Torah Thoughts ~ Rabbi David Vorspan, Rabbi-in-Residence Can you imagine having to copy the entire Torah? Why would one even do this? With the ease of photocopying books or downloading from the internet, who laboriously copies any more? We can even bring portable scanners to the library (remember those?) if we need to make copies. And yet, this week’s Torah portion, Shoftim, tells us that when a king was installed over Israel, he was then to “write a copy of this Teaching for himself on a scroll.” (Dt. 17:18). The king was then to study it constantly “so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God, to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching as well as these laws.” Would a king of Israel have to write it out by hand today? Or could he just buy a copy of the law on Amazon? There was an interesting study done recently. It showed that students who take notes during classes by hand have better notes and a better handle on the material than those who type on a computer. One of the reasons is because she has to listen carefully to the lecture to make sure she writes the essential points. Typists can record practically every word the teacher says without giving it much thought. And writing by hand also helps the material to sink into one’s memory more effectively. When we copy word for word, he have to carefully consider each word. A king today tasked with copying the essential laws by hand and then constantly reviewing them “will not act haughtily toward his fellows or deviate from the Instruction...” (Dt. 17:20) So what is the best way to study Torah? Perhaps we truly take ownership of it when we make a personal copy. But, short of this, there is something to be said for at least reading the Torah word for word, with due deliberation. This works best for me–my writing is illegible!
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 16:00:00 +0000
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