One of the distinctive aspects of Judaism is its emphasis upon Torah study. Unlike other religions in which study is generally relegated to “men of the cloth,” in Judaism the study of the word and will of God—as distilled in His Torah—is incumbent upon every man. It is the tri-part balance between belief, study and commandments that lends Judaism its durability. Yet, hundreds of years before God conveyed His word to man, our Avot, the founders of our people, discovered God’s presence. In a confusing pagan world of immorality and violence, they discerned the presence of a One Creator and carved out lifestyles based on the Divine will. How did these great men and women uncover the presence of God in this confusing world?
Firstly, they were able to perceive a Divine artist of the grand masterpiece called the universe. The midrash describes Avraham as observing our world as a sprawling “city,” noticing its order, proportion and symmetry. Convinced that there must be an architect for this city he searched for God’s presence. The world we inhabit bears the imprint of God’s intelligent design: Some people are able to sense Him in the science of our universe, while others are more awakened to the Divine presence by the beauty of creation. Either way, our Avot peered at their world and traced it back to God.
However, they didn’t just sense God in “cold science” or even in the radiant beauty of our universe. Additionally, they identified a moral energy to our world. Rational science is emotionless and “morally blank,” but our world bristles with moral spirit. Our universe is built upon science and math in a manner that supports life and human welfare; our world is a delicately balanced system that enables human existence. Without this balance the world would be inhabitable, even though it would still exhibit scientific order. There is a moral spirit that created a world of life and welfare. Moreover, these great founders of our nation didn’t just detect moral spirit in this world, they fashioned their lives and their societies in the image of this moral Creator. They introduced bold, new ideas into the human experience: justice, ethics and respect for the human condition. Our Avot noticed the moral underpinnings of God’s world and re-landscaped the human realm based on the Divine image peering at them.
Finally, our Avot detected God through history. They appreciated that human experience isn’t static but that history is, instead, directly impacted by human behavior. History is adversely affected by human malfunction and misconduct just as it is redeemed by human virtue and moral heroism. History has a beginning and a definite endpoint: the perfection of man in a kingdom of God. At the center of this historical struggle between good and evil are the Jewish people, tasked with redeeming humanity and teaching God to man. This mission would be fiercely and violently opposed by enemies of God, but God would always protect His people and assure their survival. Sensing this historical journey, the Avot were able to detect the Divine author of history.
However, despite their remarkable ability to detect God in nature and history, our Avot also studied Torah. The midrash stresses that all Avot studied Torah, but the more famous images portray Yaakov’s Torah study. Initially, Yaakov is presented as a “tent-dweller” and the midrash identifies these tents as study halls of Torah. Subsequently, the midrash reports that Yaakov studied Torah for 14 years in a yeshiva prior to journeying to join Lavan and his family. Finally, in Parshat Vayigash, the midrash describes Yehuda’s advance mission prior to the family’s descent: to assemble a yeshiva in Goshen to assure serious Torah study in Egypt. These are the more well-known sources; beyond these portraits of Yaakov’s Torah study, the midrash also describes Avraham and Yitzchak as students of Torah.
These midrashim about the Torah study of our Avot raise very interesting questions. Firstly, what exactly were the Avot studying, if the text of Torah as we know it had yet to be delivered? It is difficult to determine precisely what form of Torah text predated the actual delivery of Torah at Sinai. As Torah is the will of God, it obviously predates human history and Torah certainly existed prior to its delivery at Sinai. Additionally, there are many different “ways” to read the Torah, beyond the actual form that was delivered to us. Torah letters and words can be recombined in countless permutations, yielding numerous additional layers of meaning. Having received our version of the Torah at Sinai, we must read “our version,” but it is altogether possible that our Avot had access to different versions unbeknown to us.
In addition to studying the sections of Torah that had been delivered to them, our Avot intuited the Divine logic of Torah even without an explicit or precise text. The midrash describes Avraham’s “kidneys” as pulsing with Torah knowledge; Avraham lived in such harmony with God that his very being sensed and lived Torah and its logic. Even without organized texts of God’s word, our Avot were able to “feel” the will of God and implement that will in their actions and lifestyles.
Why does all this matter? Why is it significant that our Avot studied Torah before it was delivered to us at Sinai? Why is this a recurring theme in the midrash?
Firstly, their Torah study was their gateway to the Divine presence in nature and science. As Torah contains an “approximation of God” and His will, it is a portal to understanding the entire universe, all of which is the handiwork of God. Ideally, and by definition, all science and all wisdom can be accessed through the study of Torah. As science is God’s system and Torah God’s will, Torah is, by definition, a blueprint for all science and all creation. Sadly, most mortals cannot ever hope to understand Torah well enough and deep enough to access science, math or music solely through this blueprint; those who seek to study other elements of God’s world must study it frontally. However, hypothetically all reality can be accessed through Torah. If the Avot discerned God in their universe, they were aided by Torah and the revealed will it contains. Deciphering God through nature alone without the “codes” the Torah provides would be imperfect and deficient.
Secondly, by studying Torah, we create a greater Divine presence in our world. The more that human beings understand Torah the closer humanity is to Him. The more we study the more we know of Him; both rationally and supernaturally the presence of God is augmented the more that His creatures understand Him. The Avot viewed themselves as builders: They were laying a spiritual foundation for humanity; they imagined a world of God’s presence and laid a platform for this reality. It is inconceivable that they structured this platform without interacting at some level—cognitively or intuitively—with God’s Torah.
Finally, the Torah study of the Avot was crucial in introducing a vital aspect of Judaism—observance of commandments. Again, it is unclear what form and what level of mitzvah observance our Avot adhered to; however, it is abundantly clear that their lives were, at the very least, synched to the general halachic system. Perhaps they adhered to the entire system, but, minimally, their lives were harmonized with halachic fundamentals gleaned from Torah study. Judaism is predicated upon a belief system, but also upon the concept of subservience to Divine commandments. Without a life of submission to commandments, the religious platform our Avot were constructing would have been inadequate.
The writer is a rabbi at Yeshivat Har Etzion/Gush, a hesder yeshiva. He has semicha and a BA in computer science from Yeshiva University as well as a master’s degree in English literature from the City University of New York.
