Jewish Values: Talmud Torah
By Rabbi Min Kantrowitz - Jewish Values #9: Talmud Torah
Each edition of NMJJ highlights one of the many Jewish values that guide our lives. Each of these values underlies our Jewish community, regardless of any individuals’ religious observances or practices. These values form the ethical structure of the community. They are not presented in order of importance…all of them, together, weave a fabric of support, inspiration and hope for increased compassion and justice in our shared world.
Jewish people are often referred to as “people of the book,” not only because of our relationship to “THE Book” (the Bible), but also because study and education are important Jewish values. Children are encouraged to learn, often starting to learn to decode the Hebrew alphabet years before kindergarten. There is a tradition to write the first few letters of the Hebrew alphabet aleph, bet on a slate (or plate) using honey to form the letters, as a way of communicating this value… “let your learning be sweet.” Among bookstores there is an informal saying “JBB”—“Jews Buy Books”!
The two words that express this value “Talmud Torah” encompass how this value is actually lived. The word “talmud” is derived from the root “Lamed, Mem, Dalet” which means to study or learn, but it also refers to The Talmud, a huge multivolume compendium of Jewish oral law, teaching, lore and discussions, which includes puns, word play and stories about ordinary people and unusual situations. The word "Torah," meaning “law" or “instruction” in Hebrew, can also refer to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) collectively known as the Pentateuch (meaning "five books" in Greek). In practice studying any Jewish literature, whether part of the accepted canon of sacred writings or not, is considered Talmud Torah.
Jewish life is infused with study: Shabbat services every week include readings from sacred texts, often with discussions of their relevance today, traditional marriages often include the opportunity for the couple to expound upon a relevant section of the Bible, Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremonies celebrate the young person being recognized as a Jewish adult by reading from the Torah scroll. Funeral services employ sections from Psalms and other sections of the Hebrew Bible. There is a large volume of Jewish themed poetry, commentary, fiction and historical analysis. Jewish jokes abound. Wisdom, in the Jewish tradition, can be found in both sacred and ordinary texts and experiences.
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SEE ALL Jewish Values by Rabbi Kantrowitz HERE .
Jewish Values by Rabbi Kantrowitz published to date:
Jewish Values: Love your neighbor as yourself #1
Jewish Values: B’Tzelem Elohim "in the image of God" #2
Jewish Values: Shmirat ha Adama to guard/protect/watch the earth #3
Jewish Values: Rodef Shalom - Pursue Peace #4
Jewish Values: Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof - Pursue Justice #5
Jewish Values: Pe’ah - Dignified helping the needy #6
Jewish Values: Gemilut Chasadim - To Bestow Lovingkindness #7
Jewish Values: Tikkun Olam #8
Jewish Values: Talmud Torah #9
Jewish Values: Tikkun Olam #8 by Rabbi Min Kantrowitz was awarded Second Place, Columns, General, New Mexico Press Women Communications Contest 2026.
Rabbi Min Kantrowitz is a Rabbi, educator and author. A 2004 graduate of the transdenominational Academy for Jewish Religion, California, she is the author of “Counting the Omer: A Kabbalistic Meditation Guide” (Gaon Press) and co-author of “One God: Three Paths” a prayerbook written by a Christian and a Moslem and a Jew. Rabbi Kantrowitz is a Rabbis Without Borders Fellow who served as Rabbinic Advisor to Congregation Nahalat Shalom and served on the Board of Directors of Hopeworks, and the Steering Committee of Hillel at UNM and as a founding member of the New Mexico Jewish Journal. Rabbi Kantrowitz is a former psychologist, a former architect/planner, a wife, mother and the proud Bubbie of three grandsons.
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Shabbat with Friends: Recapturing Together the Joy of Shabbat
New Mexico Jewish Historical Society
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