The Qualities of a Great Teacher
The Torah is the absolute source of everything Hashem commands and His guide for how Jews are to live their lives. Many of the lessons are transmitted through the stories of the Avot and our ancestors. Many of the lessons are hinted at in the Written Torah and expounded upon by the Sages of the Talmud and Talmidei Chachamim throughout the ages. Some lessons only appear once, and others repeat themselves. It stands to reason that the lessons which are repeated are those which Hashem deems more integral to the destiny of the Jewish nation.
Chinuch is one of those areas of Jewish life that is replete in the Torah. Many of its messages are repeated throughout. One example that I would like to share is the description of the relationship between teachers and students. We find the same lesson repeated three times in Torat Moshe, the Chumash. Let’s look at each source.
In the beginning of Sefer BaMidbar it’s recorded, “These are the offspring of Aharon and Moshe…And these are the names of the children of Aharon, Nadav, Avihu, Elazar and Itamar.” Rashi quotes the sages who ask why only the offspring of Aharon were mentioned and not Moshe’s. They are telling us that a person who teaches Torah to another person’s child, is considered as if he fathered him. Hence, the Torah is teaching that Moshe spiritually fathered Aharon’s children. This same exact message is repeated in the story of Avraham and Sarah leaving Charan, and the Torah informs us who traveled with them. “And Avram took Sarai his wife…and the soul(s) they made in Charan…” The sages tell us, “They made souls” is a reference to educating and bringing biologically unrelated people under the Wings of Hashem. Avram and Sarai are considered the spiritual parents of these people.
The final reference is found in the K’riat Sh’ma, in Sefer Devarim “and you shall teach your children diligently. The sages comment the word children is a reference to students, that your students should be like your children. Again, we learn, the Torah teachers of the Jewish people will be the spiritual parents of their students. Rav Noach Orlowek, renowned Torah educator clarifies this message from an explanation of the Rambam. The Rambam implies that a student is not considered a child of the teacher until he begins teaching him. If so, the pasuk, “and you shall teach your children diligently”, which is the Torah source that obligates people to be teachers, is referring even to children they have not yet taught. Rav Orlowek explains that the Rambam includes in the mitzvah of teaching Torah to students the obligation to make the students their children even before teaching begins.
Rav Orlowek takes the insight of the Rambam a step further. “Unless he is my son, I cannot teach him, because the Torah commands, teach your children diligently. Essentially, there is a need for teachers to make a mental acquisition of their students, to adopt them, if you will. The roots of this idea, to acquire the child on some level is based on the story in the Gemara of Rav Yehoshua ben Gamla, Cohen Gadol in the second Bet HaMikdash. Our oral tradition praises him for saving the Torah by initiating compulsory education in Israel. It was at a time when traditional education of a father teaching his son began to breakdown. Many fathers had died in wars, others were living in abject poverty or running for their lives. Rav Yehoshua ben Gamla started a school system, and the teachers took on the role as fathers to their adopted children.
What are some of the qualities and behaviors of Torah teachers who fulfill the role of adopting parents? The first and primary quality can be learned from the Talmudic narrative of the great rebbe, Rav Shmuel bar Shilat. The Gemara recounts that Rav, one of the giants of Babylonian Jewry passed Rav Shmuel standing in a garden admiring its beauty in the middle of the day. Rav inquired, “did you abandon your students”? He replied, “I have not seen it (my garden) for 13 years, and even now I am thinking about them (my students).” A teacher of Torah never stops thinking about his students.
From the ways of Rav Shmuel bar Shilat, we understand that he was either with his students or thinking about them much of his waking hours. His investment of time and connection was not limited to the hours of teaching and learning. Rather, it included meals, recess, free time, trips, and all other extra-curricular activities. The time investment in and out of the classroom enabled him to fulfill an essential teaching requirement, to truly know the students as per the dictum of King Shlomo, “Educate a child according to his way, and even when he grows older, it (the lesson learned) will not leave him.” King Shlomo is teaching that the key to life-long mastery of lessons learned is a teacher who really understands his students and teaches them accordingly.
Let’s return to the perspective that teachers of Torah are like parents to their students. Should we assume that the Torah has an expectation that the love between teacher and student is as strong as the love between parent and child? This question was raised by the Ramban on the pasuk “You shall love your friend like yourself.” The Ramban considers loving someone like yourself as an exaggeration in our times. It would seem the same is true in the comparison between biological parents and teachers.
However, there should be an expectation of connectedness, which does emulate the relationship between parent and child and can generate a strong emotional bond. The Vilna Gaon writes there are four reasons why people want to connect with each other based on a Midrash on Shir HaShirim. Tov: A person with intrinsic good; Areiv: a person generates pleasurable experiences; Mo’il: A person who is helpful in achieving goals; Chemla: A person who reflects compassion.
Children are drawn toward teachers who are intrinsically good, who make schooling pleasurable, who assist their growth and who are compassionate. Children may not realize these attributes in their teachers, but they reflect them which causes a child to strongly connect and emulate the teacher. This idea is based on a pasuk in Sefer Mishlei, as water reflects a face, so to the heart of a person reflects (the heart of) a person.
Let’s summarize the necessary qualities of a Torah teacher to be categorized as great. Teachers who consistently think about their students, who knows his students so well that he teaches each one according to his way; a teacher with great compassion, who is intrinsically good, supportive and provides pleasurable learning and growing opportunities.
To such an extent, if any teacher lacks competency in any other important teaching and management skill area or lack knowledge in other important areas related to education, the qualities listed here will still enshrine him as a mastery teacher.
I encourage all teachers to self-audit and see what qualities are lacking in your teaching profile. You are the agents of Hashem, so you must strive for excellence.
Parents, don’t be hesitant, go out and find the best teachers for your children. Hashem has given you the responsibility to raise His children. Find the partners who will fulfill His mandate.
If you are a teacher—or know someone who is—who is striving to grow in this sacred mission, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I am here to support you on your journey to becoming the kind of educator the Torah envisions: one who teaches with heart, connection, and purpose. Whether you're looking for guidance, training opportunities, or simply a listening ear, I’m happy to help however I can. Together, we can raise the next generation with clarity, strength, and love.