One of Maimonides’ thirteen principles of faith states: “This Torah will not be replaced, and there will never be another Torah from the Creator, blessed be His name.” Naturally, we might expect this principle to be emphasized most prominently in the laws of Torah study, given the well-known assertion: “Torah study is equivalent to all the commandments.” Yet, paradoxically, it is precisely in this realm, the laws of Torah study, where some of the most dramatic changes have occurred over the generations. These were true revolutions that significantly broadened access to Torah learning.
Let us explore three major revolutions that reshaped Torah study throughout history. A common denominator of these revolutions is that they were all justified using a rabbinical reading—in itself revolutionary—of the verse “It is a time to act for God; they have violated Your Torah.”[1] According to the sages this verse can be also read as saying, “It is time to act for God—by violating your Torah.” The sages meant by this that at times when the Torah is endangered, we must sacrifice part of it in order to rescue all of it. As the Talmud puts it: “Sometimes the annulment of Torah is its very preservation.”[2]
From these three bold revolutions we may infer that we stand at the threshold of a fourth revolution, one that we are called upon to initiate.
First Revolution: Writing Down the Oral Torah
From the time of the giving of the Torah at Sinai, there was a clear distinction between the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. Everything not explicitly written in the Five Books of Moses (and later in the entire 24 books of the Tanakh)—laws, interpretations, scriptural expositions, and rabbinic enactments—was required to be transmitted orally. As the sages state, “Things transmitted orally must not be written down,” thus maintaining a living tradition within the study halls.
This tradition changed dramatically with Rabbi Yehudah HaNassi, who finalized the text of the Mishnah and committed it to writing. The sages explained that this step was taken due to the pressing circumstances of the time, to prevent the Oral tradition of the Torah from being forgotten amidst the hardships of exile and oppression. Rabbi Yehudah HaNassi realized that “It is a time to act for God—violating Your Torah”: the prohibition against writing the Oral Torah had to be overridden in order to preserve the Torah itself.
At first glance, the writing of the Oral Torah might seem like a concession—a necessity brought on by the decline of the generations. But upon deeper reflection, it becomes clear this was a positive and Divinely guided development. For centuries, the Oral Torah had been brewing, so to speak, within the study halls, and it was not yet appropriate to ossify it by committing it to writing. However, by the time of Rabbi Yehudah HaNassi, the Oral Torah had reached maturity and could now be preserved and codified in writing.
Indeed, Rabbi Yehudah HaNassi’s first revolution in Torah learning paved the way for the emergence of the entire Jewish library, which continues to expand to this day. Alongside this, the archetype of the Jewish scholar—the “man of the book” steeped in the vast corpus of Torah literature, especially the Oral Torah—was born from this pivotal transformation.
Second Revolution: Torah as Profession
Rabbi Tzaddok taught: “Do not make [the words of Torah]… a spade with which to dig.”[3] This principle, that one must not derive material benefit from Torah study, was codified by Maimonides in one of his most forceful rulings:
Anyone who decides to engage in Torah study while refraining from work, living off charity, desecrates God’s name, disgraces the Torah, extinguishes the light of religion, brings harm to himself, and forfeits his share in the World to Come.”[4]
Maimonides further emphasized that the sages of the Mishnah and Talmud earned their livelihoods through their own labor and refused to benefit materially from Torah.
However, despite Maimonides’ unequivocal stance, Rabbi Yosef Karo, author of the Shulchan Aruch, ruled otherwise. Following the ruling of many rabbis who preceded him, he permitted Torah scholars to sustain themselves through communal support, a practice followed by today’s kollel students. After systematically refuting Maimonides’ arguments in his commentary Kesef Mishneh, Rabbi Karo concluded that even if Maimonides’ position was sound in principle, the reality demanded a different approach. He reasoned:
Perhaps all the sages of the generations agreed to permit this based on the principle of “It is a time to act for God—by violating Your Torah.” Without providing financial support for Torah scholars and teachers, they would be unable to devote themselves properly to Torah, and it would be forgotten, God forbid.
