A.                                                        BE DELIBERATE IN JUDGEMENT

B.                                                        ESTABLISH MANY STUDENTS

C.                                                        AND MAKE A BOUNDARY AROUND THE TORAH

 

The Anshei Knesses HaG'dolah  (men of the Great Assembly) was formed at the beginning of the restoration of the Second Commonwealth in Judea. c.517 BCE.   With the return of the poor classes of exiles from Babylonia (only 42,000 made aliya with Zerubavel), and the rebuilding of the second Temple, Ezra, the Scribe convened an Assembly composed of Prophets, such as Chaggai and Zacharia, scholars, such as Mordecai (of Purim fame) and other leaders of the community.

 

The function of the Assembly was to reconstruct a viable Jewish society, reestablish the Jewish community and rejuvinate the observance of Torah Law among the inhabitants.  Because nature abhors a vaacum, the small Jewish community that had continued to survive in Judea even after the exile by Nebuchadnezzar, was innundated by foreign immigrants who began living in the desolate land.  Their influences intermingled with what remained of Torah Judaism in Judea....and the strange admixture resulted in a hybrid form of society.  The foreigners adopted Jewish practices and customs, intermingled and then intermarried with the surviving Jewish community....all in a span of 70 years.  (Sounds something like what happened to our brotheres and sisters in Russia from 1917 to to 1987!)

 

Ezra returned to Judea from Babylonia (Iraq).  He was both a Kohen and a learned Scribe.  What he found appalled him.  A Jewish society could not exist in a hybrid state.  His function was to discern who was geneologically Jewish and who was not.  It was not an exercise in chauvanism; it was a national imperitive. 

 

The Temple was being rebuilt and he had to know who could enter and offer sacrifices.  While a non-Jew could always send his offering he could not participate in it.  (He would, of course receive the same expiation of his sins, nontheless).  It was neccesary to determine who was obligated to perform Mitzvohs.  In order to preserve a heritage everyone was asked to present their 'sefer yuchsin' geneology chart, whereby they could trace their descent.

 

As a result The Great Assembly enacted certain Takanos (legislation). Under the threat of expulsion from the Jewish community, Jewish men and women divorced their respective spouses.  The Assembly collected and arranged the makings of our Siddur.  They legislated that the Torah reading, which was until now, performed on Shabbos morning, as per Moses' instruction, was now to be read on Shabbos afternoon (at the Mincha service, Monday and Thursday mornings.  These were the market days when outlying farmers would bring their produce to town for marketing, and would have an opportunity to hear the words of the Torah.

 

They undertook to reconstruct the sources of parts of the Halacha of the Torah, that were forgotten or fell into disuse due to the difficult political times.  Their gargantuan challenge was undertaken, using the Hermenutical principles of interpretation which Moshe had been given by G-d, on Sinai.  They emphasized three teachings:

 

 

A.                                                        BE DELIBERATE IN JUDGEMENT

B.                                                        ESTABLISH MANY STUDENTS

C.                                                        AND MAKE A BOUNDARY AROUND THE TORAH

 

Why is “Establish Many Students” that important?   

 

The insurers of the continuity of Torah understood that only with widespread dissemination of Torah will it be preserved.  An educated nation will continue to live.  The more students, the stronger the body and the stronger the communal commitment.

 

Since Torah was both Written and Oral, its wide dissemination and its constant study would provide an insurance against errors in its transmission.  While it is possible for one or two  people to forget or err...when matched with a multitude who study, it is easily discerned what is a valid text or oral transmission and what is incorrect.

 

The statement has another meaning also.

 

The text reads: “v'hemidu” –  and ESTABLISH many students.  It does not say “Limdu”– TEACH  many students.

 

We are dealing here with a situation analogous to the "grants" system in our universities.  The Mishna says: SUPPORT students so they can study! True scholarship demands commitment of time almost to the exclusion of anything else.  We would not have renowned scientists and mathematicians if they did devote their lives to the theory and practice of their respective disciplines... nor would we have Torah scholarship if men did not devote their lives to the study of Torah!  There is no difference.

 

The Mitzvah of Talmud Torah is universal for all Jews, but how much time can a Jew who is a realtor or a pharmacist or a storekeeper devote, even on a fixed regular basis?  Deep scholarship is exclusive... but it requires the financial support of the community, for its own interest, to allow its 'Doctoral' graduate students to learn and bring their guidance and teachings to the Jewish community.

 

This is what is meant by ESTABLISH many students.