9 habits of highly-accomplished Torah scholars

The Global Yarchei Kallah, held at Camp Gan Israel in Parksville, New York, takes place over a long weekend each August. During this time, participants study together and discuss Jewish thought and law with high-caliber peers.

While their teachings are worth repeating, I’ve also found value in their behavior, mindset and habits, which can serve as lessons to others.

Here are nine of them:

1. They value time

When I called to invite Rabbi Chaim Shalom Deitsch, who heads the Tzemach Tzedek Kollel (advanced study institute) in Jerusalem, his wife said he would be home in 18 minutes. I later asked him how his wife knew precisely when he would be home. “Well,” he said, “services were going to conclude in 15 minutes, and it takes 3 minutes to walk home.” They calculate their time and honor it.

2. They take the long road — literally

Rabbi Leibel Shuchat, dean of Yeshiva Guedola of Venezuela, has lived in Caracas since 1985. Due to the country’s political turmoil, what was once a six-hour trip to New York has become a staggering 17-hour journey through Spain or Panama. But as anyone who studies Torah knows, acquiring it is a process and requires a long road — sometimes literally.

3. They respect themselves

Rabbi Chananya Yosef Eisenbach, the late dean of the Chabad Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, Israel, always carried himself with dignity. His clothing was simple yet impeccable, as the Talmud instructs (Shabbos 114a): “It is a disgrace for a Torah scholar to go out into the market with worn-out shoes ...” because one’s appearance reflects one’s status.

4. They don’t multitask

As he prepared to pray, I noticed Rabbi Yechiel Kalmenson, dean of Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim in Burnoy, France, pausing for a moment of reflection. The Mishnah says (Berachot 5:1), “One should not stand up to pray except with a sense of reverence,” and he needed to enter that mindset. If it deserves one’s time, it deserves their full attention.

5. They practice disciplined flexibility

When Rabbi Sholom Ber Chaikin, posek (halachic authority) for Chabad of Northeast Ohio, studied Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, he circled specific laws to revisit later so as not to impede reaching his daily study quota. Learning requires both discipline and flexibility.

6. They will talk with anyone

During the summit, Rabbi Avraham Shemtov, its founder and the Chairman of Agudas Chassidei Chabad International, naturally welcomed and conversed with its accomplished participants. Yet, if a staffer or youngster approached, he treated them with the same respect, recognizing that each person is created in the image of G-d (Genesis 1:27).

7. They recognize individuality

Rabbi Yisroel Friedman, the late dean of Beis Medrash Oholei Torah in Crown Heights, once arrived a few days early to the summit — to the delight of the camp’s staff members. When two of them asked to learn with him, he scheduled them at separate times. When I asked about it, he explained: “One is ‘fire,’ and one is ‘water.’ Each student has their abilities in learning, and combining them won’t work — for either of them. Each needs to be taught on their own level.”

8. They know their place

During a heated scholarly debate, I expected Rabbi Aizik Landa, the chief rabbi of Bnei Brak — a city renowned for its Torah scholarship — to chime in. Instead, he stayed silent, recognizing the topic wasn’t his area of expertise. Despite his vast knowledge, he understood that others were more immersed in that particular subject and respectfully yielded to them.

9. They teach by example

During their stay, the rabbis’ meals were served by young students who felt honored to serve their teachers. Yet Rabbi Zalman Wilschanski, the late dean of Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim in Morristown, New Jersey, always left each of them a tip. Though not financially wealthy, he valued expressing gratitude, reminding us that kindness should always guide our actions. These are leaders of communities and rabbinical schools, revered sages and wise scholars.

Spend a few days with them — or a few minutes — and you’ll find there’s so much to relate to and to learn from them.

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