I am back in New Jersey, after experiencing a truly remarkable week in Israel for the Chidon HaTanach for adults (https://www.facebook.com/TheBibleContest/).
While I finished in sixth place out of 17 people who made it to this Israel round, even if I had gotten every question wrong, it would have barely detracted from the experience. [Here is a link to the Chidon for those who are interested in the two hour presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncOQ_xRHjaA]
Going into the Chidon in Israel, I had expected that I would be studying, preparing for and taking the Chidon, and indeed that was the case. However, what I did not fully expect was how much I would enjoy the process, and how emotional and religio-spiritual (to coin a term) the event would be for me.
There were 17 of us representing 15 countries, with differences in gender, age, language, culture, professions, and overall life experiences. Despite that, throughout the week, as we studied, ate meals,and rode the bus together, I felt a true sense of camaraderie among all of us. As we participated in activities and went on tiyulim that brought the Tanach to life, there was a constant stream of conversation among us—almost all in Hebrew—about Tanach.
Even in the wonderful community I currently live in and those where I have been fortunate to live previously, the experience of having this many people engaging in the study of Tanach at such a high level and in a communal setting for the week was something that I haven’t experienced previously. And perhaps because of that, throughout the week there was genuine interest in the topics at hand, good will for one another’s success and not a hint of jealousy, anger or mean-spiritedness.
In terms of the contest itself, I feel that the public Chidon itself was the biggest kiddush Hashem and display of kavod haTorah that I have personally been a part of (I have not been to a siyum haShas, so I cannot count that).
There were hundreds of people in the crowd and probably thousands of people watching on television (and more than 10,000 have watched the YouTube link at this point). The Israeli minister of education was present and addressed the crowd, and while the prime minister was not personally present, he participated in asking questions over video to the top four finalists. Mi k’amcha Yisrael? Is there any other country in the world where the prime minister or head of state would participate, even in a limited way, in such an event? As one who lives in the U.S., I could not imagine any of the seven presidents in my lifetime participating in such an event, and yet it happens in Israel. And all of this was not for national military glory or athletic glory, and not even for intellectual achievements, but rather for something that is, in my opinion, quintessentially religious in nature. Even to those who would not view the event as religious, the fact that the Tanach is something that binds such large segments of people in Israel, and by extension Jews from across the world, makes the Chidon something incredibly unique.
And I have not even mentioned the content of the event! If you watch, you will see that all 12 of us on the stage got our (difficult) first round questions correct, which was no easy feat, especially under pressure and in front of a live audience. While eventually all of us got some questions wrong, I was privileged to watch the top four finalists succeed in the second round of eight questions each. And then I literally had a front row seat to watch Yedidyah (the winner) and Binyamin (the runner-up) go head-to-head, correctly answering almost all of the most difficult questions on Tanach I could imagine. Such a kiddush Hashem, such kavod haTorah!
I mentioned above how emotional, religious and spiritual this experience was for me. This was something that I felt from the time I arrived in Israel, even before the event, especially when I was at the Kotel after having not been in Israel for more than 14 years. I do not consider myself an especially emotional person, but at the Chidon, once I had been eliminated from the event and was in the audience, the emotions of the previous week and by extension the past two months of studying that I had put in, truly washed over me. As the event finished and we sang Hatikvah, I was in a different emotional place than I had ever been in my life.
This emotion then transformed into what I can only describe as a type of religious excitement and energy that is hard to describe in words. This feeling carried over into the following hours of conversations that I had with both my friends who had come to see the event in person, and the following hour of conversations that I had with the other participants in the Chidon during dinner that night, and to a lesser extent to the rest of the trip; it was difficult to “disconnect” my brain from the Tanach.
At this point, I turn to you, the reader, to make an observation and a request.
From what I have observed and experienced, I believe that there is some part of our Torah where it is possible for each and every one of us can achieve some measure of knowledge. It might be different for each of us owing to background, hashkafa, stage of life, and a host of other factors, and we might all have different ideas of what it means to achieve, but in the infinite expanse of legitimate Torah study, there is something that speaks to each of us, and it is in that place that one can achieve.
For me, at this point in my life, I have achieved some measure of knowledge in Tanach. By coincidence (or perhaps not), as the Chidon was going on, Klal Yisrael was preparing for the recent Siyum HaShas, where hundreds of thousands of people, including many readers of this paper and many people who I am privileged to call friends, experienced an awesome display of kavod haTorah and the associated kiddush Hashem of thousands of people davening and learning together as one all across the world. I stand in awe of them and their achievement. My point here is that for anyone who says that achieving in Torah cannot be done by one who works in the secular world as I do, I say it can be done, and I imagine the thousands of ba’alei batim who work in the secular world and somehow find the time to learn the daf every day would agree.
My request is that, for those who are not yet investing the time to learn, try to find the time. You may be surprised by what you are able to achieve. The daf yomi cycle has just started anew, making it a great time to start. If not the daf, I imagine many people reading this may find the Chidon an exciting way to learn Tanach, and to challenge yourself to achieve more than you thought you could in the world of Torah. They say the next Chidon for adults is two years away. I encourage you to consider taking the Chidon qualifying exam and potentially taking part in this magnificent experience as I did. Your knowledge of Tanach will increase, and that knowledge will enhance your limud haTorah, tefilla, avodat Hashem and many other parts of your experience as a Jew.
As I see it, if one person who reads this decides to make even a small investment in their learning, it will be worth it, and who knows, you might even get a trip to Israel.
By Yoni Ray
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