Halakhah and Minhag - Kol Hamevaser

xv One might argue that there are Jews in the
world who are making siyyumim every month,
who are learning in depth, with great care and
focus, and who are spiritually quite alive and
well. I am not denying this. But I would argue
that such individuals are either unusually
bright or are learning fulltime and can afford
to attach deadlines to their talmud Torah without
hurting the quality and spirituality of their
learning. In other words, they can eat their kugl
and have it too.
xvi Concerning the keeping of a heshbon ha-nefesh,
I think it makes sense for a Jewish man
or woman to only register his or her tangible
religious activities. One can keep stats on how
many times one went to minyan that month or
how many hours one spent in the Beit Midrash
on a particular night, but to systematically
record spirituality is a counterproductive and
absurd exercise for at least two reasons. First,
this is true because one cannot rate things like
love of God, fear of God, and love of one’s fellow
Jew, and attempting to do so breeds frustration;
second, one will not be able to
concentrate on loving Jews or God or praying
with sincerity if he is focused on the heshbon
ha-nefesh he is going to have to write later that
day!
xvii Heschel, ibid.
Halakhah and Minhag
BY: Jonathan Ziring
Recently, Kol Hamevaser held its first
school-wide Shabbaton. Over Shabbat,
I was thinking about the importance
of such an event, one where people who
have a common interest in Jewish thought took
the opportunity to spend time together, learn
and just hang out. A few dictums of Hazal
came to mind. The first is a fascinating state-
ment in Bava Metsi’a: “Ula said, ‘Talmidei
hakhamim in Bavel stand up for each other.’” i
Rashi explains that they stood “the way a student
does for his teacher, as they sat together
constantly in the beit midrash, asking and answering
each other’s questions, with everyone
learning from each other.” ii Ramban expands
on this idea, saying that not only did they stand
up when their friends came within four cubits
of them, as would be required for any talmid
hakham, but they even stood up as soon as they
could see them at a distance, the way one is required
to stand up before his primary teacher,
his rav muvhak. iii He explains that although
the talmidei hakhamim in Bavel did not actually
learn the majority of their Torah from their
colleagues, they still learned from each other
constantly, and in certain respects they
achieved the status of rav muvhak for each
other. Now, while it is true that one Shabbat
does not constitute “constantly,” over the
course of those 25 hours I saw what promised
to be the beginnings of a Torah community of
people on both campuses (and beyond), who,
by seriously discussing issues of Jewish
thought and teaching each other, could grow
together in their commitment as active members
of broader Jewish society.
One might ask, as many people do, why
we need Kol Hamevaser; why have students
present their ideas in a public format like this?
After all, we learn in YU with Rashei Yeshivah
who are tremendous talmidei hakhamim, and
while it is true that people can learn a lot from
their peers, perhaps that is not an ideal? To me,
this notion is absurd for several reasons. To
begin with, when Rambam discusses the ideal
friend that one should seek, he describes him
as a “haver ma’alah,” an exalted friend. iv According
to Rambam, he is the type of person
who shares your goals and who wants to help
you actualize your potential, just as you want
to help him actualize his. He gives as an example
of such a relationship the type of friendship
found between teachers and their students.
I have always understood from here that Rambam
does not simply intend to describe the relationship
that students have with their
teachers, but rather means to encourage us to
actively create friendships that parallel this
Kol Hamevaser:
Creating a Torah Community
model, where we teach each other.
Perhaps, though, my assumption about
Rambam’s meaning is incorrect. For this, I
turn to an interesting Mishnah in the fourth
chapter of Avot: “R. Nehorai says, ‘Exile yourself
to a place of Torah, and do not say it will
come after you, for your friends will establish
it in your hands, and do not rely on your own
understanding.’” v Most Rishonim understand
that the word “friends” in this context is
“Even the most brilliant Torah scholar needs colleagues.
