The Blessing of Torah

Recognizing the Divine Source of Torah

Synopsis: The Blessing of Torah

The Torah teaches that we must acknowledge G-d before studying Torah, expressed through the blessing recited before Torah learning. The Talmud makes a startling statement: the First Temple was destroyed because the Jewish people “did not recite the blessing over the Torah.” Yet they continued to study Torah and were guilty of far more serious sins, such as idolatry, murder, and immorality. Why, then, does the Talmud identify their failure to bless the Torah as the underlying cause?

The answer is that the blessing represents recognition that Torah is Divine wisdom, rather than merely an intellectual discipline. Torah protects a person from evil only when studied with an awareness of its Divine source. The Rebbe explains this through the symbolism of the Torah beginning with bet, the first letter of berachah (blessing), rather than aleph, the first letter of arur (curse). The “aleph” of recognizing G-d must precede the “bet” of intellectual Torah study.

This also explains why Moses emphasized the blessing at the end of his life, before teaching the generation that would enter Israel. Unlike the generation of Sinai, they needed an explicit reminder of Torah’s Divine nature.

Finally, the connection to the Song of Haazinu teaches that even Torah as “song”—beautiful, inspiring, and infinite—is only a secondary expression of Torah’s ultimate Divine essence. The Torah of the future Messianic Age will reveal this infinity far more profoundly.

The Biblical Source for Birkat HaTorah

Rabbi Yehudah said: From where in the Torah do we derive the obligation to recite a blessing prior to studying Torah?

For it is written:

“When I call out the name of G-d, ascribe greatness to our G-d.”

Rashi explains that these words were spoken as an introduction to the Song of Haazinu. Moses, therefore, informs the Jewish people that he will first recite a blessing, and that the people should respond to it.

According to the classic commentary known as the Maharsha, the verse is interpreted as follows: “When I call out the name of G-d” refers to studying Torah, which is considered to represent G-d’s name. “Ascribe greatness to our G-d” means that one should recite a blessing that expresses and acknowledges G-d’s greatness.

There is a subtle difference between Rashi’s explanation and that of the Maharsha. According to Rashi, Moses himself recited the blessing before reciting words of Torah. According to the Maharsha, however, Moses was instructing the people to recite the blessing, while he himself did not necessarily recite it.

Either way, it appears that reciting a blessing before studying Torah is a Biblical obligation. Indeed, Nachmanides considers this obligation to be one of the 613 Biblical commandments—in fact, the final one—and he strongly critiques Maimonides for omitting it from his count of the 613 commandments.

Some commentators understood Maimonides to regard the obligation to recite the blessing as merely rabbinic, although it is hinted at in the Torah.

However, a more plausible explanation for Maimonides’ omission is that although he, too, considered the obligation to be Biblical, he nevertheless maintained that it should not be counted as a separate commandment within the enumeration of the 613 commandments. Rather, it is subsumed within the commandment to study Torah.

The blessing over Torah learning is therefore an integral component of the Mitzvah of Torah study.

According to this interpretation, one who learns Torah without first reciting the blessing beforehand has not truly fulfilled the Mitzvah of Torah study in its complete form.

Why Did Moses Introduce This Obligation Only at the End of His Life?

A fundamental question, however, presents itself.

It appears that Moses established—or at least explicitly communicated—the need for a blessing over Torah only at the very end of his life. Why do we not find any mention of his reciting a blessing over the Torah during the preceding forty years?

And if G-d waited until this point to communicate this obligation, we must understand why.

This question is particularly vexing according to the interpretation of Maimonides that Torah study without the blessing is somehow defective. If the blessing is an integral and inseparable component of Torah study, why was this principle not emphasized throughout the forty years in the desert?

Furthermore, as noted above, according to the Maharsha’s approach, Moses himself did not recite the blessing. The question then becomes even stronger: Why would Moses command the people to recite a blessing while apparently exempting himself from fulfilling this commandment?

