Seeking out the hidden talent

Writing in his Eternal Ethics From Sinai, R’ Yaakov Hillel speaks out on every issue that troubles him. Since he pulls no punches, this makes for reading that is always entertaining, generally stimulating and sometimes extremely discomforting. It also highlights points of conflict and inconsistency within our own thinking.

A case in point is Avot 1:13, where Hillel teaches נְגַד שְׁמָא אֲבַד שְׁמֵהּ. R’ Hillel, who renders this as “One who seeks a big name for himself will lose his own name”, makes no secret of his scorn for people who are only in the world of Torah for the fame, the glory and the self-seeking adulation that accompanies, in particular, the use of the electronic media as a means of promoting the word of God—be this the radio or the social media. In principle I do not think that this position can be faulted. The only problem, as usual, as with the practice. The use of the electronic media to promote Torah attracts attention, praise and celebrity whether the rabbis concerned seek it or not. Even before the era of the internet, rabbis who wrote sefarim, books of profound Torah wisdom, were adulated by readers whom they had never met, the Chafetz Chaim being an obvious example of a man whose scholarship and devotion to Torah brought him celebrity status which he had never desired and for which he had never sought.

But then R’ Hillel writes this:

“Until recently, our people were guided by the daat Torah of distinguished Torah luminaries. The elder Torah scholars of past generations recognized the caliber and potential of their younger peers. … Times have changed, and not for the better. Now, it is the billboards, magazines, leaflets, and direct mailings [note: R’ Hillel does not mention the internet, which is probably the most effective means of promulgating information on the planet] that brought their successors to the notice of the public, giving them the stamp of authority and reliability. For a fairly modest sum, these forums are readily available even to the most unreasonable and unreliable individuals. …

As a result, scholars who are fluent in Talmud and the writings of the halachic authorities are disregarded without a qualm, while a charismatic ignoramus [no name is mentioned] wheedles his way into broadcasting a daily mix of halachic rulings and personal opinion. What do these speakers know of halachah, and what are their opinions worth? Precious little. But the masses are not monitoring out-of-the-way batei midrash to see who is learning Torah through the night—they follow the newspapers and street placards. May G-d spare us, but this is how influence is established nowadays: advertising is everything”.

Strong words indeed. But there is plenty to say in mitigation of this position. Let us consider the following:

•          There is an unprecedented explosion of Torah scholarship both in Israel and the diaspora, as the number of people who dedicate their lives to Torah study increases. As this continues, the number of Torah scholars with impeccable credentials is bound to increase. This makes it increasingly difficult to achieve any sort of consensus as to who are the gedolim baTorah, the great Torah scholars, of our generation.
  
  
•          More and more people seek to learn Torah through means such as the social media, which were not available to previous generations. These new avenues for the promulgation of Jewish scholarship and values cannot be ignored.
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•          R’ Hillel rightly praises those who learn in out-of-the-way places and dedicate their lives to sincere and committed Torah study. But how are we to find them when they do so? We can hardly be blamed for ignoring them when we have no means of even discovering their existence, R’ Hillel praises those exceptional individuals whose modesty leads them to hide their learning and their piety from the light of day (he cited R’ Tzvi Michel Shapira as an example of a tzaddik who strove never to be caught performing a mitzvah)—but how are we to learn from tzaddikim and scholars who do this?
  
  
•          In any event, with so many people far removed from Torah observance, there is much to be said in favour of even the popular ignoramus. In absolute terms, a scholar who knows 100 things is far superior to one who knows only five. But in practical terms, we benefit from a man who knows five things and teaches all five of them than from one who knows 100 but shares only three.

So, while R’ Hillel is right to condemn those who seek self-glorification and to mourn our inability to home in on the genuinely best and most sincerely committed Torah scholars, I do not believe that it is possible to go back to the old days or to pretend that the social media do not exist. In any event, the problem is not new. The cases of Boethus, Tzadok and Shabbetai Tzvi demonstrate that rabbis of lesser quality or with their own misleading agendas were fully capable of causing havoc, and sometimes irrevocable damage, without any printed or electronic media to promote them. At least now the social media can be put to good use in correcting errors, unmasking charlatans and providing links to correct and authoritative Torah sources.