Friends sharpen each other, they help each other;
that is the ideal.”
generic, referring to one’s community, and that
the Mishnah is warning people to remain in or
seek out Torah communities. However, Sforno
reads the Mishnah as an exhortation not to go
to places where you would have no peers, even
if you would be able to spread Torah among
students there; rather, you should go to a community
where you have equals, because it is
only those who are on the same level of religious
commitment and learning as you who
will ensure that you keep your Torah, and no
one else. vi He insightfully notes that the relationship
you have with your friends is different
than other relationships, and that to truly estab-
lish yourself in the world of Torah, you need
colleagues who can engage in that world with
you – davka colleagues, not students, and, I
would add, not teachers. Sforno continues by
referencing the story in Shabbat 147b that
gives the background to this statement of R.
Nehorai. The Gemara identifies “R. Nehorai”
as the nickname of R. Elazar ben Arakh, the
sage who Abba Shaul claimed would outweigh
all the scholars in the world combined as a result
of his acuity. vii The Gemara recounts that
R. Nehorai once forgot all of his Torah, despite
his brilliance, to the point that he was unable
to read a simple pasuk. To remedy this, his
friends joined together and prayed for him, and
together helped him regain his scholarship.
Even the most brilliant Torah scholar needs
colleagues. Friends sharpen each other, they
help each other; that is the ideal.
However, there is a more fundamental
reason why we must include everyone in the
community of Torah. The Arukh ha-Shulhan,
in his preface to Hoshen Mishpat, explains that
the Torah is compared to a shirah, a song, viii because
songs can be made more beautiful
through the harmonization of different voices.
So, too, he claims, the Torah is broadened,
Volume III, Issue 7 www.kolhamevaser.com
deepened, and made all the more stunning
when different opinions are voiced in discussing
it. Even if a Rosh Yeshivah may have
great things to say, that does not negate the
possibility that another voice might be able
complement his. Shouldn’t we allow room for
everyone to express his ideas (within reason),
such that the Torah can become that much
more complete? “I efshar le-beit ha-midrash
be-lo hiddush:” ix everyone has a place in the
beit midrash and every person has something
to add to the discussion – and that includes all
of our colleagues.
On that note, I want to express my gratitude
to all those who read, contribute to, and
edit Kol Hamevaser for helping cultivate a
community of peers, one where we can all express
our opinions freely and enrich the Torah
by doing so. In the coming year, I look forward
to the privilege of editing for the magazine
myself and further taking part in this
important endeavor. But, in truth, Kol
Hamevaser is just one way of creating this
community. It should be our goal to create a
Torah community that extends beyond the four
amot of the battei midrash on both campuses,
and that extends beyond the walls of our
Yeshiva and our University, because, at the end
of the day, we and our colleagues will be the
“It should be our goal to create a Torah community that extends
beyond the four amot of the battei midrash on both campuses, and that
extends beyond that walls of our Yeshiva and our University, because,
at the end of the day, we and our colleagues will be the ones to
define Torah in 20 years, and we might as well start
building the most complete community we can now.”
ones to define Torah in 20 years, and we might
as well start building the most complete community
we can now. “Ve-Attah, kitvu lakhem
et ha-shirah ha-zot” (And now, write for yourselves
this song).
Jonathan Ziring is a senior at YC majoring
in Philosophy and Jewish Studies and is a
Staff Writer for Kol Hamevaser.
i Bava Metsi’a 33a.
ii Rashi ad loc., s.v. “Omedin.”
iii Ramban ad loc., s.v. “Ha.” See also Rashba,
Ritva, and Ran ad loc., as well as Ramban in
Torat ha-Adam, Sha’ar ha-Keri’ah.
iv Rambam, Commentary to the Mishnah, Avot
1:6, s.v. “Ve-Ameru u-keneh lekha haver.”
v In most counts, Avot 4:14.
vi Sforno ad loc.
vii Avot 2:12.
viii Devarim 31:19.
ix See Hagigah 3a for context.
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