Rav Aviad Tabory - "Continuing the chain"

Rav Aviad Tabory is currently teaching Gemara, Halacha and Jewish philosophy at Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi in Jerusalem. In the summer, he serves as the Rosh Bet Midrash in Bnei Akiva Camp Stone.

Rav Tabory received smicha from the Israeli Rabbinate, received a degree in Jewish education from Herzog College, and graduated from the rabbinical training programme of Ohr Torah.

Rav Tabory has taught in a variety of seminaries, including Michlelet Orot, Midreshet Lindenbaum, Midreshet HaRova, and took part in establishing a new Yeshiva High School in Susiya. He served as the Rav Shaliach of the Jewish Agency to Bnei Akiva in the UK and as the founding community Rabbi of Alei Etzion in Hendon, London.

Over the past few years, he visited communities as scholar in residence including: Toronto, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, Manchester, London, Columbus, Ra’anana, Teaneck and Lawrence.

Editor of “To Stand and Serve” (published by Maggid). Author of VBM series on “Halacha response to Israeli history”.

1. What was a place, person or event that transformed your ideas, thinking, or perspective?

 On a trip to America, I made a stopover in Berlin. For many years, I had not been willing to step foot on German soil or buy anything German. However, at that point I felt it was time to understand more about our history. I felt that going to Berlin would somehow help me.

I walked around the city that had been the capital of Nazi Germany with a kippa on my head and saw the places that symbolized the Nazis who attempted to destroy the Jewish people. Thinking about where they are today and where we are and that we are still around made a deep impression on me in my recognition of Am Yisrael Chai and Nezach Yisrael lo yishaker. Stepping into Hitler’s bunker gave me a greater perspective of what history is all about for the Jewish people.

 

2. If you could broadcast a short message across every social media, TV channel and radio in, what would you say?

One of the most important Jewish messages for all mankind is that man was created in the image of God. Many argue exactly what the image of God means. For me, it particularly emphasizes that we all come from one source, from Adam HaRishon, and that we have something in common to unite us. There is something Godly about man, something unique that we all share.

 

3. What was a turning point in your life that led you to your current path?

For many years I was a teacher and I had never thought what direction I was going in or about developing a career path. A few years ago, when I was thinking about my future, I spoke to my brother-in-law Marc עליו השלום, who was a businessman and had a broader experience of life. He shared with me some insights about taking initiative, thinking about where I want to go, what I want to do as an educator. It was a big turning point for me that even in the world of education, there is great value to planning and opening your mind to different possibilities, thinking out of the box and even to build something of my own. I owe a lot to Marc for that.

4. If you were to give advice to your younger self, what would it be?

I would advise myself to take better advantage of the time I had and to use it better.

5. What is one way that you spoil yourself a little?

I like to get a good cup of coffee in a nice coffee shop, to sit there and drink the coffee.

 

6. How do you get back on track if you have had an unproductive or distracted period?

Putting things into perspective has helped me over the years. Trying to think about the bigger picture. Everyone makes mistakes and that’s part of life. If we focus on the bigger picture, we can realize that mistakes we make are usually relatively unimportant in comparison.

 

7. What is the best advice you ever received?

There was a scandal in our community a few years ago surrounding the behaviour of a certain personality. I was not directly affected but he was an important figure in my childhood and he was a great influence on me before this. I took it very badly and I couldn’t understand why. The loss of trust was very difficult for me. The advise I got from a talmid chacham I was close to changed my whole understanding of the reality of the situation and helped me deal with it much better. He explained to me that when something like this occurs, the circles of people getting hurt are many. The closest circle are those who are directly hurt. But there are additional circles that spread like ripples of water and these affect other people. Looking back at myself at the time as some kind of victim even though I was not directly affected was a very important way of me dealing with the issue. It helped me understand that we are all affected by what happens around us. If we would allow ourselves sometimes to feel we are also a victim of difficult events, it could enable us to deal with the issues that affect us in a better way. This advice helped me get through some difficult times.

