Rabbi Howard Morrison

One of the most outstanding Torah scholars of the twentieth century was Nechama Leibowitz. Today is her Yahrzeit, the fifth of Nisan. She passed away on April 12, 1997. Some of us own her five-volume set, Studies on the weekly Parsha. These books were originally written in Hebrew and later translated into English. On each Parsha, she put together a number of scholarly essays. Each one had a particular theme, and she shared a number of original citations from Biblical exegetes from across the ages. 

What some people do not know is that these books originated as single sheets of paper which she handed out to her students when she taught in the classroom. I was fortunate to study with her during the academic year of 1983-1984 at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem as part of my rabbinical school education. Her topic for that particular course was entitled, "Mai'Avdut L'Cherut - From slavery to freedom." We studied the first seventeen chapters of the Book of Exodus: the portions of Shmot, Va'era, Bo, and B'Shallach. Somewhere in storage, I have my notebook from her class and all the sheets which she gave out, which would become the essays in her books.

Looking back, I realize that I sat in front of a great Torah scholar. She was unique in that she earned the respect of the entire Jewish world and taught before Ultra-Orthodox Jews as well as liberal Jews. Today, we take for granted the many great female Torah scholars from whom we can learn. Nechama Leibowitz, while not looking to be known as a feminist, was a trailblazer in her era.

That class I took, "From slavery to freedom," is an apt title for us to consider right now, as we prepare to celebrate Pesach, and as we observe the genocide taking place in the Ukraine, the terror attacks in Israel, and other forms of evil around the world.

May the memory of Nechama Leibowitz be for a blessing, and may her teachings continue to inspire new generations of Torah students.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Howard Morrison