וְעַתָּה כִּתְבוּ לָכֶם אֶת־הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת וְלַמְּדָהּ אֶת־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל שִׂימָהּ בְּפִיהֶם לְמַעַן תִּהְיֶה־לִּי הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת לְעֵד בִּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:
"Therefore, write down this poem and teach it to the people Israel; put it in their mouths, in order that this poem may be My witness against the people of Israel." (Deuteronomy 31:19, JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh, 1999).
The Jewish Theological Seminary publishes "JTS Parashah Commentary", a weekly e-mail commentary on the Parashat HaShavua, the Torah portion of the week. It is written by a cadre of guest rabbis. For his commentary on Parashat Nitzavim-Vayeilekh in September, 2006, Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz linked the verse Deuteronomy 27:26 from Parashat Ki Tavo to the verse Deuteronomy 31:19.
אָרוּר אֲשֶׁר לֹֽא־יָקִים אֶת־דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה־הַזֹּאת לַֽעֲשׂוֹת אוֹתָם וְאָמַר כָּל־הָעָם אָמֵן:
"Cursed be he who will not uphold the terms of this Teaching and observe them. - And all the people shall say, Amen." (Deuteronomy 27:26, JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh, 1999)
Rabbi Berkowitz quotes Ramban, Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman (1194-1270), also known as Nahmanides, who concludes that the verse is speaking of one who has been given the honor of hagbah (the lifter of the Torah), but has not performed the duty to its fullest extent, namely "to show the face of its writing to the people that are standing to the right, to the left, and turns around and shows it to those in front of him and those behind him; it is a commandment for all the men and women to see the writing, bow, and say 'this is the Torah that Moses placed before the Children of Israel." Rabbi Berkowitz notes that Nahmanides is teaching us that the words of the Torah are not to be "shielded from view" and that the intent is for the "words of Torah…to be generously shared and transmitted."
Rabbi Berkowitz goes on to link this thought with Deuteronomy 31:19. He notes that this verse gives us three important tasks:
"First, the opening of this teaching states 'write for yourselves.' The first step in transmitting the sacred treasure in our hands is becoming a literate Jew. Text and tradition must become the essence of our being. Torah must become the personal song in our hearts. Only then may one turn to the next step.
Second, we are commanded to 'teach it to the Children of Israel and place it in their mouths.' One fails in the discipline of Torah if one becomes an island of Torah, learning unto one's self. Torah needs to be shared generously, and indeed we are commanded to teach our children and the children of the entire community. It must be passed down from one generation to the next.
Third, God explains to Moses that this Torah will serve as 'a witness' for God's continued presence among the Children of Israel. While Torah endeavors to shape our inner and outer selves, it has the potential to bring God into our midst."
Rabbi Berkowitz' concludes his commentary with the following observation: "Far from being in the realm of the elite, Torah at its best resides in the community of amkha. It is the Torah for all the people of Israel." His arguments and conclusions provide insight into the importance of bringing Torah to all.
One cannot become a literate Jew for the purpose of writing a Torah without first knowing how to read Hebrew. If one is able to use that new-found ability to begin studying Torah, one needs a Torah (and by extension, the rest of the Tanakh and other Hebrew texts, such as the siddur) that is visually accessible to Hebrew readers of all abilities. It is the author's goal to provide this kind of text to increase the potential for expanding the pool of people who might be inspired to teach Torah to the next generation. This in turn has the potential to create more witnesses to "God's continued presence" and to the values that the Torah teaches us.
The "poem" (שִּׁירָה) referenced in Deuteronomy 31:19 is understood to be Deuteronomy 33:2-29, the poem in Parashat Ha'azinu. The Soncino Press publication, "The Pentateuch and Haftorahs", 1980, otherwise known as the Hertz Humash, notes that according to medieval Torah commentator Ibn Ezra (Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra, 1089 -1164), "this command is addressed to each Israelite. The Rabbis deduced from this the recommendation to each Israelite that one write for one's self a copy of the Torah" (p. 889).
The notion that the word "poem" (שִּׁירָה) means the entire Torah is supported by the rabbis of Babylonian Talmud in Sanhedrin 21b, beginning with a quote from Mishnah Sanhedrin 2:4, which states clearly that each person is obligated to write their own Torah.
משנה - וְכוֹתֵב לוֹ סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה לִשְׁמוֹ. יוֹצֵא לַמִּלְחָמָה, מוֹצִיאָהּ עִמּוֹ. נִכְנָס, מַכְנִיסָהּ עִמּוֹ. יוֹשֵׁב בַּדִּין, הִיא עִמּוֹ. מֵסֵב, הִיא כְנֶגְדּוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שם) וְהָיְתָה עִמּוֹ וְקָרָא בוֹ כָּל יְמֵי חַיָּיו:
MISHNAH: And he shall write in his own name a Sefer Torah. When he goes forth to war he must take it with him; on returning, he brings it back with him; when he sits in judgment it shall be with him, and when he sits down to eat, before him, as it is written: and it shall be with him and he shall read therein all the days of his life. (Soncino Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 21b)
In the supporting commentary, Deuteronomy 31:19 is directly quoted, thereby linking the referenced poem (שִּׁירָה) to the entire Torah.
גמרא. וכותב ספר תורה לשמו.
תנא: ובלבד שלא יתנאה בשל אבותיו.
אמר (רבא): אף על פי שהניחו לו אבותיו לאדם ספר תורה - מצוה לכתוב משלו, שנאמר (דברים ל"א) ועתה כתבו לכם את השירה.
GEMARA: "And he shall write in his own name a sefer torah." (quoted from the Mishnah)
A Tanna taught: And he must not take credit for one belonging to his ancestors.
Rabbah said: Even if one's parents have left him a Sefer Torah, yet it is proper that he should write one of his own, as it is written: "Now therefore write ye this song for you." (Soncino Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 21b)
This author is attempting to fulfill this commandment through the work of reformatting the Torah (and other commonly used Hebrew texts) for use by novice Hebrew readers.