Here again, the principle “It is a time to act for God” is invoked: preserving Torah required overriding the original prohibition against profiting from Torah study.
Behind the practical necessity lies a deeper, positive transformation. The core prohibition was against treating Torah study as a means to an end, such as earning a livelihood, as this would desecrate the sanctity of the Torah. However, if Torah study—for oneself and for teaching others—is treated as an end unto itself, then receiving financial support becomes permissible. This ensures the continuity of Torah in Israel.
Just like the first revolution, this second revolution introduced a new figure into Jewish life: the full-time rabbi, whose official role is dedicated to Torah. Examples include communal rabbis, yeshiva deans, or kollel students preparing for rabbinic ordination. The formalization of rabbinic ordination (semichah), which began in the medieval period, was institutionalized further under Rabbi Yosef Karo’s leadership.
Third Revolution: Torah Study for Women
Traditionally, the commandment to study Torah was specific to men. Maimonides begins the laws of Torah study with the statement: “Women are exempt from Torah study, as it says, ‘You shall teach them to your sons’—and not your daughters.” Women could choose to study Torah voluntarily and would even earn reward for doing so. However, teaching Torah to women was prohibited, except for the practical laws they needed to know. Rabbi Eliezer famously taught: “Anyone who teaches his daughter Torah is as though he taught her frivolity.”[5] Maimonides summarized this view:
A woman who studies Torah earns reward… However, the sages instructed that one should not teach his daughter Torah, because most women’s minds are not attuned to learning and they will misinterpret the words of Torah according to their limited understanding.”[6]
Throughout history, there were exceptional women who were knowledgeable in Torah and even recognized as scholars, but formal education for women was unheard of. Torah schools, study halls, and yeshivot were exclusively for boys, while girls were educated at home.
A seismic shift occurred in the past century. With the advent of modernity, including access to higher education for women, prominent rabbinic leaders, such as the Chafetz Chaim, recognized that the traditional home-based model of Torah education for women was no longer sufficient. They concluded that formal Torah education for girls was essential. This led to the establishment of institutions like the Beit Yaakov schools, pioneered by Sarah Schenirer. Here, too, the justification was “It is a time to act for God—by violating Your Torah”: if women were not given a Torah education and their studies focused solely on secular knowledge, they might abandon the path of Torah and mitzvot, causing irreparable harm to the religious community.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe took this revolution even further. He argued that Maimonides’ claim that “most women’s minds are not attuned to learning” no longer applies. Women, he explained, had advanced intellectually and spiritually, and far from trivializing Torah, they were now fully capable of deep engagement with it. Beyond this practical assessment, the Rebbe grounded his view in the teachings of the great Kabbalist, the Holy Ari, who described a cosmic process of “the ascent of the feminine” (aliyat ha-nukva), which manifests in the rise of women’s status.
Thus, what may have initially appeared as a concession to external pressures was in reality a reflection of profound spiritual and social progress. This revolution marked a transformative step forward in the advancement of Torah study and practice.
Fourth Revolution: Teaching Torah to the Nations
Until now, our discussion has remained within the bounds of the Jewish people, for obvious reasons: the Torah was given exclusively to Israel, as it says, “Moses commanded us the Torah, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.”[7] Moreover, the sages decreed that teaching Torah to non-Jews is prohibited: “We do not transmit the words of Torah to a non-Jew, as it is written, ‘And He did not make His judgments known to them.’”[8] Maimonides even ruled that a non-Jew who studies Torah “is liable to death [by Divine decree].”[9]
Yet, for millennia, the prophets of Israel foretold of a miraculous shift in this paradigm. Who does not recognize the words of Isaiah: “Many peoples will come and say, ‘Let us go up to the mountain of God, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth Torah, and the word of God from Jerusalem’.”[10] Similarly, Jeremiah prophesied: “Nations will come to you from the ends of the earth and say, ‘Surely our fathers inherited lies.’”[11] Zephaniah envisioned: “For then I will transform the peoples to a clear language, so that all of them may call upon the name if God, to serve Him with one accord.”[12]
Even now, non-Jews are obligated to study and observe the seven Noahide Laws, and the sages taught explicitly: “A non-Jew who engages in Torah study [related to these laws] is like a High Priest.”[13] It is our mission to spread and teach the Torah of the Noahide Laws to all humanity, as emphasized by Maimonides and others.[14] The Lubavitcher Rebbe championed this cause, dedicating significant efforts to its advancement.[15]
However, fulfilling the seven Noahide Laws alone is not enough to realize the prophetic vision of a perfected world. Nor can such a transformation occur without a preceding step. For the nations of the world to recognize the truth and Divine origin of the Torah, which transcends all other religions while serving as their ultimate source of truth (as Maimonides describes Christianity and Islam as preparatory for the Messianic era), they must engage deeply with Torah. This includes not only the practical Noahide Laws but also the profound spiritual and ethical teachings found in both the revealed and mystical layers of Torah.
