torah live hamodia
TRANSCRIPT
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Hamodia July 27, 20116
F E AT U R E I
Bringing the Torahto Life
Rabbi Dan Roth teaches
his morning halachah class
at Aderes HaTorah.
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BY GAVRIEL HORAN
In many ways the challenges facing educators in this
generation are greater than ever before. In the past,
teachers had to deal with discipline and class
participation. Today the battle being waged to keep
students’ attention is unparalleled. In many circles,
teachers have to compete with the nonstop action and
excitement of iPods, cell phones and computers
— in and out of the classroom.
A shidduchno one ever imagined
Torahand Technology
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THE AVERAGE American teenager
is plugged in to some form of
media or another for as many as
ten hours a day. On top of that, most
kids and teens today aren’t interested in
learning something unless they see an
immediate benefit to their lives — even
if the teacher presents it in a livelyfashion. Today’s teachers therefore have
the double challenge of presenting
material in an exciting and engaging
manner and showing its personal
relevance to students.
Unfortunately, this problem affects
Torah educators as well. In a world of
fast-moving visual images, how do we
get students to stop and take note of their
heritage, to help them become
passionate about Torah? Is it possible to
harness technology to make Torah
meaningful and relevant to the masses
without compromising its depth or
beauty?
“Thirty Is for Strength”Rabbi Dan Roth, founder and director
of Torah Live, a dynamic multimediaTorah organization, realized that many
people today need to be taught Torah in
their language. He learned how to speak
to this generation the hard way.
Rabbi Roth’s very first day of teaching
did not go at all as planned. Originally
from London, he had been learning in
kollel for many years in some of Israel’s
finest yeshivos, including Mir
Yerushalayim and the kollel of Rabbi
Tzvi Kushelevsky, one of the great
Yerushalmi Roshei Yeshivah, when he
started thinking about getting involved
in teaching.
He decided to learn a night seder in
Pirkei Avos to prepare material for
lectures. He loved it so much that he
began devoting more and more time to
it, and soon realized that he had themakings of a sefer on his hands. To write
a book, however, would require more
than a few hours a day. The idea of
leaving full-time Gemara learning to
study Pirkei Avos in depth didn’t seem
right. He sought Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky’s
advice.
“Age twenty is for pursuing; age
thirty is for strength,” explained Rabbi
Orlofsky, quoting from Pirkei Avos (5:25).
“Martial-arts experts are able to break
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slabs of wood and concrete with their
bare hands because they know how to
focus all their energy into one point.
Your twenties are meant for exploring
various life goals and options to learn
what you like and what you’re good at.
By the time you reach thirty, however,
you are expected to know enough aboutyour strengths and character to be able
to strip away everything else and focus
all your energies and abilities into your
unique talent. That’s what strength
means.”
Rabbi Roth had just turned thirty.
Inspired by Rabbi Orlofsky’s words, he
spent the next three years of his life
writing a book about everyday lessons
gleaned from the teachings of Pirkei
Avos . In the process of writing the book,
he realized he had a talent for making
Torah concepts relevant and down-to-
earth. The book was aptly entitled
Relevance — Pirkei Avos for the Twenty-
First Century (Feldheim). After he
finished the book, he got his first
teaching job in a program for at-risk
teens at Ohr Somayach inYerushalayim.
He was hoping his students would
relate to Pirkei Avos , but he was in for a
shock. The class was a total nightmare.
The students completely ignored him;
some were texting each other, others
even walked out of the room.
“It was enough to make anyone say
goodbye to a career in teaching,” he
recalls. Instead of quitting, however, he
decided to try to get to the root of the
problem.
The SolutionWhen he thought about it, he
realized that the issue wasn’t the kids or the material — it was the entire
generation.
“Today people are used to absorbing
information in a whole new way,” he
explained. “Modern media has changed
the way many people learn. For them,
we have to translate the eternal truths
of our Torah into today’s language. I
had to get with the program.”
He decided to pick a topic he knew
the students would be excited about …
and making money seemed like a good
place to start.
He set to work researching the
mitzvah of maaser , setting aside a tenth
of one’s income for charity — the
Torah’s recipe for financial success —
and thought about dynamic ways topresent it. Rabbi Roth had been very
interested in computers ever since his
parents had bought him the first home
computer to come on the market back
in the early 1980s. After high school he
was even accepted into a computer
science program but chose to go to
yeshivah instead.
After that, his computer skills had
lain dormant while he focused on
learning. Now he finally had an outlet
for them. After teaching himself a few
new programs, he got to work putting
his maaser material together in a
technologically savvy package.
The result was a dynamicmultimedia Torah presentation called
“How to Make the Big Bucks.” It was a
smashing success. Students who had
previously been unable to sit through a
class were suddenly on the edge of their
seats. Because they were hearing their
own “language,” their curiosity was
piqued, and they were inspired to learn
more about the Torah outlook on life.
That’s how Torah Live was born.
