BLESSINGS OVER THE TORAH In Judaism, Torah study is the highest of all spiritual engagements, higher even than prayer (Shabbat 10a), for in prayer we speak to God but in Torah study we listen to God speaking to us, through the sacred texts of our tradition. Judaism is supremely a religion of study. Hence we preface prayer with an act of Torah study. There are three types of Torah study: (1) study in order to know what to do, (2) study as a substitute for rituals that we are unable to perform, most notably the sacrifices, and (3) study as a religious act for its own sake, an aligning of our intellect with the mind of God.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה…אֲשֶׁר בָּֽחַר בָּֽנוּ Blessed are You…who has chosen us. Unlike the previous blessing, which is one of the birkhot hamitzvot, blessings over a command, this is a birkat hoda’a, a blessing of thanks and acknowledgment.

יְבָרֶכְךָ יהוה May theLORDbless you. According to the sages (Kiddushin 30a), one should divide one’s study time into three: (1) Mikra, study of the written Torah; (2) Mishna, study of the Oral Torah; (3) Talmud, that is, the logic of the Oral Law (Maimonides, Laws of Torah Study 1:11). So here, “May the LORD bless you” is a passage from the Torah (Num. 6:24–26); אֵֽלּוּ דְבָרִים שֶׁאֵין לָהֶם שִׁעוּר, “These are the things for which there is no fixed measure,” is a passage from the Mishna (Pe’ah 1:1); and אֵֽלּוּ דְבָרִים שֶׁאָדָם אוֹכֵל פֵּרוֹתֵיהֶם בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, “These are the things of which a man enjoys the fruits in this life” is a teaching from the Talmud (Shabbat 127a).

וְתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה כְּנֶֽגֶד כֻּלָּם The study of Torah is equal to them all. There was a debate among the sages as to which is greater, learning or doing? The conclusion was that “Great is learning, for it leads to doing” (Kiddushin 40b).