Studying Torah in the Synagogue

b. Megillah 29a

220–600

Yet I have been to them as a little sanctuary [in the countries where they have come] (Ezekiel 11:16). R. Isaac said: This [is referring to] the synagogues and study halls in Babylonia. And R. Eleazar said: This [is referring to] the house of our master, [i.e., Rav,] in Babylonia, [from which Torah issues forth to the entire world].

Rava interpreted [a verse] homiletically: What is [the meaning of that] which is written: Lord, You have been our dwelling place [in all generations] (Psalm 90:1)? This [is referring to] the synagogues and study halls. Abaye said: Initially, I used to study [Torah] in [my] home and pray in the synagogue. Once I heard [and understood] that which [King] David says: Lord, I love the habitation of Your house (Psalm 26:8), I would [always] study [Torah] in the synagogue, [to express my love for the place in which the Divine Presence resides].

It is taught [in a baraita]: R. Eleazar ha-Kappar says: In the future, the synagogues and the study halls in Babylonia will be [transported and] reestablished in Erets Yisrael, as it is stated: Surely, like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel by the sea, so shall he come (Jeremiah 46:18). [There is a tradition that these mountains came to Sinai at the giving of the Torah and demanded that the Torah should be given upon them.] And are [these] matters not [inferred through an] a fortiori [argument]: Just as Tabor and Carmel, which came only momentarily to study Torah, were [relocated and] established in Erets Yisrael [in reward for their actions], all the more so [should] the synagogues and study halls [in Babylonia], in which the Torah is read and disseminated, [be relocated to Erets Yisrael].

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Notes

Words in brackets appear in the original translation.

Credits

From Koren Talmud Bavli, Noé Edition, trans. Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (Jerusalem: Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2019). Accessed via the William Davidson digital edition, sefaria.org. Adapted with permission of Koren Publishers Ltd.

Discussion Questions

What are some of the implications of moving the divine presence from the Temple to local centers of prayer and study?
Consider the significance of having direct local access to the divine as opposed to having to travel to the Temple for a priest-mediated encounter. How significant is this shift?
What makes a space holy according to this passage? What are these spaces used for?

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.