 

8. What do you consider as your biggest achievement in the last 5-10 years?

I think most people would say that their greatest achievement is their family as this is the most important goal of our life, to raise the next generation.  Besides that, being a Rebbe in the Yeshiva, teaching the Torah I heard from my Father that he heard from his Rabbis and passing it on to my students. Being a link in the chain of the transmission of Torah from generation to generation is to me my biggest achievement.

 

9. What area do you see that Rabanim/teachers do not stress enough?

I think there are many areas that Rabbis do not stress enough. I believe that one area that needs more emphasis in teaching is hierarchy within halacha. There are main and secondary principles, there are stringencies and customs, Torah laws and Rabbinic laws. The idea that Judaism is a way of life where not every law has the same weight to it. We must weigh up what is more important and what is less important. It seems that today, a minhag, even a minhag shtut, has the same level of importance as a Torah level law. This leads to diminishing the value of the Torah and causes people to be stringent where they should be lenient and lenient where they should be stringent.

10. What part of Jewish learning is your main focus or favourite? How would you recommend people to get more deeply into it?

I mostly teach gemara. I prefer the deep-learning side of the gemara, lomdus, rather than covering a lot of ground. I believe this enhances our love of the Torah. It is not the simplest way of learning Torah or open to all or even acceptable to all. However I believe that when people learn this way, it deepens their love of the Torah. More importantly, it creates a connection to the transmission of the Torah from generation to generation, and makes them an additional link in the chain. I think this is one of the most important aspects of Torah to acquire, so a person feels part of the transmission of the Torah. I think this only happens through deeply learning the discussions of the gemara.

 

11. I have often thought that we in the modern orthodox community are walking a tightrope between different worlds both of which we want to belong to and be active in which may detract from our full attention to one or the other particularly to the Jewish side. Can you give some ideas or direction how to connect more deeply to the Torah and Hashem? (Books, ideas, programmes, activities)

This is a very difficult question. It highlights one of the biggest problems we have in the modern orthodox and religious Zionist communities. We believe there are additional values, ideals and agendas we should pursue and be part of apart from Torah. When that happens, you are in danger of other values taking over and distancing us from Avodat Hashem and focusing on a connection to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. That is one of the biggest challenges we have. How do we bring those worlds together and maintain the balance between them?

       I first want to emphasize that I think part of the answer is in the question. I mean that for those who don’t ask this question, that’s where the problem begins. We should raise the question, discuss it, question ourselves how to live this balance. A person who wants to serve Hashem by involving other worlds demands from them to always ask themselves what is the balance, how to build them together, am I paying too high a price by being more in one world than the other. A person who asks this question can take it as a sign that it is bothering them and that is part of the answer. Once we are aware of the problem, it is easier to find the answer.
Actually, I believe there is no real answer. The only way of maintaining this kind of life is always asking the question and trying to find a balance between the different worlds. It may be a hard answer but I think it is a true answer and one to live by.
How to connect more to the Torah and Hashem is also a question we should keep asking ourselves. Focusing on the daily, mundane, routine mitzvot is probably one of the best answers to this. Instead of looking at certain times of the year when we attach ourselves more spiritually to Hashem, I believe we can find Hashem in the daily routines - making more time to learn and daven. To focus on Shabbat more, singing and divrei Torah with the family. Make sure every Shabbat is one where the focus is on the experience of the Shabbat meal rather than just eating and going to sleep. Make Torah part of your daily life. That is the start and maybe that is also the end. It’s important for ourselves to keep us connected but also it’s important for our children to see how we are connected which will help them connect. My Father עליו השלום was once asked - how do we ensure the next generation continues in Avodat Hashem. He replied – to make sure your kids never see you daven at home. In other words, don’t look for the big messages rather for the daily mundane routine kind of Avodat Hashem. I believe that is the way to keep us connected and hopefully the next generation too.