A cynic once commented that a commentary to Tanach can either be beautiful or faithful to the text, but not both. While this statement is not entirely true, it does capture the challenge faced by those who deliver Tanach Shiurim. Our listeners, on the one hand, demand authenticity. On the other hand, they expect the Shiurim to be beautiful and inspiring and that they emerge with a message that elevates them and enhances their lives as Jews. The constant struggle and challenge faced by Torah educators is the never-ending pursuit of Shiurim that succeed in being both authentic and beautiful.
There is one more ingredient to a successful Shiur. Chazal teach that “Ee Efshar LeBeit HaMidrash BeLo Chiddush,” true Torah learning always includes novel approaches and ideas (Chagigah 3a). In other words, for a Shiur to be successful, the Maggid Shiur must not simply repeat that which was said by others. He must inject his own personality and insights into the learning.
The recipe for a successful Shiur is, therefore, hours of preparation and deep thought. It does not matter how many years one has delivered Shiur on a particular topic. For compelling learning to emerge, enormous effort must be invested. Only with maximum effort and the support of Hashem can success be achieved, in line with the Gemara’s teaching “Yagata Umatzata Ta’amin,” that effort and success go hand in hand (Megillah 6b).
Since 2009, I have been privileged to teach Sefer Melachim at the Torah Academy of Bergen County. The students’ relentless questioning and high expectations have created a very high bar for which I have invested my all to satisfy. From David to Destruction is the product of thousands of hours of hard work, deep thinking, and intense davening invested to create beautiful and faithful interpretations of Sefer Melachim. I hope it will inspire Jews throughout the world to appreciate the majesty of Sefer Melachim and the treasures that are just waiting to be revealed and discovered. In particular, I hope it will help Rabbanim and Mechanchim in their quest to deliver inspiring and compelling Shiurim on Sefer Melachim to their congregants and Talmidim.
Nachum Krasnopolsky has invested countless hours to make my writings accessible. In the summer of 5778, together with the TABC alumnus Eitan Leff (’18), he tirelessly worked to gather and organize the thousands of articles in the Kol Torah archives to make them available online in an organized and attractive format at www.koltorah.org. The thousands of visitors the site attracts each month is an incredible testimony to the great service rendered by Nachum and Eitan.
In the spring and summer of 5779, Nachum, in his disciplined and dedicated, yet modest and soft-spoken style, strove to elevate my writings on Sefer Melachim into the extraordinarily high-quality work that From David to Destruction has become. The gratitude my family and I have for Nachum’s stellar editorial work is endless. Our expectations have been dramatically exceeded. Nachum is the embodiment of the Gemara’s teaching that one has gained more from his Talmidim than he has from his Rebbeim and colleagues.
I thank my son (and Torah Academy alumnus), Binyamin, who has contributed countless ideas that help create so many deep insights into Sefer Melachim. Binyamin is a fount of creative and out of the box thinking. It is always a pleasure and a deep source of satisfaction to partner with Binyamin in Torah learning.
Dozens of TABC students and alumni are cited in this volume. It is such a pleasure and honor to cite the contributions of so many students from the past many years. I thank all of them for partnering in the noblest pursuit in life – to be able to extract the lessons Hashem is expressing in His holy Torah.
I thank Rav Yosef Adler, Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Academy and Rav of Congregation Rinat Yisrael for his constant encouragement over the past twenty-four years at TABC and specific support for the publication of this work. Torah Academy’s administrators Rav Asher Yablok, Mr. Arthur Poleyeff, and Rav Ezra Wiener are also due an enormous debt of gratitude for their unending kindness and support.
The breakfast table in the Torah Academy faculty lounge is a treasure of our Yeshivah. I can always rely on a significant discussion amongst the Rebbeim concerning the issues in Sefer Melachim which yields invaluable and enriching insights. I thank my wonderful colleagues for providing such a spiritually nourishing environment.
I thank Hashem for the privilege of serving as the Rav of Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck. The formal and informal Torah discussions at Shaarei Orah are among my sweetest memories. May Hashem continue to send us many more years of beautiful weekday Tefillah, Shabbatot, and Yamim Tovim together. A special thank you to Heidi and Jack Varon for serving for so many years as the dedicated pillars of this wonderful Kehillah.
I thank Rav Elazar Meyer Teitz, the Av Beit Din of Elizabeth, for adopting me into his family and allowing me to serve as a Dayan with the Beth Din of Elizabeth. With Rav Teitz’s wise guidance, the Beth Din of Elizabeth has flourished and achieved a stellar international reputation for balancing uncompromised fidelity to Halachah and sensitivity to human needs with its work in the fields of Get and Eruv administration.
I thank my wife Malca for providing a loving and happy environment in our house. She is the source of happiness and joy of our home, where our children, Bracha and Yisroel, Binyamin, Chaya Zipporah, Atara, and Hillel grow and flourish with Hashem’s help. My, Baruch Hashem, many Shiurim and articles, easily flow in abundance due to the joyful environment Malca has created in our home. The accolade R. Akiva bestowed upon his family “Sheli VeShelachem Shelah Hi,” “my learning and your learning is all due to her,” applies at least in equal measure to Malca.
May this work serve Le’ilui Nishmat, to elevate the souls of my parents, Ben and Shirley Jachter A”H. Although they never had the opportunity to know their daughter-in-law Malca and grandchildren, I am certain that they would have been enormously pleased with their complete dedication to Torah and high-quality character.
May this work serve as a merit for my ailing father-in-law, Rav Shmuel Tokayer, and a source of comfort and support to my dedicated mother-in-law Mrs. Chana Tokayer. May Hashem extend them much Berachah, great support, and kindness.
Most of all, I thank Hashem for fulfilling my dreams to be blessed with a loving spouse and children and to spend a life immersed in Kedushah (holy projects). As a young man, I dreamed of teaching Torah to teenagers, leading a friendly and warm Kehillah, contributing to Am Yisrael as a Dayan, and publishing valued works of Torah. Thank You, Hashem, for transforming all of these aspirations into reality. Thank You, Hashem, for facilitating such a large and loyal readership, way beyond any dreams I harbored. “Mah Ashiv LaHashem Kol Tagmulohi Alai,” I am overwhelmed with the enormous gratitude to which I owe our Creator (Tehillim 116:12). May it be His Will to continue bestowing all these blessings for many decades to come.
Chaim Jachter
19 Tammuz 5779
Teaneck, New Jersey