“Today people are used to absorbing
information in a whole new way. Modern media
has changed the way people learn. We have to
translate the eternal truths of our
Torah into today’s language.”
Presenting Torah Live'smezuzah DVD.
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Torah and Technology With its team of talented graphic
designers and programmers, Torah Live
has since produced close to a dozen
interactive, state-of-the-art multimedia
presentations on a variety of Torah
topics, from the intricacies of halachah to
the beauty of hashkafah. Everything iscreated under the close supervision of
Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits, a posek in
Yerushalayim and Rosh Kollel of the
Jerusalem Kollel, a distinguished
English-speaking kollel devoted to kiruv
training.
The programs created by Torah Live
are on such diverse topics as how to
achieve happiness, conquering anger,
the laws of mezuzah, yichud , and Sukkos.
Using cutting-edge special effects,
humor and passion, Torah Live engages
audiences of all ages and religious
backgrounds. As opposed to using
stand-alone video content, Torah Live is
unique in that it provides educators withmultimedia tools that can enhance their
lectures.
As Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, the
founder of the National Jewish Outreach
Program (NJOP) and the Association of
Jewish Outreach Programs (AJOP), once
pointed out, “No one decided to become
more religious through technology
alone. Success comes from combining
technology with personal contact.” By
giving a speaker the advantage of
technology, Torah Live intertwines the
power and clarity of video with live
interaction.
To date, Rabbi Roth has presented
over one hundred such lectures in fiftycities around the world to people and
organizations across the spectrum of
Orthodoxy — schools, yeshivos,
corporate workplaces, youth groups and
kiruv organizations — in an interactive,
entertaining and lively way that
captures listeners’ attention and drives
the lessons home. The project has
gained steam in the Jewish world, with
diverse organizations — from a Modern
Orthodox school in Sydney, Australia, to
Yeshivas Mir in Yerushalayim — signing
up for presentations. Rabbi Roth has
spoken at two Torah Umesorah
conventions, Rabbi Yisroel Reisman’s
shul in Flatbush, Dayan Ehrentreu’s
conference in Munich, and even Her
Majesty’s Treasury in Westminster,
London.
Torah Live presentations appeal to
such a wide variety of audiences becauseonce the main template has been
created, each presentation can be fine-
tuned to meet the unique needs of a
particular audience, whether it consists
of secular adults, at-risk teens, seminary
and yeshivah students, or working men.
“The versatility of Torah Live is
evidence of the Torah’s eternal
message,” Rabbi Roth said. “We only
need to find the right way to present it to
each distinct audience, in the right
language.”
Talking the Talk Although the proper use of
technology and setting limits to it is asensitive subject in the frum world today,
the issue is less about the technology
itself and more about how it’s being
used.
“The purpose of all of creation is in
order for Klal Yisrael to learn Hashem’s
Torah,” Torah Live’s president, Rabbi
Yitzchak Berkovits, said. “Hashem
created technology and gave us the
talent to use it for the sake of getting Klal
Yisrael motivated to learn and
understand.”
In a similar vein, commenting on the
latest mezuzah presentation, RabbiYisroel Reisman said, “The Ribbono shel
Olam has given our generation the
knowledge and ability to create vivid
images and productions which
stimulate the mind and impress upon
the memory. It is important that this be
used for pure purposes, to further Torah
knowledge and mitzvah observance.”
Nonetheless, Torah Live hit a
stumbling block when a kosher internet
filter denied its subscribers access to
Torah Live’s halachah videos. The
representative refused to make an
exception even after consulting with his
superiors. Rabbi Roth was forced to
speak to the CEO himself, who lookedinto Torah Live. The CEO was so
impressed that he made an
appointment to meet Rabbi Roth — and
volunteered to be the first member of the
Torah Live board.
Originally for English-speaking
Rabbi Yisroel Reisman (L) with Rabbi Roth.
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audiences, Torah Live’s material has
also been translated into Hebrew.
Rabbi Chaim Yitzchak Yudkovski,
Torah Live’s Hebrew representative,
recently delivered a lecture in Rishon
Letzion to a mixed crowd of Mizrachi,
chareidi, and secular Israelis.
Participants commented that TorahLive had succeeded in bridging the
secular-religious divide. One of the
nonreligious women said afterward
that she only wished it had contained
more Torah sources!
Renowned mechanech Rabbi Noach
Orlowek said in the name of his rebbi,
Rabbi Simcha Wasserman, zt”l, that
the Torah was given in seventy
languages “because each student
should be taught in the language that
he understands best. Today, for many
people, one of the foremost languages
is the ability to show Torah in a way
that is alive before the students’ eyes.
Torah Live can be called ‘ yayin yashanb’kankan chadash,’ old wine in a new
vessel. The medium may be new, but it
is full of the old, full of Torah, showing
people the beauty and simplicity of
even the most complex halachos .”
