BT Blues

  And Rava says in reference to this verse: A person must always study Torah and gain a broad knowledge of it, and only then may he analyze and delve into it. As it is stated: “His delight is in the Torah of the Lord,” meaning that he studies the Torah on a basic level, and only afterward does the verse state: “And in his Torah he meditates,” i.e., he analyzes it.  Avodah Zara 19a So why do they start BTs on Brisker stuff?

    The Prohibition Against Impure Thoughts: “Scripture ( Ecclesiastes 12,14) teaches us that God judges every action according to the person's hidden feelings. If a man inadvertently happens to see a beautiful woman and allows himself even a momentary impure thought while looking at her , he should not think that he did not commit a transgression because he had not gone out on purpose to be attracted by her charm. The statement that God judges man according to his hidden feelings applies in such cases also. Even pleasure at the sight of an unexpected sensual stimulus is a transgression. We should regard as a punishment the mere fact that we were given occasion for impurity without our having gone out to look for it. On the other hand, one who gets an unexpected opportunity to perform a mitzvah should rejoice and give thanks to God Who has given him this unsought opportunity to do good.” Sefer Chasidim , 177, (12th century) as translated in the monthly journal Jeshuru...

 

They tell you that you don't need the world, don't need secular studies because everything is in the Torah. They walk you into a room full of books and say "Look at all these. You don't need anything else." Since the books are in a foreign language, you really can't investigate the truth of the claim. This applies not only in the beginning but after years because they don't teach you the language. The strange characters, running right to left, are exotic. They look like art. They kind of spin your mind around, and you find yourself saying, "I guess everything is in there. I don't need anything else." But then they don't study the entire Torah. They disparage almost of all it and focus exclusively on a few pages of the Gemara which they approach in a chaotic, abstract manner. Where's all that everything-is-in-it stuff? Oh, you don't need that. Just learn this. It's magical. It will change you.  What, it's not changing you? ...

 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...