How long does it take to read all the way through the Chumash? The traditional synagogue cycle covers a year; a committed reader could probably complete the Five Books in a few days.
But the “Bible From the Beginning” class at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford had a different way to answer the question, taking a deliberate and thoughtful journey through the Torah—for 21 years. That’s because the group, who met weekly on Sunday mornings, explored the Chumash a few pesukim at a time.
Three rabbis and countless discussions later, the group celebrated its siyum on February 27, sponsored by charter member Dina Berger in memory of her mother, Florence Sternbach (Fruma bat Eliezer), z”l. Twenty-four of the students who have attended the class over varying periods gathered to mark the milestone, and to honor five of their fellow participants who died over the course of the group’s time together.
It was Agudath Sholom’s Rabbi David Walk, the synagogue’s director of education, who launched the initiative in 2001 as “Walk Through the Parsha.” When he and his wife made aliyah in 2016, Assistant Rabbi Oran Zweiter took over; the class decided to go back to the start and take a deep dive into the Chumash, renaming itself “Bible from the Beginning.”
Assistant Rabbi Moshe Kurtz arrived in mid-2020 and led the group from Parshat Ki Tetze across the finish line. “It would have gone much faster, but the people wanted a more in-depth understanding of the Torah, more so than they would get just by typically reading through the parsha,” said Rabbi Kurtz, who enhanced the readings with analysis from the Rishonim and medieval Jewish commentaries.
“Each week, we would do two or three pesukim and if we ever did more, we were very impressed,” said Anne Peskin, a founding member who helped organize the siyum along with Dina Berger. “It has been a great learning experience. Rabbi David Walk gave us insights and depth; Rabbi Oran Zweiter added history and geography; Rabbi Kurtz brought study of sources.”
At the siyum, each of the three rabbis led a short study session—with Rabbi Walk joining from Israel via Zoom—culminating with the last aliyah of Parshat V’Zot haBeracha.
For Anne and her husband, Bernard, z”l, who died in 2010, the learning extended far beyond the classroom. “Each week was interesting and different, and the two of us had a chance to talk about it afterwards and get to know each other in a very different way,” said Anne, who is involved in three Torah-study groups in Stamford. “I learned a lot in the last sections—laws and mitzvahs—but I really liked the early parshiot, the stories of the relationships of the patriarchs and matriarchs, their good and bad points. My husband and I had a chance to think about what relationships are like.”
This committed group of learners has lost no time in its mission, now delving into Sefer Hachinuch, an anonymous work written in 13th-century Spain that details the 613 commandments in the order of the parshiot and explains the reasons behind them.
“I am certain and very hopeful that it will take us less than 21 years to go through the book,” said Rabbi Kurtz. “I’ll try to do more than one mitzvah per week. That way, maybe we can finish it within five years—I think that’s a reasonable goal.”
