Judge Ruchie Freier, Sefaria Torah Talks
I shouldn't feel like I'm "nothing." The Torah was given in a space of nothingness.
This one-on-one Torah study with Judge Ruchie Freier is a part of our Torah Talks project. In this session, she shares her reflections on the Baal Shem Tov, the popular chasidic movement, and the importance of independence and taking ownership over our Torah learning.
This sheet includes memorable quotes from our study session with Ruchie Freier. We encourage you to add these quotes to your own Sefaria sheets by clicking them and selecting “Add to Sheet” in the resource panel (instructions here)!
The Honorable Rachel E. Freier, AEMT-Paramedic, known as Ruchie by her friends and family, was elected as Civil Court Judge in November 2016 and is currently assigned to Kings County Criminal Court in New York. She is the founder of Ezras Nashim, the first and only all women's EMT corps in the Chassidic community.
Click here to learn more about Ruchie.
וַיִּסְע֣וּ מֵרְפִידִ֗ים וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ מִדְבַּ֣ר סִינַ֔י וַֽיַּחֲנ֖וּ בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר וַיִּֽחַן־שָׁ֥ם יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל נֶ֥גֶד הָהָֽר׃ וּמֹשֶׁ֥ה עָלָ֖ה אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֵלָ֤יו יְהוָה֙ מִן־הָהָ֣ר לֵאמֹ֔ר כֹּ֤ה תֹאמַר֙ לְבֵ֣ית יַעֲקֹ֔ב וְתַגֵּ֖יד לִבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
Having journeyed from Rephidim, they entered the Sinai desert and encamped in the desert. Israel encamped there in front of the mountain, and Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob and declare to the children of Israel:
וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי (במדבר א, א), לָמָּה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי, מִכָּאן שָׁנוּ חֲכָמִים בִּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים נִתְּנָה הַתּוֹרָה, בָּאֵשׁ, וּבַמַּיִם, וּבַמִּדְבָּר. בָּאֵשׁ מִנַּיִן (שמות יט, יח): וְהַר סִינַי עָשַׁן כֻּלּוֹ וגו'. וּבַמַּיִם מִנַּיִן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שופטים ה, ד): גַּם שָׁמַיִם נָטָפוּ גַּם עָבִים נָטְפוּ מָיִם. וּבַמִּדְבָּר מִנַּיִן וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי, וְלָמָּה נִתְּנָה בִּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הַלָּלוּ, אֶלָּא מָה אֵלּוּ חִנָּם לְכָל בָּאֵי הָעוֹלָם כָּךְ דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה חִנָּם הֵם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה נה, א): הוֹי כָּל צָמֵא לְכוּ לַמַּיִם, דָּבָר אַחֵר, וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי, אֶלָּא כָּל מִי שֶׁאֵינוֹ עוֹשֶׂה עַצְמוֹ כַּמִּדְבָּר, הֶפְקֵר, אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לִקְנוֹת אֶת הַחָכְמָה וְהַתּוֹרָה, לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר: בְּמִדְבַּר סִינָי.
"And God spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert" (Numbers 1:1). Why the Sinai desert? From here the sages taught that the Torah was given through three things: fire, water, and desert. How do we know it was given through fire? From Exodus 19:18: "And Mount Sinai was all in smoke as God had come down upon it in fire." How do we know it was given through water? As it says in Judges 5:4, "The heavens dripped and the clouds dripped water [at Sinai]." How do we know it was given through desert? [As it says above,] "And God spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert." And why was the Torah given through these three things? Just as [fire, water, and desert] are free to all the inhabitants of the world, so too are the words of Torah free to them, as it says in Isaiah 55:1, "Oh, all who are thirsty, come for water... even if you have no money."
Another explanation: "And God spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert" — Anyone who does not make themselves ownerless like the desert cannot acquire the wisdom and the Torah. Therefore it says, "the Sinai desert."
Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, The Baal Shem Tov, or "Besht" in Martin Buber's The Legend of the Baal-Shem (1995)
Cleaving to Hashem is the master-key that opens all locks. Every Jew, including the most simple, possesses the ability to cleave to the words of Torah and prayer, thereby achieving the highest degrees of unity with Hashem.
Judge Ruchie Freier, Sefaria Torah Talks
The concept of the Baal Shem Tov is that God is everywhere and the Torah is everywhere, so, just as the Torah was given in the midbar (desert) -- [the desert] was just so vast...and yet the Torah is there -- so too wherever you go, wherever you find yourself, Hashem's presence is there, with the Torah. And I think it was King David who said: "Achat shaalti me-eit Hashem." King David made one request of God. He said: "Shivti be-veis Hashem kol yemay chayai." He said: "I want to live in the house of God all the days of my life." But [King David] was a warrior. He was all over. How in the world could he sit in God's home all of his days? And what we learn from that is that wherever [King David] was, whatever he was doing, he brought God with him.
