Fifty Years of Shabbat Morning Torah Study
By Michael Cole, Holy Blossom Archives Committee
This year will mark fifty years of Shabbat morning Torah Study at Holy Blossom. The very first class took place on October 5, 1974, on Shabbat Sukkot. Oddly enough, it occurred without much fanfare. The occasion was simply announced in the Bulletin of September 30, the class to begin at 9:30, before the Shabbat service at 11:00. (Yes, our Saturday morning services began that late!) At he Board of Trustees meeting of September 19, Rabbi Plaut, at the very end of the meeting, “mentioned his Shabbat Study Group which will be held each Shabbat 9:30 to 10:30 am.” No discussion followed.
Although there was little advance publicity, the first class was well attended, and it has been so ever since. Indeed, word of Torah study at Holy Blossom has gone out beyond the congregation, and many of our regular participants have not been Holy Blossom members, although some of these have gone on to become members. (Newcomers are always welcome!)
Covid, of course, presented a challenge, which we met by meeting virtually. If anything, the number of people attending Torah study increased, as people came online from locales as far away as California and Israel. Our classes today are hybrid. People still attend online, often from cottages and vacation spots, while many of us have returned to the Max Enkin Board Room—and several newcomers have joined us.
At the very first class, Rabbi Plaut told us that we would be using his just-published Commentary on Genesis as our text. We would work our way through the book week by week, for however long it took to complete. In fact, it took a few years before we finished Genesis, as we would often spend an entire class on one or two verses. From the beginning, Torah study classes have been interactive, with members of the class contributing as much to the discussion as the teacher.
By the time we finished Genesis, Rabbi Plaut had retired as Senior Rabbi of Holy Blossom (to become Senior Scholar). He was succeeded by Rabbi Fields. During Rabbi Field’s tenure, the commentaries to the other four books of the Torah were released, and, in 1981, the first edition of the complete, one-volume Torah Commentary was published.
During Rabbi Field’s time, we began an examination of the portion of the week. One year, we looked at the haftarah portion of the week. Under Rabbi Marmur’s tutelage, our class embarked on the Book of Exodus (which I’m not sure we ever completed) and, one year, we explored the Five Megillot. Another time, we began a study of the book of Jeremiah, but abandoned the prophet because the class found him too depressing!
Rabbi Moscowitz engaged us in an intensive study of Genesis and Exodus. We spent a good deal of time on the creation story as interpreted by ‘the rav,’ Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik. Rabbi Moscowitz also led us in exploring the nature of good and evil in the Torah and in a study of Torah through the eyes of Hasidic masters.
Rabbi Splansky has returned us to the study of the portion of the week, although sometimes, the season of the year or the cycle of holy days will dictate the text and subject of our study. At other times, the (often unfortunate) events of the week will, at least momentarily, influence the mood, if not the subject, of our study.
Of course, we still refer to the Plaut Commentary. In addition, the development of Safaria, a powerful resource tool, has allowed us to explore and discuss a wide range of texts, from the Bible itself, through the classical rabbis, to contemporary poets. (In 1974, there was no internet, no Google, and no smart phones!)
Over the years, we have welcomed numerous guest teachers, including our associate and assistant rabbis. Many of our guests have come from the United States and Israel. Probably our most frequent guest has been Rabbi Don Splansky, always an inspirational scholar and teacher.
Simchat Torah teaches us that the reading of Torah never ends and that we renew our commitment to its study every year. As we embark on our fifty-first year of Shabbat morning Torah study, we say shechiyanu and give thanks to God for having brought us to this day!
