When Mitzvot Lose Their Meaning: Rabbi David Stav on Reconnecting Orthodox Youth to Jewish Law (259)

August 18, 2025

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When Mitzvot Lose Their Meaning: Rabbi David Stav on Reconnecting Orthodox Youth to Jewish Law

Rabbi David Stav, chief rabbi of Shoham and chairman of Tzohar, has spent decades watching young religious Zionists and modern Orthodox Jews struggle with a paradox: they are deeply committed to their communities, willing to sacrifice months of their lives in army reserves, yet many feel disconnected from Halakha itself. "I almost never seen a boy or girl that were alumni of our education system that started to be less frum, less observant because they discovered the Torah was not given in Sinai," he says. "I've never seen somebody that has come to the conclusion God does not exist. But I've seen a lot of people that ask me: what makes you so sure that the fact that you are obligated to Torah will make you and your family more moral than others?"

The Real Crisis: Meaning, Not Belief

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What you'll learn

1 (06:03) **The Core Problem: Meaning, Not Belief** - Rabbi Stav argues that young people are not losing faith in God or Torah, but are unconvinced that Halakhic detail makes them happier or more moral.
2 (11:11) **The Two Unmet Promises of Halakha** - The disconnect stems from a perceived failure of religious observance to deliver on two core promises: making one a better person and making one happy.
3 (15:31) **The "Choosing People" vs. The "Chosen People"** - Rabbi Stav invokes Rabbi Sacks' concept that modern youth must be convinced to choose observance for themselves, not simply inherit it.
4 (18:01) **The Apple Test: Does Halakha Enhance Experience?** - A powerful anecdote about a Kabbalistic rabbi who argued that if reciting a bracha doesn't make an apple taste more juicy, the essence of Torah has been missed.
5 (20:16) **Debating Happiness vs. Meaning** - Rabbi Stav directly engages with the Rav Soloveitchik idea that religion is meant to make life harder, not happier, arguing that the Torah itself promises a good and happy life for observing its laws.
6 (27:08) **Why This Problem Is Worse in the Modern Orthodox World** - Rabbi Stav identifies three structural reasons: education for choice, interaction with secular society, and a lack of fear-based motivation.
7 (31:20) **The Failure of "Lithuanian-Style" Gemara Learning** - Rabbi Stav criticizes the approach of teaching Torah in Israeli high schools by copying the hyper-analytical, detail-focused style of European yeshivot.

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Show Notes

Why do so many young Modern Orthodox and National Religious Jews embrace the community but drift from halacha? In this episode of Orthodox Conundrum, Rabbi David Stav, head of Tzohar, joins Scott to confront the growing gap between identity and observance. Together they tackle the hard questions: Are we teaching halacha in ways that feel lifeless and irrelevant? Has secular society — from college to army service to technology — reshaped how youth see mitzvot? And most importantly, how can parents and educators reignite passion for Torah and halacha, showing a new generation that Jewish law is not just obligation, but a path to joy, meaning, and belonging?

Check out the wonderful new podcast, Women Talking Mitzvot, co-produced by Deracheha.org and Beit Midrash Migdal Oz, with Rabbanit Shayna Goldberg and Rabbanit Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble. To listen, click here (Apple) or here (Spotify).

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