Our Unbroken Chain of Torah Transmission

“Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua…”

Most of us are familiar with these opening words of Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers). We learn about the transmission of Torah from Moses to Joshua through the prophets and the great rabbinic scholars of subsequent generations.

I have always found the idea of an unbroken chain of Torah transmission remarkable. For thousands of years, one generation has taught the next, preserving the Torah and ensuring that it continues to be studied and passed along.

Recently, I decided to put together a chart tracing my own chain of Torah transmission, beginning with Moses at Mount Sinai and continuing through the generations until it reaches my teachers and, ultimately, me.

What began as a relatively simple idea became a fascinating project. I wanted to see the entire chain laid out in front of me, with the names arranged in order and dates included wherever possible.

Seeing all those names together makes quite an impression. There are the biblical prophets many of us have known about since childhood, the familiar names of the Mishnah and Talmud, and the great rabbis whose works remain central to Jewish learning today. There are also many less familiar figures, particularly among the Geonim, the rabbinic leaders of the great Babylonian academies, who helped preserve Torah scholarship during some of the most important transitions in Jewish history.

Every name represents another stage in the transmission of the Torah we continue to study and love.

Understanding Our Unbroken Chain

The chart follows a particular tradition of Torah transmission, known in Hebrew as the mesorah.

The first forty generations, through Rav Ashi, follow the account of Maimonides (the Rambam), with dates through the Zugot, the pairs of early rabbinic leaders, based on Seder Olam, an ancient work of traditional Jewish chronology. Subsequent generations follow the Geonim and later rabbinic traditions.

A few historical clarifications are important.

The succession of Geonim does not necessarily indicate direct teacher-student relationships. The dates also serve as historical reference points and do not necessarily indicate years of death. Some correspond to periods of leadership or other significant events.

The chain is intended to illustrate the continuity of Torah transmission across the generations. It represents one particular path through that history, rather than an exhaustive account of every scholar who contributed to the preservation and teaching of Torah.

With that understanding, here is the complete chain.

