Torah leaders confronting the Enlightenment were forced to develop innovative and original approaches to preserving and transmitting the mesorah. Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch’s groundbreaking commentary on Chumash stands out.

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As the Enlightenment brought down ghetto walls all over central Europe that had kept the Jews isolated from the world around them many began to discard their Judaism and assimilate into the surrounding environment. Although in Eastern Europe the Jews couldn’t fully assimilate into gentile society different forces most notably the Haskalah succeeded in distancing many Jews from Torah observance.

Among those who abandoned Torah observance were some who felt that Chazal’s interpretation of the mitzvos was not based on the Written Torah. To counteract this trend in the mid-to-late 19th century several new and highly original commentaries on Chumash appeared. Although they were very different from each other in important ways each aimed to explain the Written Torah in the spirit of Chazal. Among these were:

• Hakesav V’hakabbalah by Rav Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg the rav of Koenigsberg Prussia and a disciple of Rav Akiva Eiger. He carefully analyzes the root meanings and grammar of the words of the Chumash to provide a clear interpretation of the pesukim and respond to attacks on Chazal’s received understanding of Torah;

• The commentaries of Rav Meir Leibush ben Yechiel Michel known by his acronym Malbim to Tanach. A brilliant talmid chacham and a warrior against the Haskalah he served as the rav of many different Eastern European communities. His first work a commentary on Sefer Yeshayahu included an introduction in which he elucidated the principles that formed the basis for his commentary to Tanach as a whole such as that no two words in Tanach Hebrew have precisely the same meaning and that there are no repeated phrases or clauses in Tanach. His works on Vayikra and Devarim are original commentaries to the Sifra and Sifrei demonstrating how Chazal proved the correct halachic interpretation of each verse.

• Ha’ameik Davar by Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin (the Netziv) son-in-law of Rav Yitzchak of Volozhin the son and successor of the founder of the famed yeshivah in that city Rav Chaim of Volozhin the esteemed disciple of the Vilna Gaon. The Netziv also served as rosh yeshivah in Volozhin for almost forty years until its closing in 1892. He authored many works including responsa and commentaries on Shas the She’iltos of Rav Achai Gaon all the halachic midrashim and the Chumash.

• The commentary of Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch who held rabbinic positions in Oldenberg and Emden Germany and served as chief rabbi of Moravia before returning to Germany to establish a modern Torah-committed community in Frankfurt. Toward the end of his life he produced his commentaries on the Chumash Tehillim and the siddur. This essay will focus on the contributions of his multifaceted commentary to Chumash.

Linking Torah Shebiksav to Torah Shebe’al Peh

Unlike both Hakesav V’hakabbalah and Malbim who expressly state that a major purpose of their commentaries is to demonstrate the unity of Torah shebiksav and Torah shebe’al peh Rav Hirsch’s very brief introduction to his commentary does not emphasize this unity. However Rav Hirsch’s commentary includes hundreds of examples illustrating that the proper study of Torah shebiksav leads directly to the conclusions of Torah shebe’al peh.

Rav Hirsch noted that the Torah shebe’al peh was actually taught to the Jews first. Moshe received all the laws of Torah shebe’al peh at Har Sinai and taught them to the Jewish People gradually. The completed Torah shebiksav by contrast was not received by the Jews until the very end of Moshe’s life immediately prior to the Jews entering Eretz Yisrael or forty years after they had received the Torah shebe’al peh. This sequence of transmission explains numerous passages in the Torah including the commandment to slaughter animals ka’asher tzivisicha “as you were instructed ” meaning the sets of regulations that had been transmitted to Moshe at Har Sinai and previously taught to Bnei Yisrael.