This perspective on the nature and purpose of talmud Torah sheds light on a different feature of Judaism: the all-encompassing and nitty-gritty system of halacha. One common complaint about halacha is that it touches on all areas of life; it can feel controlling and overbearing, as if there is no respite from its greedy clutches. It can seem nigh impossible to go more than a few hours without a number of sugyos coming up — davening in the morning, brachos on breakfast, hilchos masa u’matan at work, dinei chinuch at night, lashon hara, rechilus and honesty in conversations with friends — the list goes on and on. Why does Hashem subject us to such a suffocating system of law?
Our approach to Torah and mitzvos as a value system responds that there are two powerful benefits to the system of halacha. First of all, it is specifically through the details of each mitzvah that we are able to discern the values at play. A single letter in a halacha can open up entire worlds of thought.1 This is most powerfully accomplished when different mitzvos or halachos are pitted against each other, allowing us to get a sense of the Torah’s system of triage — which mitzvos are ranked as more important or urgent than others? The complexity of the halachic system, and especially the sugyos that preface the practical decisions of the halachic system, are necessary for uncovering these layers to the mitzvos.
Learning vs. Human Dignity
For example, Megillah 3b arranges clashes between reading the Megillah, serving in the Mikdash, Torah study of both the community and of the individual and taking care of a meis mitzvah, asking which one takes precedence. Through these very specific case studies, we learn how the Torah wants us to triage learning (talmud Torah), Divine service (avodah b’Mikdash), reading megillah and burying an abandoned dead body, a meis mitzvah. The last stage of the Gemara’s discussion pits mikra megillah against burying a meis mitzvah, presenting the question this way: Is mikra megillah adif, due to pirsumei nisa — spreading the awareness of the miracle Hashem did for us (which may be rooted in kiddush Hashem2), or is meis mitzvah adif, due to kavod ha’beriyos?
The Gemara answers that meis mitzvah wins; in the words of the Gemara, “Meis mitzvah adif, d’amar Mar: gadol kavod habriyos shedocheh es lo saseh she’baTorah—Taking care of a dead body takes precedence, as the master said: Great is human dignity, as it overrides a Torah-level prohibition.” Rather than assigning priority based on the mitzvos themselves, the Gemara first translates each mitzvah into the value it represents or educates towards — pirsumei nisa and kavod ha’briyos — and answers the question that way.
Internalizing Hashem’s Values
The second benefit is the opportunities the system gives us to reflect on and practice the ideas we are meant to internalize. Take Shabbos as an example. Scarcely five minutes can go by without encountering another potential melacha; you can’t even bite into a watermelon, play a game of Monopoly, or walk down certain streets at night without confronting a potential issur.
But what do these myriad restrictions do for us? Shabbos is meant to remind us of one of our foundational truths: Hashem created the world and enjoined us to represent Him in it. He is the CEO of the universe; we are His managers. To ensure that we don’t lose sight of that relationship and instead begin to act as if we were the CEO’s ourselves, Hashem “closes the office” once a week — on the anniversary of Man’s first full day, the day the world was given over to him. Each time we are confronted with one of the 39 forbidden categories of creative labor, we have the opportunity to remind ourselves of that single, formative idea: I don’t work for myself, I work for Hashem, and He closed the office today. After a full 25 hours of drilling that essential truth deeper and deeper into our consciousness, we are then ready to embrace another six days of work, during which we can fulfill our roles as the managers of Hashem’s world in an impactful, significant way.3
Reflecting While Keeping
The same goes for the rest of the halachic system: Each time I have the opportunity to fulfill a mitzvah or avoid an aveira, I have the chance to reflect on the value or idea it is meant to teach. A mezuzah on the door is a reminder each time I pass it of the core ideas contained in Shema: the unity of Hashem, reflected in the unity of life; the call to dedicate everything I have to Him, choosing to include myself in that unity; the importance of engaging with Hashem’s wisdom and passing that wisdom on to the next generation; the demand to translate that wisdom into action and more. Can you imagine how much more mindful we would be if we actually took advantage of the mitzvah of mezuzah that way? But that’s not what most of us do — if we’re lucky, we go for a mindless reach-touch-kiss while continuing with whatever else we’re doing– a missed opportunity.
The ultimate goal is to do this with every mitzvah and become people who have internalized each one to the extent that they see the world differently; they see the world through the lens of Torah.;not in a narrowly halachic sense, but in a much broader, values of Torah sense.
That is the power of understanding mitzvos in a deep way, which comes from a rigorous devotion to high-quality talmud Torah, as well as the impact of complete commitment to the halachic system.
Tzvi Goldstein graduated from Yeshiva University with semicha and a degree in Psychology. After making aliyah, he taught in Yeshivat Hakotel for five years and now edits sefarim for a number of publishers. He recently published a sefer with Mosaica Press called Halachic Worldviews, exploring Rav Soloveitchik’s approach to developing hashkafa from halacha, and writes at tgb613.substack.com. You can reach him at [email protected].
1 See the first chapter of my Halachic Worldviews for an example. Rav Hirsch stresses this point in Letter 18 of the 19 Letters, and exemplifies it throughout his Commentary to the Torah.
2 See Rav Soloveitchik in Harerei Kedem 1:179.
3 Horeb, chap. 21. See the chapter “Motzaei Shabbos Jew” for a halachic expression of this idea.
