BA Basics FAQ
From: Bnei Akiva Israel
1. What’s the idea behind Bnei Akiva’s motto “Torah Va’Avodah” (“Torah and Labor”)?
2. What is the origin of this motto?
3. If that’s the case, why aren’t we the “Torah” movement – doesn’t this already include everything else? Why do you need anything added to the word “Torah”?
4. So why specifically the word “Avodah” and not some other similar word meaning work, trade, craft, derech eretz, or life?
5. If emphasizing the value of both Torah and Avodah are so important, why did we only “wake up” to this about 100 years ago?
6. The ideas of the movement sound great, but very difficult – is it worth the effort?
7. In many other movements, the values of the movement are expressed in the name of the movement – so why are we called “Bnei Akiva” and not “Torah Va’Avodah”?
8. So why was Rabbi Akiva chosen?
9. So why do we go by Akiva, and not Rabbi Akiva?
10. So, do I now know all there is to know about Bnei Akiva now?
1. What’s the idea behind Bnei Akiva’s motto “Torah Va’Avodah” (“Torah and Labor”)?
A clear way of life that includes the fulfillment of Torah and Mitzvot in the fullest sense, while placing a special emphasis on the application of the ideas learned from the Torah in our daily lives.
The person of Torah Va’Avodah yearns to build reality according to the Torah and its directives. He is aware that every age brings with it new practical challenges, and lends a hand to meet them. The person of Torah Va’Avodah chooses his occupation, activities and place of residence, not according to his own personal pleasure, but according to the challenges of building and developing the Torah, the nation of Israel, and the Land of Israel.
- Rav Dani Shiloh
2. What is the origin of this motto?
The slogan “Torah Va’Avodah” was introduced by Rav Shmuel Chayim Landau (Shacha”l).
Bnei Akiva was established in the first days of Zionist aliyah to Israel. In those days, when Am Yisrael began to make aliyah to Israel and to settle it, religious pioneers saw the need to emphasize in their motto the practical side of Torah, the communal mitzvot and the communal life in the land of Israel.
The idea was to emphasize that we are people of Torah, that work to establish the State through the means of labor and settlement, out of a desire to actively bring redemption.
3. If that’s the case, why aren’t we the “Torah” movement – doesn’t this already include everything else? Why do you need anything added to the word “Torah”?
It’s true! Torah is the guide of our movement, and "Torah Va’Avodah" is our motto. As is usually the case with a motto, it comes to express the values that are important to us.
A motto of “Torah” alone might be understood as meaning: Only Torah – No to active aliyah (“aliyah bachomah”), no to an army, no to general education, no to our own creation of Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel, no to trades and communication, no to a national life.
The “Torah Va’Avodah” movement comes to emphasize saying yes to personal, national, and communal lives through the strengthening of all of the above elements.
4. So why specifically the word “Avodah” and not some other similar word meaning work, trade, craft, derech eretz, or life?
The word “Avodah” is loaded with meaning, beginning already in Gan Eden, where Adam was commanded “To work and to guard” – “L’ovdah Ule’Shomra”. The word avodah also connotes “avodah shebalev” – worship of the heart – and “avodat korbanot” – the sacrificial services, as well as the daily work of every person.
The choice to emphasize the value of labor began with the emphasis of people who were laborers, and were sustained by their own work, especially in settling the land of Israel .
This word was chosen because it is a general word, one which includes in it the mission of mankind as given in Gan Eden, and worship of God in general, and also expresses social values, and values of settlement in their widest sense.
5. If emphasizing the value of both Torah and Avodah are so important, why did we only “wake up” to this about 100 years ago?
Am Yisrael has lived in two types of frameworks: lives of exile (galut) and lives of redemption (geulah). In the 2000 years that preceded the beginning of our redemption, atchalta de’geula, that occurred with the re-establishment of a Jewish state, it wasn’t relevant to put an emphasis on lives of avodah, but rather only on learning of Torah and keeping mitzvoth, as a reminder for the eventual return to the proper way of life of a nation on its land.
Once Am Yisrael began to return to its land, it was necessary to emphasize values that weren’t relevant or realistic in the days of galut, to engrave them on our flag in the most clear and prominent way.