At first glance, this would seem to lend credence to those commentators who maintain that the blessing over Torah is not a Biblical commandment. But how do those who maintain that Maimonides regarded the blessing as an integral and inseparable component of Torah study explain Moses’ apparent exemption?

To answer these questions, it is crucial that we first understand the purpose of the blessing and why, according to Maimonides, it constitutes an integral part of the Mitzvah of Torah study.

Why Is the Blessing Connected to a Song?

There is another question that must be addressed.

Why is the blessing over Torah juxtaposed specifically with the Song of Haazinu? What is the connection between a blessing over Torah and a song?

The answer to these questions can be found by analyzing a rather puzzling discussion in the Talmud, in Nedarim 81a which cites a Biblical verse in the Book of Jeremiah that discusses the reason the Jews were exiled: “Who is the wise man who will understand this…” This question as to why the Land of Israel was destroyed was presented to the Sages and to the Prophets, yet they were unable to explain it until the Holy One, Blessed be He, Himself explained the reason, as the verse continues:

“And G-d said: Because of their forsaking My Torah…”

The Talmud proceeds to explain the meaning of this verse by pointing to an apparent redundancy.

The verse states:

“They did not heed My voice,” and then continues with words that seem to repeat the same idea: “Nor follow it.”

Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav:

“Nor follow it” means that they did not recite the blessing over the Torah first.

This statement is extraordinarily difficult to understand.

The Mystery of the Destruction

From the Talmud’s words it appears that the destruction of the First Temple and the ensuing exile remained a mystery even to the Sages and Prophets until it was revealed to them that the underlying cause was the failure to recite the blessings on the Torah.

In other words, the Jewish people had not abandoned Torah learning. They continued to study Torah. What was missing was an appreciation of the Torah. This raises an obvious and profound question.

How could the Sages and Prophets not know why the Jewish people had been exiled from their land?

The prophetic books make it abundantly clear that the people were guilty of the most heinous crimes, including murder, adultery, and idolatry. In addition, they failed to observe the agricultural laws of the Sabbatical year, causing the Land to “spit them out,” precisely as the Torah had warned.

Isn’t the neglect of reciting a blessing over Torah learning pale in comparison with these other, seemingly far more serious crimes?

The commentators explain that failure to recite the blessing demonstrated that the Torah was not precious to them.

But that explanation itself requires clarification.

Does a lack of enthusiasm or appreciation for a Mitzvah really warrant the catastrophic consequences of exile? How could the failure to appreciate Torah be the underlying cause of the destruction when murder, adultery, and idolatry were being committed?

To understand this, we must probe more deeply into what happens when Torah is studied without the recital of its blessing.

Torah: The Ultimate Protection Against Evil

One way to appreciate the seriousness of the failure to recite the blessing over Torah is to reflect on how the Jewish people were able to degenerate to such a low spiritual level that they ultimately committed the heinous crimes that necessitated the destruction of the Temple and the ensuing exile.

This is especially puzzling when we remember that during the era of the First Temple, G-d’s Presence was revealed to a degree unparalleled in subsequent generations.

How could a generation that lived in such an environment of Divine revelation fall so precipitously?

The answer is that precisely because of the heightened level of holiness, there had to be a correspondingly powerful counterforce.

The greater the revelation of holiness, the greater the potential force of its opposite. There was therefore an exceptionally powerful attraction to idolatry and to all of its accompanying vices—the antithesis of the Divine unity that was so powerfully revealed during that era.

When the forces of impurity are dominant, the ultimate antidote is the study of Torah.

Our Sages state in Sotah 21a that Torah possesses the power to protect a person, both physically and spiritually.

But there is a crucial qualification.

Torah has the power to protect only when it is studied with the recognition that it is Divine wisdom. When Torah is studied without an awareness of its Divine source, it can actually have the opposite effect.

