Tzvi Daum asks how the Gemara teacher should respond to questions about the relevance of talmud to the lives of typical middle-school students.
For the past 24 years that I have had the privilege of teaching talmud, I always begin day one with addressing some of those question. However, I have been teaching high school students, and admittedly I don't know if this approach will work for middle schoolers.
The first issue that needs to be addressed is why study torah at all. My students usually respond with "It makes us smarter", "it's a mitzva", "we need to know what to do". It certainly does make us smarter, and it certainly is a mitzva, and we certainly study halacha to know what to do as Jews. This year was the first year that a student actually answered with the main reason why I study torah, particularly gemara. "We study torah to get help us develop a relationship with Hashem". I always quote Rav Herschel Schachter's explanation of the Navi’s (Sefer Shmuel) description of torah as “Mashal Hakadmoniâ€, which Rashi in chumash (mishpatim) and in Shas (Makkot 11b) understands to mean “a description of Hashemâ€. I think if students think they are studying about who Hashem is this can help with the motivation and inspiration during the learning, and also make it relevant, as if we need to serve G-d, we need to understand who He is. Rav Schachter also understood this to be the explanation of why we study the laws of Ben Sorair Umoreh, even though according to one opinion it never happened and never will, because of "drosh vekabel schar". Studying it means understanding a dimension of hashem's wisdom, whether it will or will not ever have practical application in this world.
In terms of gemara, I usually learn with my students the gemara in Gittin 60b that speaks about the primacy of Torah Sheb'al peh (Ikar kritat brit), and I explain that while Torah Shebichtav is the word of G-d, Torah Sheb'al Peh is the though process behind and application of His word, that Hashem purposely left for the Rabbis, and for each of us in every generation to attach ourselves to. I also learn with them Rav Soloveitchik's analysis of the Bait Halevi's chidush of the difference between the first luchot and the second luchot, where the second luchot, where the bifurcation of Torah Shebichtav and Torah Sheb'al Peh occured, the klaf of the torah sheb'eal peh became "the hearts and minds of the Jewish people in each generation", resulting in the kedushat yisrael of Jews being "Gufei kedusha, and not kedushat damim". (see the very end of Rav Soloveitchik's Yimei Zikaron, 246 - 251) Not only will diving into the "Yam Hatalmud" help our students apprehend Hashem's essence, as the zohar teaches "Yisroel, v'orayta", v'kudsha brich hu chad hu", or as chazal have stated elsewhere, that when hashem wrote the torah, he wrote about his essence, "ana nafshi kesivas yehavis", but it will surely afford them the tools to know how to analyze the laws and apply them.
It is crucial as well for teachers to reinforce this message in the classroom from time to time, stressing to the students the importance of the study of torah, and the relationship with Hashem that is uniquely created through challenging and meaningful torah study, especially from talmud. This will enhance the inspirational element in the learning environment of the classroom. When students can be shown and convinced that classroom intellectual endeavor is in fact a spiritual experience, connecting one to the almighty, that it is such a lofty mitzvah, and according to chazal it is “kineged kulamâ€, it has the potential to be inspiring. I think if students think they are studying about who Hashem is this can help with the inspiration.
I admit that for a family that is not religious, these explanations may not mean much, but I do think if we are going to be honest with our students, the study of torah and the relationship with the notain hatorah needs to be presented as central to their religious experience.
Kol Tuv,
Yisroel Kaminetsky
Rosh Yeshiva, Hebrew Academy of Long Beach
Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2015 06:25AM by mlb.
