ignore and reT ::_:­ science which L:.5 ~ c. < sources or whic:· _ ::_- - to be gained by :::- :- '~ __ commanded is: occupy onese:i :_:__ , assumed. OnlY understanding -_., :- ::_: _ concern and tc, -=-=- _-:' ~ :::- the absolute am: ::-:.: ::- -_ knowledge and ~r ::..- : ,_ of the ar.1:i :_:_:-:- ' __ ~ they to be stuciif i ::: _ - -_ always remair. ;: :- ::. ~ -• • The Legacy of must be the ya;_-j_5;:_:.­ obtained by or::-_-:-:~;:--< 11 19 Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch ? ~~ accordance wifr ~ :· ,_. ~ _ for us. All that '-'- c. ::. _ -=­ actions must al«'--::: 5 - -:' : The relationship of Torah and secular knowledge is the Torah and b-:- ., _;: __ defined by Rav S. R. Hirsch, 7":lT in his commentary on the so that we on::- :: : _c. C'Jil:J rmn on Xiji'\ chap. 18, posuk 5: accordance v.--:.r:­ irn~i 1xizm Xil' x7tv : Cil::J n:;'7 : i17!:l~ ctvYn ?xi , iji'l.' ctvl.' Cil::J n:;'7 knowledge \W dr2--'. n~:;n 'rl1~7 i~xn x7tv c7iY:::i C'inx C'i::J1 Cil::J ::Jil.'rl x7tv ,cil:::i x7x developed from :;:'. :-. _,_ .pin~ i~!:l'' 'Xtvi ll'X ,cil:i n;:,77 7"n ,c7iYi1 m~ix n~:;n i~7x 7xitv' consider Torah-~=- : -. i.e. "Cil::J n:J'7", in them is the whole purpose of your life to knowledge; so r::-,:::.;: ;::·-:' _1 be, they are to form the whole principle of your life, the of all other km·... -::- ::.:::c. absolute, not just accepted with conditions as being have Jewish Tr.:;::--" : secondary; your whole spiritual acceptance and activity is importance ar_ d __ to occupy itself solely with them so that you never knowledge and r_ : ::-_ -_- c. ' introduce and mix alien matters with them, that you do not have exhaustiw_::: :. : ~ _. say: "now I have studied Jewish wisdom, I will go and study with the same n-~:.:-- i ;: : 2 1 the wisdom of other nations", that is why it says Cil::J n:;77, so, placing in oc ::-- _- ::. "thou mayest not depart from their sphere". If we the other, one -=-: __ - _­ understand these sentences of the C'Jil:J min aright, then complete com""ic: :­ the sentence which stands at their head: moral ruin in c: :5 : : _ ::_ 2-J il'?!:l~ Ctvl.'n ?xi iji'l.' Ctvl.' forewarns one not to take the surely as the -: : : ;:__ following sentences to mean that one is completely to knowledge and ','.-..s ::_ _::- 1

88 •RAV ignore and remain in ignorance of all knowledge and science which has been gained and nurtured by non-Jewish sources or which have no direct bearing on the knowledge to be gained by the study of the Torah. Inasmuch as what is commanded is: ri7£)ti 1:l1v:1m 7Ni ip'Y Clll:l.' the permission to occupy oneself also with other spheres of knowledge is assumed. Only, the knowledge of the Torah and the understanding we derive from it is to be our principal concern and to be regarded as having been given to us as the absolute and firmly established Truth. Only as accessory knowledge and in as far as they serve to truly help the study of the Torah and are subordinated as the 7£)ti to the ip'Y, are they to be studied. But the Torah and all its teachings must always remain that which we have received from Above and must be the yardstick by which we measure all the results obtained by other spheres of learning. Only that which is in aphael Hirsch '"~~ accordance with the Truths of the Torah can remain true for us. All that we accept intellectually as well as all our actions must always be considered from the point of view of : _::c.~· knowledge is the Torah and be within the lines of the doctrines it teaches, : :~--r:,entary on the so that we only accept and adopt that which is in accordance with them, and do not adulterate the • - · • -·~· cwY cri::i n::i'7 knowledge we draw out of the Torah with ideas which have :·: :·;;- M7\V ,Crl::l N7N developed from other and strange premises. We are not to "'-;·,: :-~:r. 1~7N 7N1lll' consider Torah-knowledge as being the same as other __ ;: :se of your life to knowledge; so that the Torah is for us only another branch , : _;: _e Jf your life, the of all other knowledge; that we have a Jewish knowledge, : : : i:tions as being have Jewish Truths, but that there are also, with equal -;: ~ :::..:- : e and activity is importance and having equal authority, non-Jewish _ _ ~r_at you never knowledge and non-Jewish truths; and after we imagine we _----=-~-,~hat you do not have exhaustively absorbed the Jewish thoughts we turn -:- ~ -.•:U go and study with the same mind to get hold of the non-Jewish ones, and - : :- :~ says cri::i n::i'7, so, placing in our minds and feelings one teaching next to sphere". If we the other, one Truth next to the other, and lacking ·. ·: -- -.- aright, then complete conviction of either, surely go to spiritual and __ ~heir head: moral ruin in discordant teachings and opinions. But as _ _ _ :_ =-t to take the surely as the Torah comes from G-d, and all other : : -" :s completely to knowledge and wisdom which have been found by Man only