How lucky I [Ruchie] am to be able to be a judge. It was the fulfillment of my dream. I always say I love my job so much. Do you know why? Because I have the best seat in the house. Regardless of which courtroom I'm assigned to, above where I sit are the words, "In God We Trust,” and that's like "shiviti Hashem le-negdi tamid". There I am, at work in a civil courthouse, above me are the words always reminding me that God is with me, and with Hashem is the Torah, and the values of the Torah that we always have to remember wherever we go, wherever we find ourselves, you can be in this vast wilderness and you'll think: "There's no there's no Torah here, I'm in this wilderness far away from anything that I know of." But you have God's presence and the Torah is with you, and that really was the message of the Baal Shem Tov - no matter who you are, high up, low down, wherever you put yourself, just remember just like anywhere in the wilderness, anywhere in the desert, the Torah and Hashem is available there.
Judge Ruchie Freier, Sefaria Torah Talks
The desert is empty. It's barren and a person might feel: "Well, who am I? I don't have any grand connections. I'm just a low person. I have no possessions. I'm almost like a barren desert." But the Torah is yours too. You could excel in it and you could become like fire. You could believe you could be lit up, and you could light the world up with your Torah.
Judge Ruchie Freier, Sefaria Torah Talks
"Ein ben chorin ela mi-she-osek ba-Torah" "The only free person is one who engages in Torah": If you don't delve in the Torah, if you don't live a Torah life, then you're chained. It’s the Torah with all its restrictions, which we think are restrictions, but they really help us live a free and independent life, which it may sound like it's a contrast, but it's not -- because if you don't have the Torah's guidance, then you don't know what you're going to be beholden to, but if you are beholden to the Torah, then you truly live a life of a "ben chorin" (a free person).
Judge Ruchie Freier, Sefaria Torah Talks
During that time in Jewish history [the time of the Baal Shem Tov and the founding of the Chasidic movement], it seemed to the average person that the Torah was above and beyond their means. It seemed like you had to be a big scholar and [at] one of the biggest yeshivas (seminaries) to really consider a Ben Torah (student of Torah), and that was the whole revolution of the Baal Shem Tov, which really circles back -- that just like the Torah was given in the desert, in the poor, the poorest of the poor, in the cheapest of the cheap of commodity.
Judge Ruchie Freier, Sefaria Torah Talks
I try to be inclusive and recognize and respect everybody. Regardless of the fact that I belong to the Chasidic community, I respect everybody, and some people who find themselves in communities that are maybe less observant -- they sometimes feel the Torah is difficult for them to achieve, but it's not. I would say regardless of where you were born, into which community you were born into, the Torah is available for you the same way, and if you search and you delve and you seek and you find yourself, you may find yourself learning more than you even bargained for.
Judge Ruchie Freier, Sefaria Torah Talks
When it says that a person should be ownerless (hefker), that means we ourselves do not have someone -- we're independent. We have no owner. You have to have a certain amount of independence to be able to be a Ben Torah or a Bas Torah (student of Torah)...Who is really a Ben Chorin -- who is really free [and can acquire the Torah] -- [the one] who is independent.
About The Honorable Rachel E. Freier, AEMT-Paramedic
Rachel Freier, known as Ruchie by her friends and family, was elected as Civil Court Judge in November 2016 and is currently assigned to Kings County Criminal Court. Prior to becoming a judge, she maintained law offices in Borough Park and Monroe, N. Y. licensed to practice in NY, NJ and Washington DC.
Rachel attended Bais Yaakov from elementary school through seminary. Her teachers, many of whom were students of Sara Schneirer impressed upon her that each person is created with a Tzelem Elokim, in the image of G-D with incredible potential, which inspired her to reach great heights in public service.
After graduating Bais Yaakov, Rachel worked as a legal secretary and then worked her way up to paralegal while supporting her husband, Tzi David Freier, who studied the Talmud in Kollel during the first ten years of her marriage. Subsequently, Rachel attended Touro College, where she majored in Political Science and directed the Women’s Pre-Law Society. After graduating Touro College with honors, she attended Brooklyn Law School part time so that she would have time to study law while raising her six children. She was recently honored as one of Brooklyn Law School’s Trailblazers for being the first Chassidic woman to be elected to public office.
After graduating law school, Rachel founded Chasdei Devorah, Inc. a non profit charity, in memory of her friend who passed away at a young age. Thereafter she formed B’Derech, a grassroots non profit organization advocating for education and opportunity for adolescents in the Chassidic community.
When a group of Chassidic female Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) in Borough Park asked Rachel to assist them in their desire to serve other women during emergencies, her offer to help them mushroomed into directing a global grassroots all women’s volunteer agency known as Ezras Nashim. In order to be a more effective leader, she became an EMT.
Rachel is a proud, devoted mother and grandmother of a Chassidic Family. She is dedicated to her Chassidic community specifically and reaches out to the general Jewish community.