Why Study The Talmud? Aren't There Easier Ways to Learn Torah?

Why must a Jew study the Talmud and what makes it the most superior choice for learning? Is it acceptable to focus on the weekly Torah portion, or studying books of ethics and faith, while leaving the Talmud on the shelf? If our goal is to understand how to fulfill the commandments, wouldn’t it suffice to learn from legal texts without engaging in the intricate debates of the Talmud?

The Talmud is an active and vibrant study hall. It invites us to partake in the discussions of the Amoraim, following the different approaches and debates, questions and answers, sources and ideas, arguments from various perspectives, precise details, and diverse conclusions.

The Talmud was intentionally not written as a closed book that provides a final ruling like legal texts, but rather it presents 'ideas' which require the student to expand, decipher, and analyze them deeply. These ideas in the Talmud are divine concepts since the Talmud expands upon the Mishnah, which is the essence of the Oral Law, documented by Rabbi Judah the Prince. The Talmud is the word of Hashem spoken through the sages. The Oral Law was granted by Hashem at Mount Sinai alongside the Written Law, where the Oral Law is an expansion and explanation of the Written Law, as stated "These are the statutes and laws and the Torahs which Hashem gave between Him and the children of Israel at Mount Sinai through Moses" (Leviticus 26:46), with 'Torot' mentioned in the plural - Written Torah and Oral Torah.

In studying legal texts, where the laws are written conclusively, and in other educational books, the student receives the bottom line of the knowledge. The study is passive, receiving the final conclusion on a silver platter, whereas in contrast, the Talmud demands the student to take an active and independent part in the study. Studying the Talmud connects the learner to the Torah by delving into the Torah’s deep and internal roots, creating from within. The study becomes an act of creation, and thus the topic studied becomes the learner's own. In this way, the learner becomes, as it were, a partner in the Torah. It becomes a part of him and belongs to him.

By studying the Talmud in this manner, the student enters into the depths of the Torah and begins to think like a man of Torah. In other words, the goal is not just to know what to do in practical life according to halacha, but to connect to the deeper layers of the Torah, transforming oneself into someone who thinks like the Torah, sees his reality as the Torah would see it, and acquires the thought patterns of the divine Torah.

This learning penetrates into the learner’s very essence, allowing him to see things differently, think differently, and behave differently - according to the ways of Torah. This is why consultation with a learned person on various matters in life is often termed 'to make Torah opinions,' because one who consistently studies Torah for most of his life receives a mode of thinking that aligns with the Torah, making one's mind akin to the mind of the Torah itself.

The Torah embodies the will of Hashem, and studying Torah changes the essence of the person who is studying, drawing him closer to the will of his Creator, especially when learning is done l’shem shamayim (for the sake of Heaven) and his desire is in closeness to Hashem.

The Weekly Challenge

Approach the rabbi of the nearest synagogue in your area and ask if he can help you find someone to study the Talmud with you for one hour a week. It's important to clarify: request not to be spoon-fed, nor to receive a lecture where you're passive, but rather to be taught how to study the Talmud in an active way.