How to Study Torah When Youre Not a Torah Scholar

I've found articles like this, and definitions like "A Torah scholar is one who and the Wikipedia article on Torah study give me a hint about what's involved Torah get recognized as "a Torah scholar" while another does not?.
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One doesn't get recognized--not officially, at least. Think of it as a subjective, descriptive term like "genius" or "a brilliant surgeon" , not a formal title or profession.

by Rabbi Mendy Hecht

That was my experience while growing up in a far-right Orthodox community, at least. In my limited experience as a non-Jew who has lived among Hasidim, has known many scholars of Judaism and more than a few rabbis, and has read for secular purposes, but extensively, about Judaism , the main qualification for being a Torah scholar is respect of your peers; that is, those who are already Torah scholars must accept you as one of their own.

Obviously, this requires a lot of study decades, usually and adherence to the beliefs of a particular Jewish sect. As far as becoming a rabbi, in general it is much like "preacher" or "reverend" in the Protestant faiths. While there are organized educational paths one can take to achieve the rank depending upon the sect , the title is sometimes bestowed by the community one serves as a sign of respect.

See How to become a Rabbi and How to become a Rabbi different articles, same title. I suspect you don't want to hear from me davy, but I'm going to give an answer that's sincere and not caustically meant.

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To build off of what nmc wrote and your own question, I think that the definition is both more fluid and more fixed than you've suggested. It comes down to one of the counter examples you've suggested, "professional baseball player.

The Laws of Torah Study

Pro ball players sign contracts and represent their sport, they can be sanctioned by their governing body. Anyone can call themselves a Torah scholar, just like the word philosopher, the term is both assumed and conferred.


  • What is a torah scholar??
  • The Girl In The Coffee Shop.
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But as there is no governing body, the attribution becomes trickier. The Torah is a big book and one can find a lot of justifications for a lot of different things. Some are accepted by mainstream Judaism, some are not. So, one can call themselves a Torah scholar and can even be followed as one, while being so far outside the mainstream that they only represent themselves or their fringe element.

This is not so unlike many other attributions "scientist," "writer," "guitar player," "conservative commentator" which can be literally true or their truth is so subjective as to almost always be literally true without containing or adequately representing the thing claimed. Because the definition of Torah scholar admits to so many different possibilities, and can be conferred by themselves on people so far out of the mainstream, we, in turn, make a choice when we use the term.

For example, we might choose to call either David Brooks or Ann Coulter "conservative commentators," but the meaning of the phrase is very different depending on which one we so authorize.

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We might also choose to call someone performing experiments on phlogiston a scientist, and while doing so might not be factually incorrect, it fails to account for the obsolete nature of the phlogiston theory of combustion and the accepted scientific mainstream even if that mainstream contains controversies of its own which rejects it. OmieWise basically said what I was going to say. There are levels of being considered a Torah scholar. There is the respect and acceptance of your scholarship within your immediate cultural group, and there is the respect and acceptance of your scholarship within the larger less homogenous culture as a whole.

I think of it as equally intangible to philosopher. I can be a philosopher in my own living room, or among a group of my peers, or even in my larger community, but that doesn't mean that the larger group of people who collectively create the body of knowledge that is taught to students in US colleges under the heading Philosophy [for example] consider me a philosopher.

This is even more difficult with scholarhsip designations than with scientist designations because at least nowadays, scientists generally have advanced degrees from a smallish set of institutions [this was not true historically when many advanced discoveries were made by gentlemen of high and low backgrounds].


  • Death Line (Rafferty & Llewellyn Book 3)?
  • Orthodox union.
  • Torah for the Non-Jew.
  • Death of a Poison Pen (Hamish Macbeth Book 19);

Scholars can just be someone with a deep understanding of any particular topic and the Torah isn't very different. The rabbi thing is similar.

Daily Chidush: How To Study Torah? (23 Minutes)

There are mainstream programs for becoming sort of an industry-standard rabbi, and then there are the honorific designations that a community gives to someone who they deeply repect who may have some sort of advisory role with regards to the path of the community. To be a talmid chochom is to be engaged in a lifelong endeavor.

Look into it, grow old and worn over it, and never move away from it, for you will find no better portion than it.

What is a Torah scholar?

To be a genuine talmid chochom is to embrace that lifelong relationship with Torah. Because being a Torah chochom is, by definition, a humbling experience — never one that is achieved, only striven toward — we understand that being a Torah scholar is not goal oriented. That is, the reward is not overt, or external. Unlike in worldly matters, where reward is meted out based on completed tasks, on results rather than effort, in Torah study the opposite is true.

What is a Torah scholar? - torah g-d's wisdom

Reward is granted for effort , not achievement. The Torah student who wrestles with a tractate of Talmud but does not comprehend every line and nuance of the discussion and analysis extols God at a siyum celebration: We seek to understand that which cannot be fully understood.

Therefore, our reward must be for our efforts. What does this teach us? Why would the receptacle of our Torah, our greatest gift, not be fashioned exclusively from the most precious metals? Knowing where we come from and whence we go — dust — teaches that the heart of the talmid chochom must be filled with overwhelming love, compassion, and humility. They indeed become chochomim but somehow, forget to remain talmidim.

On the one hand, the essence of Jewish learning and knowledge is unpretentious. It is simple wood, available to all, certain to rot in time. On the other hand, we cover that wood in gold because the repository of the Torah, the Aron , should reflect the value we place upon the treasure it holds, the Torah. The talmid chochom must know it is not enough to acquire learning. He must demonstrate respect, reverence, and derech eretz to the Torah.