What do you think?

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Worth looking into...

If you are seriously committed to Pirkei Avot, here are four random items that may be of interest.

Avot in the social media 1: The larger the audience, the greater the responsibility. Though I try to keep up with the Dee Pirkei Avot Project, I’m sometimes a week or two behind. It’s a little while since the Project covered Avot 1:11, where Avtalyon teaches:

“Sages, be careful with your words, lest you incur the penalty of exile and be dispatched to a place of evil waters and the disciples who follow you drink and die, so the name of Heaven becomes profaned”.

The Project, based on an idea by Rebbetzin Chana Hughes, comments as follows:

“If you have more wisdom or knowledge, then by definition you have more responsibility; the power that you hold to influence others’ lives can be significant. Even if you have increased expertise in one area, people are likely to ask for your advice and ideas. The message [of Avtalyon] is particularly valuable today when social media enable more people than ever before to influence others. Although influencers may enjoy the rush of success and feeling of having an impact, it is also crucial to keep in mind the weight of responsibility that comes alongside it. The larger the audience, the more potential there is for misunderstanding and the clearer the communication needs to be”.

Avot Today will be revisiting the subject of the social media again soon, with a post on getting the right balance between learning Torah and spreading it—so watch this space!

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Avot in the social media 2. Spreading the word. So far, 2023 has been a good year for citations of Pirkei Avot on the electronic media. By the end of June last year, Google Alerts picked up 106 references to Pirkei Avot on blogs, websites and articles in the popular press and journals. This year, over the same period and using the same search terms, the number of citations had shot up to 169, an increase of nearly 60 per cent. The most frequently-quoted Mishnah is from R’ Tarfon (Avot 2:21): “It’s not for you to finish the work, but neither are you free to leave off doing it”, an aphorism that is as likely to be found in the mouths of a politician or business as being repeated by a Torah teacher. Next most-heavily cited is Hillel’s injunction to be like Aaron (Avot 1:12), loving peace and pursuing it. Hillel, with seven mishnayot in Avot, remains the Tanna whose teachings get the most citations (17), followed by R’ Tarfon (8) and Ben Zoma (5). Surprisingly, given its popularity last year, Yehoshua ben Perachyah’s advice to judge others favourably has hardly been cited at all in 2023. Does this reflect a change in social attitudes, or is there some other explanation?

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Be afraid—or at least respectful! At 4:15, R’ Elazar ben Shammua says:

יְהִי כְבוֹד תַּלְמִידְךָ חָבִיב עָלֶֽיךָ כְּשֶׁלָּךְ, וּכְבוֹד חֲבֵרְךָ כְּמוֹרָא רַבָּךְ, וּמוֹרָא רַבָּךְ כְּמוֹרָא שָׁמָֽיִם

 "Respect for your student should be as precious to you as your own; respect for your friend should be like your awe for your teacher—and you should be as much in awe of your teacher as you are in awe of Heaven”.

This Mishnah has been rendered into a song, Moireh Rabbach, by simcha singers and brothers Shea and Avrumi Berko, who add:

These inspiring words … portray the love and dedication that Rebbeim and Mechanchim have for their precious Talmidim day in day out, which leads to the awesome respect and admiration that parents and Talmidim alike, give in return to their beloved Rebbeim and Mechanchim.

You can access this song on this link (duration 4 minutes 22 seconds).

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Eternal wisdom. There’s a new ArtScroll title on Pirkei Avot, published this spring: R’ Yechiel Spero’s The Eternal Wisdom of Pirkei Avot. According to the publisher’s website:

In The Eternal Wisdom of Pirkei Avos master teacher and storyteller Rabbi Yechiel Spero shares with us an insight, a story, and a takeaway for every mishnah in Pirkei Avos. By combining the brilliant understanding of the Tannaim with stories as contemporary as today, Rabbi Spero offers us a powerful way to bring the messages of Pirkei Avos into our daily challenges and experiences, enhancing our relationships and bringing new, joyful meaning to our lives.

I’ve not yet had a chance to see it for myself but I’m all in favour of bringing the messages of Avot into our daily challenges, whether through stories of our sages or by seeking out novel interpretations of the messages themselves.

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