A Plug for Shemot as We Begin Bereishit

If we’re reading the portion of Bereishit, why is the rabbi mentioning Shemot? Good question.

It’s actually not Shemot – the book or the parsha. It is Shemot the acronym for Shnayim Mikra V’echad Targum, which in Hebrew is spelled שמות.

“What is this?” you ask. It may be one of the most fundamental aspects of Jewish literacy, identity, and continuity we ignore at our peril.

The Talmud (Berachot 8) states:

“Rav Huna bar Yehuda said that Rabbi Ami said: A person should always complete his Torah portions with the congregation. One is required to read the Torah text of the weekly portion twice and the translation once. One who completes this cycle of reading Torah portions with the congregation each year is rewarded that his days and years are extended.”

There is an obligation to read the text of each parsha twice (shnayim mikra) and the translation of Onkelos of the text (v’eachad targum) once. And there is a great reward in store for those who do this. This halakhah is codified in Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 285:1), and rabbis in every generation have highlighted the importance of this weekly activity.

Now, it may seem a little repetitive, technical, or irrelevant. Why read the text twice? Why read Onkelos if I don’t understand Aramaic? Do I have to read the text twice if I listen to the Torah reading in shul? Why not study a commentary inside? Why not a different Dvar Torah on the weekly parsha each year? These are all great questions – and all addressed in detail by various authorities over the centuries.

The common denominator is that ALL rabbis highlight the absolute obligation of Shnayim Mikra V’echad Targum each week. It is strange that so many great rabbis placed such importance on a Biblical study initiative considering how much emphasis is placed on studying Gemara and Jewish law. Nevertheless, the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, and many others – all known for not wasting a second of their time – all participated in Shemot even as it took time away from Talmud.

Why the emphasis on reading text and potentially unfamiliar commentary? Shanayim mikra takes on an outsize role in Torah study because it inculcates a familiarity and love for textual study.

Rabbi Moshe Besdin, the late legendary instructor in YU’s James Striar School of Jewish Studies, introduced thousands of students with limited Jewish educational backgrounds to learning Torah. He had a simple but meaningful slogan highlighting the importance of textual study: “We teach ‘IT’ not about ‘IT.”’

That’s the power of Shnayim Mikra V’echad Targum. It’s not about checking off a religious obligation; it’s about creating a rhythm of Torah in our lives. Each week, we personally encounter the words that shape our identity. The practice transforms the parsha from something we hear in shul to something we carry with us.

A group of college students once asked the Lubavitcher Rebbe why people ask his advice on matters that have nothing to do with Judaism. They understood that, as a rabbi, he can answer religious questions but why ask him about areas outside of his expertise. Does he, for example, know more medicine than a doctor?

The Rebbe smiled and compared the situation to that of a construction project. The architect draws up the blueprint and gives them to contractor to implement. The contractor then tells the various trades what they need to do. The contractor is not an expert in plumbing or masonry or electrical wiring. He is the one most familiar with the blueprint. “The Torah is God’s blueprint for the world, and He gave it to us to study. As someone who studies Torah, people see me as a contractor, so they ask all sorts of questions.”

When we study parsha week after week, year after year, it becomes part of us. In a world of constant distraction, this weekly encounter with Torah provides focus and stability. It reminds us that Jewish continuity isn’t sustained by slogans or sentiment but by learning - by returning again and again to our foundational text. Shnayim Mikra V’echad Targum democratizes Torah study: everyone can do it, every week, and in doing so we strengthen our collective connection to God’s word.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks described the parsha as a “weekly encounter between the moment and eternity which frames Jewish consciousness and gives us the unique sense of living out a narrative.” He wrote, “In Judaism we not only learn to live; we live to learn. In study, we make Torah real in the mind so that we can make it actual in the world.”

As we begin anew with Bereishit, we should try to take on Shemot. (See HERE for a great resource to help stay on track.) Jewish identity begins with the study – and internalization – of the words of Torah. Through the steady rhythm of Shnayim Mikra V’echad Targum, we keep those words alive - and ensure they continue to shape our people, our homes, and our hearts.