BT Blues

 I once asked a guy, “You went to a college whose library system has over 10 million books. How did you feel when you got to Machon Shlomo and there were no books” (In the 1980s, MS had just a half-shelf of books in the entire yeshiva – about 15 books). He said, “I thought, so this is yeshiva.”  In other words, he didn’t know any better. He, like most baalei teshuvah, was like a child. He was entering a strange new world. He was starting his life over. He was being asked to forget the past and rewire his brain. The entire world, the entire human race is narishkite. We have the truth. That’s what you are told. A child just accepts pretty much whatever his parents throw at him, until he sees the world and learns that there are other perspectives besides that of his parents. But that takes time. Until then, your parents own you.  When you enter the doors of Machon Shlomo and find that there are only two classes offered – Gemara b’iyun and Chumash with Rashi, you think, o...

  Q: If someone doesn’t have time, is learning halachah more important than learning gemara? Rabbi Avigdor Miller: And the answer is if you don’t have time then learn  mah shelibo chafetz,  what you desire to learn. That’s the truth.  Mah shelibo chafetz.  If you need to know certain halachos, learn them, but in general to engage in learning halachos you should know that a lot of it is also theoretical. If you start learning Shulchan Aruch you’ll see that you’re learning about many things that will never happen. And therefore it’s like gemara too. So a person should learn  mah shelibo chafetz. But this I can tell you. Once you start learning and  veha’arev na,  it becomes sweet –  ha’arev  means make sweet – you’ll start liking it and then Hakodosh Boruch Hu will make you find more time to learn. That’s a rule, a  klal gadol.  Once you like to learn, you’ll find more time to learn. So start out now and do whatever you...

  print Q How can we train young boys to make a  laining  on a piece of  gemara,  to be able to read a  gemara  on their own, without the  agmas nefesh  that a lot of children and parents suffer through?  A: To help young boys make a good  laining , I would say as follows. When someone begins to learn  gemara  but he’s not prepared for it, it’s like climbing a high mountain with a heavy pack on your back. You must first lighten the load.  I would say that the first thing is to let the child learn all of Pirkei Avos. And he should be able to translate every single word. It’s not difficult, but it takes time. And he must be able to translate  every  word. And once he’s able to  daven through Pirkei Avos without any hesitation, then give him an old  mishnayis , without  nekudos , and let him say Pirkei Avos. And when he learns to  daven through Pirkei Avos without  nekudos , now he’s r...