Teaching

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Values
Teaching is a central value in Judaism that features in a variety of context. The biblical patriarch Abraham is instructed to teach his descendants the ways of justice and righteousness, for examples, and rabbinic literature analyzes the responsibilities of parents to ensure that their children receive an education.
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Teaching at All Times
TANAKH
Teaching the commandments is an ongoing practice, meant to be integrated into daily life. The book of Deuteronomy emphasizes the importance of reciting and teaching the commandments to one's children, whether at home or away, and during all parts of the day.
and teach them to your children—reciting them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up;
Deuteronomy 11:19
The Historical Roots of Jewish Education
COMMENTARY
Compulsory Jewish education was established eighteen centuries before Britain undertook such a policy. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks discusses the Babylonian Talmud in tractate Moed Katan account of R. Yehoshua b. Gamla's educational program, highlighting the long-standing Jewish value placed on education.
It was not until 1870 that Britain – then the most advanced and prosperous in the world – introduced universal compulsory education. Jews had done so eighteen centuries before. This is how the Talmud describes the educational programme of the person it credits with the achievement, R. Yehoshua b. Gamla:
Covenant and Conversation; Deuteronomy; Renewal of the Sinai Covenant, Eikev, A Nation of Educators 12
The Engaging Teacher
REFERENCE
Rabah's unique teaching methods made even the most complex laws of ritual purity accessible and engaging. This biography of Rabah bar Nachmani highlights his innovative approach to teaching.
As head of the academy it was Rabah’s effort to try to popularize what he had heard from his teachers. In addition he specialized in the laws of ritual purity and tried to make them intelligible to his students; though he found few auditors for this subject, because people were interested in studying the laws which were still in force and not the laws of the Messianic era. As our Rabah complained: “I am alone in studying the laws of blight and the laws of the impurity of a tent.” In his lectures Rabah bar Nachmani would give all the relevant aspects of a matter with great understanding…
The Jewish Spiritual Heroes, Volume III; The Amoraim of Babylon and the Babylonian Talmud, Rabah bar Nachmani 9
The Dynamic Process of Teaching
CHASIDUT
Teaching is not just about imparting knowledge; it is a dynamic process where both teacher and student continuously learn and grow. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, in his early 19th-century work Likutei Moharan, delves into the iterative nature of teaching, emphasizing how addressing difficulties enhances understanding for both parties.
Take, for example, the teacher who, while explaining to his student some Talmudic passage and its commentators, encounters a difficult question. Initially, that difficulty was a transcendent perception for him, for he was unaware of it. But as soon as the difficulty comes to mind he tells it to his student, and as he explains the difficulty, a solution falls into his mind. As a result, he comprehends another transcendent perception, this being the solution to the difficulty, which he then relates as well to the student…
Likutei Moharan, Part II 7:8:2
Training Teachers for Service to the Community
MUSAR
Rebbi Chiya's revolutionary approach to training teachers for communal service ensured the continuity of Jewish learning and law. Yosef Yozel Horowitz, in his late 19th to early 20th-century writings, highlights the importance of community-oriented teaching and the establishment of Torah and Awe of Hashem.
And if we ponder even further, we will be amazed, since wasn't Rebbi Chiya the one that arranged the Braisos, the foundation of the Six Orders of the Mishna! Yet, he gave over all of his abilities to create training for teachers for community service who are now beginning to enter into the vineyard of Hashem, this being the 4 square cubits of Jewish law and Awe of heaven. Perforce, it is found that even these [- even those of Rebbi Chiya's calibre -] should be trained to be community workers. And secondly, through the “teach each other” [method]…
Ma'amar Mezakeh HaRabim 2:4
The Value of Torah Teachers
TOSEFTA
The Tosefta, an ancient collection of rabbinic laws and teachings from the land of Israel, emphasizes the importance of Torah education in its description of the priorities in the rescuing of captives. This early third-century text prioritizes the release of captives based on their role in teaching, highlighting the high value placed on Torah study and the respect for teachers in Jewish tradition.
[If] he and his father and his teacher were taken as captive, he [should be released] before his teacher, and his teacher before his father, but his mother before any man. Who is his "teacher"? His teacher who taught him Torah, not his teacher who taught him a trade. And which one is that? The one who began and initiated with him [Torah study]. Rabbi Meir says, his teacher that taught him wisdom, not his teacher that taught him Torah. Rabbi Yehuda says, the one who taught him most of his instruction. Rabbi Yosei says, the one who opened his eyes to the Mishnah.
Tosefta Horayot 2:5
From Self-Interest to Service to God in Torah Education
KABBALAH
The journey from self-interest to altruism in teaching Torah and commandments is an important developmental process for a learner. Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, in his discourse 'Kuntres Matan Torah,' explores how spiritual education evolves from personal gain to divine service.
