Biblical Proportions

“The depth of the Torah is something you don’t have to ‘believe in.’ You can actually see it; you can experience it. When the layers of meaning begin to unfurl before your eyes — there is nothing more awe-inspiring than that.” (Photos: Amir Levy Aleph Beta Animation Team)

I t took one boring lesson to teach Rabbi David Fohrman that a class needs to capture the imagination and engage the listener and what better way than with animated videos? But could that breezy style be used to elucidate profound concepts in Torah uncover the deeply layered messages of Tanach? With thousands of subscribers and an international following the answer is obvious.

Early in his teaching career, Rabbi David Fohrman — creator of the popular Aleph Beta animated Torah videos — discovered the necessity of making his lessons interactive. As a nineteen-year-old bochur, he spent a summer in Australia teaching Jewish high school students. His carefully prepared lessons, however, elicited only blank stares and bored yawns. At one point, he presented a classic moral dilemma — a lifeboat at sea is being rocked by heavy waves and the only way to save most of the passengers is to cast one overboard. Is it permissible to do so? And if it is, who should be selected? After a short silence, one of the high schoolers replied: “I don’t know what I would do. But I do know one thing. You would certainly be the first person I’d toss overboard.”

He wasn’t a rabbi or a professional educator yet, but at that point, David realized that carefully outlined lesson plans are not enough to stimulate a yet-to-be inspired audience. Classes needed to fully engage and capture the imagination, and there needs to be a real back and forth. Years later, all of Rabbi Fohrman’s books and videos are written or scripted in a breezy style so that the reader or viewer — who might not even be Jewish — feels as if he is a participant in a back-and-forth conversation.