In the words of Rabbi Samson
Raphael Hirsch, zt”l, the goal is to
show that “authentic Judaism … does
not belong to an antiquated past but to
a living, pulsating present.”
A Meaningful Experience“One of the special qualities of a
multimedia shiur is that it addresses all
different types of learners,” Torah
Live’s creative director, Josh Goldberg,said. “There are people who learn by
seeing, people who learn by hearing,
and people who learn by interacting.
… We don’t want to entertain through
Torah, we want people to change their
lives.”
A recent study showed that 64
percent of people will watch until the
end of a thirty-minute infomercial (an
extended televised or video
advertisement), while only 20 percent
will read until the end of an article.
“People are no longer looking for
meaning. They are looking for meaningful experiences,” senior
Gateways lecturer Rabbi Yonason
Shippel said.
Rabbi Shippel, Torah Live’s New
York representative, has been licensed
to present Torah Live material at
Gateways seminars, which engage Jews
in dynamic introductions to Judaism,
for both frum and secular audiences.
“People are blown away by these
presentations, and it has had a
profound impact on them,” he said.
Rabbi Dovid Tugendhaft, a rebbi at
London’s Hasmonean High School anda SEED kiruv lecturer, has presented
Torah Live lectures to hundreds of
people. “People are always surprised by
the level of professionalism,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the reality is that
Jewish organizations are often run on
very tight budgets and don’t have the
ability to produce material using
cutting-edge technology. This,
however, is sophisticated, fun, fast-
moving and highly professional. Torah
Live is a revolutionary way of teaching
Torah — it’s a big kiddush Hashem.”
Multimedia presentation on brachos
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Cashing InAfter attending the lecture on maaser ,
many participants reported tithing their
money for the very first time. Shortly
after watching the presentation, one
businessman was about to close a big
deal, and he promised Hashem that if
the deal went through he would give
$200,000 to tzedakah.
“I realized the incredible power of
multimedia to speak to people,” Rabbi
Roth said. “Here was a regular guy, not
a philanthropist by any means, ready to
give philanthropic sums for the first
time in his life after simply watching an
hourlong presentation. Who would ever think that people would be so happy
about giving away money?
“What started as a teaching disaster
with a group of teenage boys ended up
beginning a new era in education. It’s a
revolutionary way to get people excited
about Torah.”
Seeing the impact the presentations
were having, Torah Live has now begun
licensing its materials to schools and
kiruv organizations around the world,
giving them the training and tools to
run the presentations themselves. So far
Torah Live programs have been
purchased by organizations in the
United States, England, South Africa and
Israel. Materials are now also available
on DVD for home or group viewing.
“The slippery slope of people leaving
the fold — be they teenagers or adults —
begins when mitzvos are practiced by
rote,” Rabbi Roth said. “We’re trying to
get people excited about Torah, showing
them that there’s nothing as deep or as
sweet as our heritage. This is my life’s
calling. It drives me day and night. I feel
a responsibility to help as many Yidden
as possible get clarity about Hashem’s
Torah. My biggest dream is to increasekevod Shamayim in the world.”
In his pocket Rabbi Roth carries a
quote from Rav Eliyahu Dessler, zt”l ,
that helps him stay focused and
inspired: “My own work has taught me
that nothing is impossible with siyatta
diShmaya. And when one acts with
mesirus nefesh to advance the learning of
Torah, Hashem helps in a miraculous
fashion.” In the current world situation,
writes Rabbi Dessler, spreading Torah is
not just the most important task, it is the
only one.
Rabbi Roth presents a Torah Live lecture at Yeshivah Shaarei Torah in Brooklyn.
“Here was a
regular guy, not
a philanthropist
by any means,
ready to give
philanthropic
sums for the first
time in his life
after watching
an hourlong
presentation.”
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“Hashem gave each of us natural
talents and abilities that we have to use in
avodas Hashem,” Rabbi Roth continued.
“A few years ago when I was in kollel ,
financial and family pressure for me to
get a job was mounting, but I couldn’t
figure out what I was going to do with my
life. I literally couldn’t sleep at night,wondering what my next step would be. I
never had any idea that I would end up
doing anything like what I’m doing
today. Hashem guided my every step.”
There are many new topics on Torah
Live’s horizon for the coming year;
overcoming jealousy, the laws of kashrus,
and brachos are just a few of them.
“We can do any topic — there’s no
limit to how far we can go,” Rabbi Roth
said. “To many people, Torah is perceived
as outdated and out of touch with their
lives. They don’t realize that the Torah
has an opinion on all the issues that the
world is struggling with today — not only
an opinion but a deeper perspective, onethat’s higher, subtler, and more profound.
The Torah is as relevant today as ever.
Let’s take the entire Torah and translate
it into today’s language so everyone can
have access to our rich heritage.”❚I
Rabbi Roth gives the mezuzah presentation at Mir Yerushalayim.
“Many people don’t realize that the
Torah has an opinion on all
the issues that the world is
struggling with today.”
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