When they start to educate him to observe the Torah and the commandments for the sake of self-love, it is for the sake of reward in this world and the next, called “doing it not for its own sake.” For he cannot be accustomed to it any other way. As he grows older, he is taught how to engage in the commandments for their own sake, which is focusing one’s intent solely on giving satisfaction to one’s maker, as Maimonides said that women and children should not be taught to engage in the Torah and the commandments for their own sake because they could not manage it…
Kuntres Mattan Torah, First Discourse; The Giving of the Torah 25
The Hierarchy of Teaching
HALAKHAH
A structured method of teaching ensures the accurate and respectful transmission of Torah teachings. Rambam’s famed 12th-century code of Jewish law, Mishneh Torah, outlines a protocol for teaching Torah, emphasizing the importance of a spokesman in maintaining the integrity of the teacher's words.
If the teacher [desires] to instruct the students personally, he is entitled to do so. If he [desires to] teach through the medium of a spokesman, the spokesman should stand between him and the students. The teacher speaks to the spokesman and he announces the teaching to all the students.
When they ask the spokesman a question, he asks the teacher. The teacher, [in turn,] replies to the spokesman and the spokesman replies to the questioner.
The teacher should not raise his voice above that of the spokesman…
Mishneh Torah, Torah Study 4:3
Instilling Lifelong Commitment
CHASIDUT
Education is not just about commands or habits, but about instilling a deep, enduring understanding and commitment to the path of the LORD that persists throughout one's life. Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the Piaseczno Rebbe, in his early 20th-century work 'Chovat HaTalmidim,' offers profound insights into Jewish education and spiritual development.
King Solomon said in Proverbs (22, 6): "Teach the lad according to his way, so that also in his old age he will not turn from it." This is the core of education: that not only at the time the child is young and in the domain of his father that he will listen and do according to the commandments, rather also when he grows up and is in his own domain, even when he becomes elderly he will not turn from it. Because education is not only commands, that one should command his son or student "Do such and such," so too is it not just habit, that one accustoms his son or student to good deeds…
Chovat HaTalmidim, Introduction 2
The Duty to Teach
MIDRASH
The early 20th-century compilation, Ein Yaakov, a 15th-century compilation of talmudic stories, parables, and biblical interpretation, emphasizes the Jewish value of education, including the injunction to teach one's child everything from a profession to life-saving skills like swimming.
"And one is in duty bound to teach his son an occupation." Whence do we infer this? Said R. Ezekiah: "The passage says (Ecc, 9, 9) Enjoy life with the wife whom thou lovest; i.e., if it refers to a real wife, then we assume that just as well as one is to marry off his son, so also it is his duty to teach him a trade. And if it refers to the Torah, we can say just as one is in duty bound to teach his son so is he in duty bound to teach him an occupation. According to some authorities, he is even in duty bound to teach his son how to swim…
Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Kiddushin 1:12
The Patience of a Teacher
COMMENTARY
Effective teaching requires patience and a willingness to explain concepts repeatedly until students fully understand. Rabbeinu Yonah's commentary on Pirkei Avot, a work of ancient rabbinic ethics and wisdom from the land of Israel, offers an explanation of the behaviors of a patient teacher.
An impatient person cannot teach: It is not needed that a teacher be angry nor that he be short of [patience]; but rather [he should] be magnanimous and answer everything (that he has) that they ask. Even if they have difficulty in understanding his answer, he should review it for them until they come to the depth of the matter.
Rabbeinu Yonah on Pirkei Avot 2:5:3
The Teacher's Conduct
HALAKHAH
The personal conduct and physical well-being of a teacher are crucial for effective teaching. The Shulchan Arukh, in the authoritative 16th-century code of Jewish law, emphasizes the importance of a teacher's dedication and proper conduct in Jewish education.
A teacher of children who leaves the children and goes out, or who does other work with them, or who is lax in his teaching, he is included in the statement: "Cursed is he who does the work of Hashem deceitfully" (Yirmiyahu 48:10). Therefore, a teacher should not be appointed unless he is G-d fearing, quick to read, and precise in teaching. [Rema]: And a teacher should not stay up too late at night, so that he will not be lazy during the day to teach. And similarly, he should not fast, or abstain from food and drink, or eat and drink excessively…
Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah 245:17
Prioritizing Torah Study
LITURGY
The hierarchy of Torah study places the study of Talmud above Mishna and Bible, yet also advises prioritizing Mishna over Talmud. The Seder Ma'amadot, a section of the Talmud, discusses the daily prayers and readings associated with the Ma'amadot, emphasizing the importance of different types of Torah study.
The Sages taught in a baraita: For those who engage in the study of Bible, it is a virtue but not a complete virtue. For those who engage in the study of Mishna, it is a virtue and they receive reward for its study. For those who engage in the study of Talmud, you have no virtue greater than that. And always pursue study of the Mishna more than study of the Talmud.
Seder Ma'amadot 1:27
The Lifelong Impact of Education
TANAKH
Early and consistent training is crucial in shaping a person's lifelong behavior. The book of Proverbs, part of the Hebrew Bible, offers wisdom on living a moral and righteous life, emphasizing the importance of early education and moral guidance.
Train a lad in the way he ought to go;
He will not swerve from it even in old age.
Proverbs 22:6
Copybook of a teacher or preacher in Italy, 18th century. Library of Congress, African and Middle East Division, Hebraic Section Manuscript Collection
Copybook of a teacher or preacher in Italy, 18th century. Library of Congress, African and Middle East Division, Hebraic Section Manuscript Collection

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