6. The ideas of the movement sound great, but very difficult – is it worth the effort?
It’s true, it is very complex. This makes sense, because man is a complex being, made up of both body and soul. We must live our lives in a way that recognizes this complexity. The soul has the need for spiritual striving, for study of Torah, but the Torah wasn’t given to the angels for a reason. The Torah was given to man in all his physicality, because Hashem wants us to work and to apply the Torah in our daily lives. God wants us to use the physical abilities that He gave us to bring out the best in the world, and the best in ourselves – that’s how we will be satisfied with out lives, because we’ll be accomplishing our goal in life, as difficult as it may be. This applies not only to our lives as individuals, but also to our lives as a nation.
7. In many other movements, the values of the movement are expressed in the name of the movement – so why are we called “Bnei Akiva” and not “Torah Va’Avodah”?
The name of our movement was suggested by Chaver Avraham Kestenboim and was chosen by the founder of the movement in Israel , Yechiel Elyaish. Our Rabbis have taught us the value of the principle “Your eyes should look upon your teachers.” In other words, if you want to teach a certain value, you should provide a personal example that shows how that value is demonstrated in a person’s life. And from here, our movement got the idea to be called not just by a value, but by the name of a model for us.
Bnei Akiva as a youth movement educates towards a life of Torah Va’Avodah, and therefore it’s appropriate to be called by the name of a man who lived and acted in the spirit of our most central values.
8. So why was Rabbi Akiva chosen?
Rabbi Akiva was a great man both in Torah learning and in action, and we learn this from his teachings and from his behavior:
He was a pillar of the Oral Torah- the Gemara tells us (Sanhedrin 86a) that all of the components of the Oral Torah were taught in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Akiva.
He taught us that “Loving your neighbor as yourself” is a great principle in the Torah.
He was one of the greatest teachers of Torah of all time, with 24,000 students.
He was the only one who was able to enter and exit safely from Pardes, the study of the deepest secrets of Torah, and teach mountains upon mountains of lessons from every crown of every letter in the Torah.
He was the spiritual leader of the national rebellion of Bar Kochva, and did everything in his power to bring redemption.
He saw the opportunity for redemption in Am Yisrael’s darkest moments.
Rabbi Akiva is a synthesis of the greatest of leaders, of educators, of Torah scholars, who lived his life as a model of his teachings, and all this with great effort and passion, and with building himself on a strong foundation.
Enough reason to be called by his name.
9. So why do we go by Akiva, and not Rabbi Akiva?
Our Rabbis have taught us that “Greater than being called ‘Rabban’ is to be called by one’s own name”. In other words, the order of greatness of the Rabbis was expressed in their title. From least great to greatest: Rav, Rebbe, Rabban, and finally, someone called simply by his name.
Rabbi Akiva went through 3 stages in his life- the time before he learned Torah, the time when he began learning and growing in Torah, when he was called Rabbi Akiva, and finally, the time when he was the giant of the generation, he was called simply by his name, as can be found in various places in the Gemara, most famously at the end of Masechet Makkot, when the rabbis say: “Akiva, nichamtanu (you have comforted us).”
We can also say that our desire is to become so close to Akiva that we feel able to call him by his name, not to feel so distant that we need to call him by his proper title.
Another reason that we could give is to say that Rachel, Kalba Savua’s daughter, saw something in Akiva before he became a great Torah scholar as well- that he was a modest man of special character, who lived by the motto of “Love your neighbor as yourself,” even before he learned any Torah. With this name, we want to also emphasize the character traits that we see as a necessary foundation for all of our values.
Finally, another popular reason given is that… “Bnei Akiva” just sounded better than “Bnei Rabbi Akiva."
10. So, do I now know all there is to know about Bnei Akiva now?
Not quite … Bnei Akiva, and the ideology of Torah Va’Avodah is a rich, complex and dynamic way of life- it’s a life long journey of living and learning, of commitment, passion and idealism, striving “letaken olam bemalchut Shakkai” – to build a world that is a Kingdom of Hashem . We invite YOU to join the journey!