah discussion right into the service, reflecting the fact that Jewish tradition regards study of Torah as itself a form of worship.

Worship and Study actually began its life as a small collection of Jews gathering with Rabbi Gold around a table to read (in English) and discuss the Torah portion. Gradually, this gathering grew to include most of the traditional prayer service and a traditional chanting from the Torah scroll (sefer h'Torah). But the opportunity to talk about Torah informally – to ask questions and react intensely to Torah as part of the service – has always remained central to this community.

As the group grew in size, the format of our Torah study became slightly more formal – i.e., we developed the custom of having one person give an introduction to the portion, articulating questions or responses that the congregation might want to focus on.

At first the discussion leader was always Rabbi Gold. But he said that his goal was to “give the Torah back to the Jews.” He did not want us to become a congregation where the responsibility (and pleasure) of Torah study is left to the rabbi alone. Rather he encouraged each of us to reclaim the traditional Jewish passion for Torah study. And, over the years, the community has, to a remarkable extent, achieved his goal: we are, as a group, committed to study of Torah. And, in that spirit, we encourage everyone who regularly participates in our services to undertake to lead a discussion.

Because we have grown in size and also because we now do most of the traditional prayer service, we have established time limits for our Torah discussion. After the weekly Torah reading, and before the scroll is returned to the Ark, we expect to devote about 30 minutes to the Torah discussion, roughly evenly divided between the leader’s presentation of his/her introductory d’var torah (literally “word of Torah”) and the open discussion which follows.

The content of the d’var Torah may vary greatly from one discussion leader to the next. Some simply summarize the portion and then pose one or more questions; others mention the contents of the whole portion but choose to focus on one section or on just a few verses. Some treat the particular week’s portion more or less in isolation; other relate it to previous weeks’ readings, or to the whole book in which it appears, etc., etc. We welcome diversity in approaches and encourage discussion leaders to bring their particular passions and styles to bear on the discussion.

There are no prerequisites for leading a discussion other than respect for Torah and a serious commitment to exploration and learning. With respect to Torah-knowledge, our congregation is a complete spectrum: from absolute beginners to those who have spent a lifetime in study. We find value in everyone’s thoughts. But we do encourage our members to view the role of discussion-leader as an opportunity for an encounter with our 2000-year (at least) Jewish tradition of Torah commentary. We have come to cherish the characteristically Jewish mode of study that enters into a dynamic conversation (or argument) with some of the voices in that long tradition. And so it has become fairly common (though certainly not required) for a discussion leader to prepare to speak by consulting and bringing to bear on his/her d’var Torah one or more of the great Torah commentaries, old or new.

Our minyan encourages newcomers to Torah study, and offers guidance in finding a focus, in approaching the literature or in sounding out ideas in advance. A prospective discussion-leader, whether new or experienced, will readily find attentive help and support from Rabbi Janis and other members of the minyan. For newcomers to Torah study, venturing to lead a discussion quite often leads to a feeling of having been comfortably initiated.

To help with the preparation of a d’var Torah we include below a brief annotated bibliography. It mixes together traditional Jewish commentaries (in English translation) and modern scholarly works. This is a very preliminary set of suggestions for resources, meant simply to offer possible places to begin, and also noting some resources frequently used by minyan members when preparing d'vrei Torah. Please note that these texts can be found in our minyan library and can be borrowed for use at home while preparing a d’var torah.

Bibliography

I Editions/translations of Torah: Each of these includes commentaries and other materials helpful and even sufficient for the preparation of a drash. These can be found on the open shelves at the back of Smith Hall, where W&S services generally take place.
Most minyan members currently use Etz Chayim as their primary translation; while others, for their own reasons, prefer one of the other editions. While the Hebrew of the Torah is one in all editions, each of these standard editions has it's own "flavor" in translation, and own set of valuable notes and commentaries

  • Etz Chayim, Torah and Commentary, The Rabbinical Assembly and The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, 2001 (Translation by Jewish Publication Society).
  • The Torah, A Modern Commentary, ed. Gunther Plaut, N.Y. Union of American Hebrew Congregations [UAHC], 1981. (Translation by Jewish Publication Society) [The UAHC is an organization of the Reform movement.]
  • The Chumash, Rabbi Nosson Scherman, The Artscroll Series/ Stone Edition, Mesorah Publications, Ltd., 1996. [The Artscroll Series is published under Orthodox auspices.]

II Classical sources [in English translation]

  • The Pentateuch and Rashi’s Commentary, Rabbis A. Ben Isaiah and B. Scharfman, S.S.&R. Publishing, 1976. [Rashi is the classical medieval commentator, the one that Jews traditionally look at first.]
  • Studies in Genesis. Exodus. Leviticus. Numbers. Deuteronomy, Nehama Leibowitz, Haomanim Press. [A modern work, included here among classical sources because it brings together so many excerpts from the tradition, especially midrash, Talmud and medieval commentators as well as more recent ones such as Moses Mendelsohn, Hirsh, Benno Jacob and Buber. Leibowitz goes portion-by-portion through the Torah, and her essays are an excellent way to get acquainted with traditional commentators: she talks about why they read the text as they do, what questions they are pursuing. She also suggests further questions.]
  • Midrash Rabbah , The Soncino Press. [One of the fundamental traditional sources: verse-by-verse exegeses and imaginative interpretations from the ancient Rabbinic Period. Rashi and everyone else draws heavily on this collection of midrashim.]
  • Legends of the Jews , Louis Ginzberg, Jewish Publication Society. [A modern work, but almost wholly composed of traditional sources. Ginzberg weaves together the ancient midrashim to form a continuous narrative commentary . You miss the connections to specific verses which you can see in Midrash Rabbah, but you learn about the enormous variety of interpretations. Not to be confused with Legends of the Bible, a one-volume not-so-useful book.]

III Modern Commentaries

  • Nahum Sarna, Understanding Genesis, Schocken.
  • ___________, Exploring Exodus, Schocken.
  • Umberto Casuto, Commentary on Genesis, Magnes Press.
  • _____________, Commentary on Exodus, Magnes Press.
  • Aviva Zornberg, Genesis, The Beginning of Desire, Jewish Publication Society, 1995.
  • _____________,The Particulars of Rapture, Reflections on Exodus, Doubleday, 2001.

IV History of the Text

  • Richard B. Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible?, Harper & Row, 1989. [Very readable, written like a detective story. Extremely helpful, although things are not as definite as they sound here.]

V Web sources
There are now many websites dedicated to Bible study, set up by organizations and individuals of all persuasions. The following is a small selection, with links valid as of August 2002.

  • bible.ort.org World ORT's online bar/bat mitzvah tutor, offering the Torah in the Hebrew, in translation, and, best of all, in audio chanting that can be played on your computer speakers.
  • bible.gospelcom.net: BibleGateway.com's concordance. Put in any word into the keyword search box, and get all its Biblical occurrences. (New Testament citations are also included, folowing the citations from the Hebrew Bible.)
  • www.chabad.org/parshah: The Chabad-Lubavitch compilation is organzied to highlight the weekly parasha text with its Rashi commentary.
  • Torah.org and shamash.org/tanach : (Two of the many online anthologies of weekly Torah-portion discussions from various sources.)