My Chain of Torah Transmission from Sinai

1. Moshe (1272 B.C.E.)
2. Yehoshua (1245 B.C.E.)
3. Pinchas
4. Eli (929 B.C.E.)
5. Shmuel (889 B.C.E.)
6. David (876 B.C.E.)
7. Achiah (800 B.C.E.)
8. Eliyahu (726 B.C.E.)
9. Elishah (717 B.C.E.)
10. Yehoyada (695 B.C.E.)
11. Zechariah (680 B.C.E.)
12. Hoshea (575 B.C.E.)
13. Amos (560 B.C.E.)
14. Yeshayahu (548 B.C.E.)
15. Michah (560 B.C.E.)
16. Yoel (510 B.C.E.)
17. Nachum (510 B.C.E.)
18. Chavakuk (510 B.C.E.)
19. Tzefaniah (460 B.C.E.)
20. Yirmiyahu (462 B.C.E.)
21. Baruch (347 B.C.E.)
22. Ezra (348 B.C.E.)
23. Shimon HaTzadik (310 B.C.E.)
24. Antigonus of Socho (305 B.C.E.)
25. Yosi ben Yoezer and Yosi ben Yochanan (280 B.C.E.)
26. Yehoshua ben Perachyah and Nittai of Arbel (243 B.C.E.)
27. Yehudah ben Tabbai and Shimon ben Shetach (198 B.C.E.)
28. Shemaya & Avtalyon (140 B.C.E.)
29. Hillel & Shammai (40 B.C.E.)
30. Rabban Shimon (10 B.C.E.)
31. Rabban Gamliel HaZaken (20 C.E.)
32. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel (50)
33. Rabban Gamliel (90)
34. Rabban Shimon (140)
35. Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi (180)
36. Rav, Shmuel, and Rabbi Yochanan (230)
37. Rav Huna (270)
38. Rabbah (310)
39. Rava (340)
40. Rav Ashi (420)
41. Rafram (443)
42. Rav Sama B’rei d’Rava (476)
43. Rav Yosi (514)
44. Rav Simonia
45. Rav Ravoi Me-Rov (589)
46. Mar Chanan Me-Ashkaya (608)
47. Rav Mari
48. Rav Chana Gaon
49. Mar Rav Rava
50. Rav Busai (689)
51. Mar Rav Huna Mari
52. Mar Rav Chiyah Me-Mishan
53. Mar Ravyah
54. Mar Rav Natronai
55. Mar Rav Yehuda (739)
56. Mar Rav Yosef (748)
57. Mar Rav Shmuel
58. Mar Rav Natroi Kahana
59. Mar Rav Avraham Kahana (761)
60. Mar Rav Dodai
61. Rav Chananya (771)
62. Rav Malka (773)
63. Mar Rav Rava
64. Mar Rav Shinoi (782)
65. Mar Rav Chaninai Kahana Gaon (785)
66. Mar Rav Huna Mar Halevi (788)
67. Mar Rav Menasheh (796)
68. Mar Rav Yeshaya Halevi (804)
69. Mar Rav Kahana Gaon (797)
70. Mar Rav Yosef
71. Mar Rav Ibomai Gaon (814)
72. Mar Rav Yosef
73. Mar Rav Avraham
74. Mar Rav Yosef (834)
75. Mar Rav Yitzchak (839)
76. Mar Rav Yosef (841)
77. Mar Rav Poltoi (858)
78. Mar Rav Achai Kahana
79. Mar Rav Menachem (860)
80. Mar Rav Matisyahu (869)
81. Mar Rav Abba
82. Mar Rav Tzemach Gaon (891)
83. Mar Rav Hai Gaon (897)
84. Mar Rav Kimoi Gaon (905)
85. Mar Rav Yehuda (917)
86. Mar Rav Mevasser Kahana Gaon (926)
87. Rav Kohen Tzedek (935)
88. Mar Rav Tzemach Gaon (937)
89. Rav Chaninah Gaon (943)
90. Mar Rav Aharon Hacohen (959)
91. Mar Rav Nechemiah (968)
92. Rav Sherira Gaon (1006)
93. Meshullam HaGadol (c. 1020)
94. Rabbeinu Gershom Me’or HaGolah (1040)
95. Rav Yaakov ben Yakar (1064)
96. Rav Shlomo Yitzchaki “Rashi” (1105)
97. R’ Shmuel ben Meir (Rashbam) (1174)
98. R’ Yaakov ben Meir (Rabbeinu Tam) (1171)
99. Eliezer Me-Metz (1175)
100. Rokeach (1238)
101. R’ Yitzchak of Vienna (Ohr Zarua) (c. 1260)
102. Rav Meir of Rothenburg (1293)
103. R’ Yitzchak of Duren (Shaarei Durah)
104. R’ Alexander Zuslin HaKohen (Agudah) (1348)
105. Meir Bar Baruch Halevi (1390)
106. R’ Shalom of Neustadt
107. R’ Tavoli
108. R’ Yaakov Moelin (Maharil) (1427)
109. R’ Yisrael Isserlein (Terumas HaDeshen) (1460)
110. Rabbi Yaakov Margolies (1501)
111. Rabbi Yaakov Pollak (1530)
112. Rabbi Shalom Shachna (1558)
113. Rabbi Moshe Isserles “Rema” (1572)
114. Rabbi Yehoshua Falk Katz (1614)
115. Rabbi Naftali Hirsch ben Pesachya (1650)
116. Rabbi Moshe Rivkes “Be’er Hagolah” (1671)
117. Rabbi Avraham Gombiner (1682)
118. Rabbi Moshe Kramer (1688)
119. Rabbi Eliyahu Chasid (1710)
120. Rabbi Yissachar Ber (1740)
121. Rabbi Shlomo Zalman (1758)
122. Rabbi Eliyahu Kramer “Vilna Gaon” (1797)
123. Rabbi Chaim Volozhiner (1821)
124. Rabbi Zundel of Salant (1866)
125. Rabbi Yisrael Salanter (1883)
126. Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv (1898)
127. Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Broide (1913)
128. Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler (1953)
129. Rabbi Moshe Shapira (2017)
130. Rabbi Beryl Gershenfeld (My Rebbe)
131. Rabbi Bob Barocas (Me)

The Next Link in the Chain

As I worked on this chart, I kept thinking about how easily we can take the transmission of Torah for granted.

We open a Chumash or a tractate of Talmud, attend a Torah class, or study with a friend. Jewish learning is such a familiar part of our lives that we don’t always think about the generations of people who made it possible.

Looking at this chain brings that history into focus.

I am especially struck by the names toward the end. The chain eventually reaches Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, Rabbi Moshe Shapira, and Rabbi Beryl Gershenfeld, followed by my own name. Seeing my name after theirs is beyond humbling. It reminds me how much I have received and how much responsibility comes with teaching Torah to others.

That realization shaped one of the most important decisions I made while designing the chart: I didn’t want it to end with my name.

Beneath the entire chain, I placed a blank line with the words “Your Name.”

My hope is that when my students see this chart, they will recognize that they belong to the same tradition. The Torah they are learning today has passed through an extraordinary succession of generations, and they now have a place in its continuing story. They are the next link in the chain.

For me, this is what makes teaching Torah such a privilege. I have the opportunity to share what my teachers gave me with students who will, I pray, carry those teachings into their own lives and eventually share them with others.

The chain has reached us because generations before us took that responsibility seriously.

Now it is our turn.

(The PDF version of our chain of Torah transmission can be found here.)