By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
SAN DIEGO — Tifereth Israel Synagogue owns twelve Torah Scrolls. Nine are in the Silverman Sanctuary, two are in the Goodman Chapel, and one is a Holocaust Memorial Scroll.
Visitors to the synagogue are impressed by the number of Torah scrolls in our Arks. They are even more surprised to learn that, except for differences in calligraphy, they all contain exactly the same text.
The current text of the Torah was fixed and published by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes who lived between the 7th and 10th century C.E. Before the Masoretes, one could find slight differences in some scrolls due to scribal errors and different textual traditions. Because of the Masoretes, today all Torah Scrolls are identical. If you are reading a Torah Scroll and find an error, it is taken out of use until it is corrected.
The Midrash ascribes the fixing of Torah Scrolls to an earlier time. According to the Midrash, Moses wrote the first Torah Scroll himself and kept it in the Ark of the Covenant. This tradition is traced to the Book of Exodus where God says to the Israelites: “And deposit in the Ark the Pact which I will give you.” (Ex. 25:16) According to Rashi, the “Pact” refers to the entire Torah. Thus Moses kept his Torah in the Ark. (Note: most scholars believe that the “Pact” refers to the tablets with the Ten Commandments. They believe it was the tablets alone that the Ark contained.)
The Midrash further explains that before Moses died, he had twelve copies of his scroll written and gave one to each tribe of Israel. The original scroll was put back in the Ark and kept there as the primary source of all Torah Scrolls. If there was ever a question about the accuracy of a Torah Scroll, it was checked against Moses’ original.When Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin, a renowned Orthodox scholar, died in Jerusalem at the age of 85, one of his eulogizers was Yitzchok Zev Halevi Soloveitchik. Rabbi Soloveitchik said that Rabbi Sorotzkin was not a very public person. He preferred to stay in his home in Jerusalem rather than to be out in public. In this way, he said, Rabbi Sorotzkin was like Moses’ original Torah Scroll; guarded in the Ark. Rabbi Sorotzkin’s “Torah” was protected from any outside influence or change.
With all due respect to Rabbi Sorotzkin’s scholarship and leadership of his community, I do not agree that a talmid chacham (Jewish religious scholar) hiding from society is praiseworthy. It is fairly easy to preserve one’s faith and guard one’s ethical behavior if one lives in a cave or monastery. It is much more difficult to live a Godly life when one is confronted by the difficulties and challenges of life and society.
God made that point when God spoke to Abraham about his intention to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. God specifically said that God would save the city if righteous people were found “in the city.”
Righteousness is defined by the ability to confront and overcome evil, not by one’s ability to hide from it.
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Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego. He may be contacted via leonard.rosenthal@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below must be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the U.S.)
Rabbi Michael Sorotzkin wrote to San Diego Jewish World the following letter:
Editor, San Diego Jewish World:
This year’s mid-February edition of the San Diego Jewish World has an article “Protecting the Torah from errors.” Unfortunately, the article itself did not merit to be protected from errors.
“When Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin, a renowned Orthodox scholar, died in Jerusalem at the age of 85, one f his eulogizers was Yitzchok Zev Halevi Solveitchik.”
RAV Soloveitchik died Erev Yom Kippur, October 11, 1959. My grandfather, Rabbi Zalman died June 27, 1966. I still remember him. Obviously, it could only have happened the other way around. In fact, in Yeshivas Eitz Chaim in Jerusalem in November 1959 it was my grandfather who eulogized Rav. Soloveitchik. This eulogy is printed in his set of discourses, HaDeah vhaDibbur volume 3 page 187. Minimal editorial review can save one from such embarrassing errors.
The NEXT sentence
“Rabbi Soloveitchik said that Rabbi Sorotzkin was not a very public person. He preferred to stay home.”
Rav Sorotzkin was a polyglot, a member of the Polish Senate, head of Vaad haYeshivos, head of Moetzes Gdolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisroel and head of Chinuch Atzmai. He missed his own son’s wedding in Israel beccause he was fundraising for communal needs in America. He did not “prefer to stay at home.”
Rav. Soloveitchik was a much bigger leader in the community. His opinion was sought on all major communal issues of the day. His legacy even continues to this day with thousands following his teachings of a half-century ago. He also did not hide from the community.
What did Rav Zalman say about the Brisker Rav? The eulogy was that Rav Soloveitchik transformed himself through an aggressive pursuit of the absolute Truths of Torah into someone whose thought represented Torah. A new version of this set of speeches might be release in time for Rav. Zalman’s 50th anniversary of his passing this year.
The author continues, “with all due respect … I do not agree…” Would we expect the author to criticize William Shakespeare on use of the English language? Would he criticize Winston Churchill on how to write a speech? When reviewing rabbinic greats, precision and caution would help towards accuracy.
Rabbi Michael Sorotzkin
Jerusalem, Israel
A grandson of Rav Zalman Sorotzkin
Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal replied to Rabbi Sorotzkin as follows:
Dear Rabbi Sorotzkin,
Thank you for bringing this error to my attention. I carelessly reversed the rabbis’ names in the source in which I found the story. (Mishloach Gavoha al Parshat Ha-Torah)
I apologize for incorrectly describing your beloved grandfather’s attitude towards the world and towards life. Thank you for sharing your memories with me. He was a great scholar and leader of the Jewish people. May his name and memory be for a blessing.
However, I do stand by the point I made. I believe that true righteousness is defined. by involvement in the world and all of its challenges.
I understand the sensitivity of criticizing great Torah scholars, in particular Rav Soloveichik whom your grandfather eulogized, but no human being is perfect.
Shalom,
Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
Tifereth Israel Synagogue