R. Steinsaltz Addresses Educators On "ROLE OF GEMARA IN SHAPING IDENTITY"--Thought By Most To Be A Serious Challenge In Jewish Education

ATID, the Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions, sponsored a discussion evening with Rabbi Adin Even-Yisrael Steinsaltz on the role that Gemara study should play in shaping Jewish identity among our students. This topic is viewed by educators and parents alike to be one of crucial importance, as issues of "relevance" and an air of dissatisfaction plague Talmud study in all sectors, but especially among Israeli Dati-Leumi, or Modern Orthodox.

Rav Steinsaltz addressed the philosophy behind this endeavor in his January 26th presentation to a crowd composed of ATID Fellows and mentors as well as other interested educators. The lecture was entitled "Torah She-Ba'al Peh as a Primary Factor in the Shaping of Jewish Identity," and focused on the need for every Jew to connect in some way with the Talmud. According to Rav Steinsaltz, this need transcends boundaries of time or geography, age or level of observance.

Rav Steinsaltz illustrated the centrality of Torah She-Ba'al Peh as a defining characteristic of the Jewish people by citing a Midrash (Tanchuma, Ki Tissa 34):

God said to Moses, "write for yourself these things...(Ex. 34:27)" Rabbi Yehudah bar Shalom said, when God said to Moses, "write for yourself," Moses wanted the Mishnah to be written. Since God foresaw that the nations of the world would translate the Torah and read it in Greek and say: We are Israel...God said to the nations: You say that you are my sons. Only those in whose hands my mistorin (mysteries) are found are my sons. And what is that mistorin? The Mishnah, which was given orally.

The Oral Law is somehow God's mistorin, "secrets," which are known only to the Jews and make them distinct from other nations. Thus it stands to reason that the continued study of the Oral Law strengthens Jewish identity.

Rav Steinsaltz also offered historical support for the primacy of the study of Oral Law. The Italian Jewish community of the Middle Ages was a strong, creative world center for Torah study and practice. A sixteenth century papal ban prohibited the study of Talmud, but permitted other areas of Jewish literature. However, the greatness of the community as a Torah center was vastly diminished. Communities fell, asserted Rav Steinsaltz, not because of external pressure, but because an internal life source, the mistorin, had been lost.

Rav Steinsaltz objected to according Tanakh the same status as Talmud. He argued that there is a dialectic with the Oral Law that simply does not exist with the Written Law-prophets express truth, while Tannaim trade in opinions and positions. This dialectic allows for identification from within. Additionally, he offered a sharp critique of the manner in which Tanakh is incorporated into Israeli culture, with an almost exclusive focus on prophetic texts which are nationalistic or universal in nature.

In order to reclaim the mistorin, asserted Rav Steinsaltz, study of Torah SheBa'al Peh must regain its centrality in Jewish education. Attempts to build education which is "relevant" or "up to date" are a failure. Rather, the talmudic corpus speaks for itself, and must be presented to students in that light. This approach shuns the selection of only "user-friendly" masekhtot as well as the classroom use of examples taken from the daily lives of the students.

During the question and answer segment of the evening, Rav Steinsaltz was asked to address some difficulties posed by the educational philosophy and teaching methodology which he outlined. First, given that the entire corpus of the Talmud cannot be covered, there needs to be a process of selection. Upon what is this selection to be based, if ability of students to relate to the subject matter is not among the relevant criteria? Second, what should educators do to address the current questionable level of success?

In response, Rav Steinsaltz suggested that the problem lies not with the material, but occasionally with the educators. Talmud is given short shrift in terms of scheduling and priority. Teachers are frequently not particularly talented or qualified. The job of the teacher is to try to approach problems and to create a smooth path between the student and the material. There are teachers who simply make no effort to fill their roles and fulfill their responsibilities. The failure is a failure of the system.

Rav Steinsaltz stated that students, children in particular, possess intelligence, curiosity, and inquisitiveness, which the Talmud will naturally stimulate. When taught properly, the material indeed stands on its own as the mistorin, the key factor in promoting Jewish identity.

This summary was written by Aliza Segal.