Indeed, the Talmud teaches:

“If one is worthy, Torah is a potion of life; if one is not worthy, it can become a potion of death.”

This is the deeper significance of the blessing over Torah. The blessing establishes, before the person even begins to study, that the Torah he is about to engage with is not merely an intellectual discipline. It is Divine wisdom.

The Rebbe’s Insight: Aleph Before Bet

The Rebbe referred to a teaching found in the Jerusalem Talmud and Midrash concerning the fact that the Torah begins with the letter bet, rather than aleph.

Aleph is the first letter of the word arur, “cursed,” whereas bet is the first letter of berachah, “blessing.”

The Rebbe explained that this teaches us something profound about the proper approach to Torah study.

When a person begins his Torah study with the intellectual component—with the bet, so to speak, without first establishing the aleph of Divine devotion—Torah can, Heaven forbid, become a source of the opposite of blessing. It can become, in the terminology of the Talmud, a “potion of death.”

But when a person’s aleph-first step is his devotion to and recognition of the Divine aspect of Torah, and only afterward does he proceed to its intellectual component—the bet, the second step—his Torah study leads to blessing.

The order is therefore crucial.

First comes the recognition that Torah is Divine. Only then should one engage the intellect in analyzing, questioning, comparing, and understanding Torah.

The blessing before Torah study accomplishes precisely this. It establishes the proper starting point.

The Torah learner first acknowledges the Divine source of Torah and only then enters into the intellectual world of Torah study.

When Torah Loses Its Divine Dimension

This enables us to understand what happened to the Jewish people in the First Temple era.

They continued to study Torah, but they did so without the proper attitude toward its holiness and Divine origin.

Their Torah study therefore failed to insulate them from the allure of idolatry and other forms of evil.

More than that: their Torah study, when divorced from its Divine source, actually invigorated the forces of impurity. Torah itself is holy, but when its Divine character is ignored, the enormous intellectual and spiritual energy invested in its study can be misdirected.

Ultimately, this contributed to the spiritual deterioration that led to the destruction of the First Temple.

The Blessing Was Not the Sin That Caused the Destruction

We can now understand why the Talmud identifies the failure to bless the Torah as the cause of the destruction.

The sin of failing to recite the blessing in and of itself would not warrant the destruction of the Temple.

It was certainly the more heinous crimes mentioned above—murder, adultery, idolatry, and the other violations—that were directly responsible for the destruction.

But had the people blessed the Torah, thereby recognizing and glorifying its Divine nature, the Torah would have provided them with its protective power.

It would have shielded them from the forces of impurity, and the balance of power would have shifted toward the powerful forces of holiness.

Thus, the failure to recite the blessing was not merely another sin on a long list of sins.

It was the spiritual root that explains how the other sins could have become so powerful.

The blessing determines the way in which Torah itself functions in the life of the person and, ultimately, in the life of the nation.

When Torah is recognized as Divine wisdom, it becomes a source of life and protection.

When Torah is reduced to an intellectual discipline, divorced from its Divine source, it can tragically lose its protective power.

Why Moses Introduced the Blessing at the End of His Life

We can now understand why Moses introduced the Mitzvah of reciting the blessing over Torah as he was about to leave this world—and why, according to the Maharsha, he himself did not need to recite the blessing.

Throughout the Jewish people’s forty-year stay in the desert, there was no need to remind them of the Divine nature of Torah.

These were the people who had heard G-d Himself proclaim the Ten Commandments.

They had witnessed G-d summoning Moses to Mount Sinai to receive the remainder of the Torah.

They had experienced the revelation of Sinai in an immediate and tangible way.

They did not need the blessing over Torah to remind them of its Divine source.

Moses certainly did not need to be reminded of the Divinity of Torah.

He had experienced the Divine revelation more profoundly than anyone else.

However, the situation was about to change.

Most of the generation that Moses was addressing in his final days, the generation that was destined to enter the Land of Israel, had not personally experienced the revelation at Sinai.

