Shabbat Gathering: Why I study Torah.

Brian D. Johnson

17 Jan 2025 • 5 min read

Gud Shabbos Khaveyrim. As is our custom, we will gather tonight at 5.45p ct to welcome Shabbat. These are the coordinates:

Zoom
Meeting ID: 883 8469 4181
Password: 822665
Phone: +1 312 626 6799

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Here we go.

I've studied Torah for decades. Every year, I read the same stories, over and over again. You'd think by now I would have either learned what Torah has to say, become too bored to carry on, or simply given up. That hasn't happened and here's why.

Torah really isn't that much text to work through. I think it's an easy pace to read Torah in a year. Understanding Torah is altogether different. I have bookshelves filled with different translations of Torah and commentary. Over the years, I've used each one to gain insight into Torah, what it says, and what it means. There's no end to what has been written to help people understand Torah.

It's considered a best practice to study Torah with at least one other person, a chevruta. Most synagogues support this practice by hosting a weekly group to study. Shaarei Shamayim has a Torah Study chavarah that meets about every other week in someone's home, whenever the congregation doesn't have services. When the congregation does have services, we usually have a Torah Study before services. When we have a b'nei mitzvot, we don't have Torah Study. This is all noted in Happenings and on our synagogue calendar.

It's a group effort.

The advantage of studying in a group is three-fold. First, everyone brings a unique perspective to the discussion. We've studied different translations. We've studied different commentary. We all come from unique backgrounds that are a different lens onto Torah. Second, studying in a group keeps our egos in check. In Torah Study, we engage in a vigorous process of putting out our thesis, receiving an antithesis from the group, and forming a synthesis. (Thanks, Hegel.) It's hard to fall deeply in love with our own ideas when they are actively being batted around the room. Many a time, I've brought what I've thought were brilliant nuggets of insight only to have them rejected out of hand by the group. On the other hand, when the group "oohs and aahs" over what I've said, ... well, that stokes my ego to no end. Third and finally, we keep each other going. We have fun. We learn and grow and laugh together. And there are snacks.

I study Torah because it is the foundation story of my faith and life. Maybe nothing in Torah actually happened, but it's all completely true. I would never understand the world around me if it weren't for the stories and instructions I receive from Torah. That's not to say that I follow all the instructions because some of them I simply don't believe in. (What do you mean I can't eat catfish?!?!) And maybe that's the most important lesson. We are responsible for working with the text, struggling with it. We can't follow the mitzvot, or reject some of them, if we don't understand them. Blind faith is exactly that: blind. Like a responsible engineer, I test my materials and know how they work together to create that solid foundation of my faith.

The foremost mitzvot.

I study Torah because it is the foremost mitzvot and it's the foremost mitzvot because it is the commandment that leads to all the other commandments. And I can't imagine my life without Torah Study.

And may it be for all of us a blessing.

See you tonight!
Mit vareme grusn,
(With warm regards),

All my love,
brian.