To bring this vision closer to reality, we propose a necessary fourth revolution in Torah study whose time has come: opening the gates of Torah to the nations. This would extend beyond the seven Noahide Laws to encompass teachings that relate to all of humanity—spiritual, psychological, and ethical wisdom from the Torah’s mystical dimensions (Kabbalah and Chassidut) as well as practical guidance from its revealed dimensions, many of which are rooted in the Noahide framework. This initiative would not be a call to proselytize or encourage conversion (which must come from a non-Jew’s free will) but rather an act of sharing the infinite wisdom and beauty of the Torah. At most, it might inspire some toward conversion, but that would not be its primary aim.
Far from diminishing the unique role of the Jewish people as the “holy nation,” such an initiative would highlight Israel’s position as a “kingdom of priests” and its mission to bless and elevate all of humanity.
How Jews Will Also Benefit
One might ask: The previous three revolutions were focused on preserving Torah within the Jewish people. How, then, does this fourth revolution comply with that goal of benefitting the Jewish people if its primary beneficiaries are non-Jews?
The answer is that teaching Torah to the nations could greatly strengthen the Jewish world as well. First, it would challenge and enrich every Jew involved in the process. Engaging with people who are entirely unfamiliar with Torah would introduce Jews to fresh questions and perspectives, invigorating and deepening their own connection to the Torah. This would mirror, on a larger scale, the experiences of Jews who teach Torah to their secular brethren through Chabad houses and similar initiatives.
But the impact goes far deeper. The modern Jewish world faces a profound crisis, marked by the alienation of entire sectors from Torah learning and even from their Jewish identity—a tragic reality that represents the most significant “violation of Torah” in history. At the root of this crisis lies, in part, a perception of Judaism as an insular, national religion with little to offer the broader world. Many Jews, especially those drawn to universal values, feel disconnected from what they see as a narrowly chauvinistic tradition.
Now imagine a reality where Judaism is recognized worldwide as a source of wisdom and inspiration for all humanity. What would happen if Torah study among non-Jews became widespread, or even trendy? Such a development could heal the fractures within the Jewish people, restoring pride and purpose to those alienated from their heritage. In this way, the fourth revolution could bring about a spiritual renaissance within Israel itself, fulfilling the principle “It is a time to act for God; they have violated Your Torah.”
By making Torah accessible to the world, we could reclaim its universal relevance, repair the “wounds of my people,”[16] and open a new chapter in the unfolding story of Torah and humanity.
[1] Psalms 119:126.
[2] Menachot 99b.
[3] Avot 4:5.
[4] Hilchot Talmud Torah 3:10.
[5] Sotah 20a.
[6] Hilchot Talmud Torah 1:13.
[7]. Deuteronomy 33:4.
[8] Chagigah 13a.
[9] Hilchot Melachim 10:9.
[10] Isaiah 2:3
[11] Jeremiah 16:19
[12] Zephaniah 3:9
[13] Baba Kama 38a.
[14] Hilchot Melachim 8:10; Tosafot Yom Tov on Avot 3:14
[16] Jeremiah 8:21
From a farbrengen at David's Tomb, 24th Tevet 5755