For them, Moses had a special need to command that the Torah be preceded by a blessing.

They were about to enter a world in which Torah would have to function differently.

They would enter the Land, engage in agriculture, commerce, politics, warfare, and all the ordinary activities of physical life. They would no longer live in the spiritually protected environment of the desert, sustained by miraculous Divine intervention.

They therefore needed the blessing to establish the proper consciousness: Torah is Divine wisdom.

That awareness would be their protection against the spiritual challenges of the physical world.

Why the Blessing Was Introduced Before Haazinu

The above also sheds light on another important detail: Moses introduced the need for a blessing prior to the Song of Haazinu.

The Mitzvah of writing a Torah scroll is based on the commandment to write the Song of Haazinu, which Maimonides extends to the entire Torah.

This suggests that the Torah is being referred to as a song, rather than merely as prose.

Why is Torah a song?

What does the metaphor of song teach us about the essence of Torah?

The answer lies in the unique quality of song.

Torah as an Infinite Song

A song represents an endless cycle.

Unlike ordinary prose, which proceeds from one idea to another in a linear fashion, a song has rhythm, repetition, return, and infinite possibility.

This dimension of Torah evokes G-d’s infinity.

The Torah is not merely a finite body of information that can be mastered intellectually. It is Divine wisdom, and therefore its depth is inexhaustible.

Every time one returns to Torah, one can discover another dimension.

The image of Torah as song therefore calls for a blessing that emphasizes precisely these qualities: its Divine origin, its infinite depth, and its transcendence.

Before entering into the intellectual dimensions of Torah, one must acknowledge that the Torah ultimately transcends the limitations of human intellect.

The blessing serves as that acknowledgment.

The Song Is Not the Ultimate Dimension of Torah

There is, however, another dimension to the metaphor of song.

The image of a song can be misconstrued as merely a therapeutic balm for a troubled soul.

We find this idea in the words of King David, who referred to Torah as a song that soothed him in the face of the adversity and suffering he experienced.

King David was reprimanded for this comparison.

The Alter Rebbe explains that the dimension of Torah represented by song is actually the back-side, or secondary aspect, of Torah.

Torah certainly has the capacity to inspire, comfort, uplift, and heal. But these are not its ultimate qualities.

The essence of Torah is far greater. Torah is Divine wisdom itself.

Thus, the blessing over Torah was necessary at this particular point, before the Song of Haazinu, to underscore that Torah as Divine wisdom transcends all of its secondary manifestations—including the dimension of Torah represented by song.

The song is beautiful, profound, and spiritually uplifting, but it remains a secondary expression of the Torah’s infinite Divine essence.

Torah Today and the Torah of the Messianic Age

This perspective gives us a deeper understanding of the conclusion of Moses’ message.

Our Sages tell us that the Torah we study today is like mere breath when compared with the Torah that will be revealed in the future.

The Torah of today, profound as it is, represents only a limited revelation of the infinite Divine wisdom.

Moses therefore introduces the Song of Haazinu with the acknowledgment of the blessing over Torah.

Even this magnificent song is ultimately only a limited expression of the Torah’s infinite Divine essence.

Compared with the Torah that will be revealed in the Messianic Age, the Torah we know today is but a faint reflection.

Thus, when Moses prepared to sing Haazinu, he wanted the Jewish people to understand that they were not merely about to hear a beautiful song.

They were about to encounter Torah. And Torah is Divine.

The blessing before Torah study therefore establishes the most fundamental principle of all:

Before we seek to understand Torah intellectually, we must first recognize Who gave it to us.

The aleph must precede the bet.

First comes the acknowledgment of G-d—the Divine source of Torah.

Then comes the intellectual exploration of Torah.

And when the two are joined together, Torah becomes what it was intended to be: a Torah of blessing, a Torah of life, and ultimately a preparation for the infinite revelation of Torah in the Messianic Age.