Rabbi Ronen Haziza: Not Just 5 Minutes

Recently, Rabbi Ronen Haziza from Tzfat, whose name is certainly familiar to you from the '5 Minutes of Torah a Day' booklets also published here on the Hidabroot website, completed one of the more important projects to be recently published: the 'Torah Meira' Chumash with a deep and eye-opening commentary on the weekly Torah portions.

Regarding the trigger that led him to promote this revolutionary idea, the Rabbi says it all started with a short Torah talk he used to give at the synagogue where he prays. "I recognized a great thirst among the congregation to understand the meaning of the words they recite when reading the Torah, and I decided to implement a slightly different approach: instead of delivering a sermon, I explained to people what was written in each aliyah before the Torah reading. Everyone recited the text, but very few understood what they were saying – until I started to explain. I saw how people were captivated by the explanation, and the intensity with which they read the Torah afterward was not the same as before. That's when I realized there was an important point here that needed attention."

Rabbi Ronen Haziza. Enrichment for the Torah reading

For a whole year, the Rabbi led the prayers in this format until he received a request to turn the sweet words of Torah into an organized method. "Every Jew goes to synagogue on Shabbat and hears the Torah reading, and every Jewish child learns about the weekly Torah portion in school. This means the weekly portion accompanies us throughout all circles of life, and the importance of understanding it is clear to all. The problem is it takes a lot of time to study the commentators, and not everyone has that time. 

"In the times of the sages, there was an ordinance that during the Torah reading, an additional person joined the cantor to translate the Torah language into the spoken language of the people, so they would understand what they were reading. Today, since we do not understand Aramaic, we are without explanations. In such a situation, over time, people focus more on events around the portion, rather than understanding the portion itself."

And this is where your Chumash comes into play.

"That's right. The Chumash was written with the aim of making the Torah accessible to every Jew, at any spiritual level they are in, and it is divided into two parts: the first part presents the portion in a spoken form, like a story. The second part is an interpretation of the unclear words within the portion itself, essentially appearing in parentheses. This is so that any Jew, wherever they are, can understand the portion correctly."

And how is it different from other Chumashim available on the market?

"In the way it is made accessible. Although there are Chumashim that deal with giving explanations, they are often very lengthy and in a language not understood by all population layers. Additionally, not everyone has the time to study the portion in depth and at length. People are looking to understand things immediately. I am reading now, so I need the explanation now."

And what reactions has he received so far? "Never in my life did I enjoy the Torah reading and waited for it to end, until I got to know the 'Torah Meira' Chumash," "What joy it is to read the portion and understand what is written there. I have never understood, I used to sit in the synagogue like a puppet waiting for them to finish, and since I knew your Chumash – I understand and enjoy," "If not for this Chumash – I don't know what I would have done. Really lucky someone thought of us. At least now we can say we not only read, but we also understood," "A rare Chumash. We are very grateful to the Rabbi for doing this for us. He presents Rashi in a narrative, vivid, and very interesting way," "It not only helps me understand the Torah reading – even the children use it to study for tests and greatly enjoy it."

For two and a half years, Rabbi Haziza diligently worked on the material – writing and erasing many drafts, consulting with prominent Torah scholars, and only then was he able to bless the finished project, five magnificent Chumashim, wholeheartedly. And what does he have to say about it? "It wasn't cheap, but the investment was worthwhile. I am happy to hear the appreciative responses and hope it will be of great help to everyone with regard to understanding the weekly portion and Torah reading."