Selecwd Writings • 89 consist of the results of Man's limited insight into the actual nature of things, so sure is it to us, that for us there is only certainly dese1'"".-es ::: __: __ . "- one teaching, knowledge and truth by which all else must be embodiment of ::- -=- ::---:_' measured, and all other have only conditional acceptance Likewise. ar_ 2: _: =- - and can only have value in conformance with it. So that and philosophy _:-- -: ~ __ when we study and occupy ourselves with other spheres of Torah or to fu:--::- -=-_ knowledge we still never leave the basis and aims of the independent se2:·: :- - Torah, to which alone all our intellectual work is dedicated and control the -, - and from whkh p717!.) WI)'°? WW7 7Jw. department of p;·_-:_- __ _ Rav Hirsch is usually accepted as the exponent of the this is not an c _: _:-- .:::-­ philosophy. This principle is Weltanschau un,;:: :-- : , : ,1 explained by his grandson, Dr. , as follows: Also, a se·: _:_::__ "He was strictly opposed to compromise or skullcap aus;•i,:-:- 0 reconciliation, or even a synthesis: he demanded full and extremely recT.1: >- :: - uncompromising rulership of the Torah. The Torah cannot even if it has :=cs:- 2 ~ ---" endure co-rulership, far less tolerate it. As a true as part of its 2: _:_ :: -=­ revolutionary he seized the liberalistic individual, the borders on blc..s_::: :·-=-:- - liberalistic, humanitarian ideal, liberalistic capitalism, and The Orth':"::::-: the human intellect, celebrating orgies in the liberalistic "koveah ittim = :_ -- science, and dragged them as "circumstances'', in the performance c,:· ::- -~=­ narrowest sense of the word, to the flaming fire of the Torah behavior, is no: :=i. :: __ - to be purified or, if need be, to be consumed. As a true all of Hirsch's p:-: -~-=: revolutionary he solved the unbearable tension between the main concern -... 2-5 : Torah and the new era which had dawned over the of Word and the :·:> . He invaded the new era with the weapons Torah, to dor:·_:__:- ::.:-=­ of the Torah, analyzed and dissected it down to its last mundane life. ingredients, and then shaped and reformed it until it could Those v;ho 2• .. 5-'- ~ be placed at the feet of the Torah, as new nourishment for lead a life of eas-:.::: __:-- ~ the Divine fire. The proclamation of the rulership of the who consider fr:=: ::-::. ' Torah over the new era was the historic achievement of the right and tl.e :-'-:'­ Hirsch's life for his own contemporaries." -- ("Hirsch as a meaning of the i::: ::- _ ~ _-=­ Guide to '' in Fundamentals of , Perek 2, 2: "Bea-.:::_:: __ -' published by Feldheim, 1949.) Unfortunately, the principle Derech Eretz fc: ~ _ -=- of Torah im Derech Eretz is grossly misunderstood by our to commit sins" ~~- -'- ~ contemporary Jewish orthodoxy. It does not mean that one knowledge, or.e :i:~: :- _ - who is a full-fledged citizen of hedonistic America and at must the Tora'.-. :: :-­ the same time keeps the laws of the Torah, is a follower of worldly acti\i::'.ce-" :=: :_ ---1 Torah im Derech Eretz. Not to violate the laws of the Torah Yisroel, as \Ye [ 2' _:_ _ -. .:. 1

J•) •RAV SHIMON SCHWAB 1.c ~ : s_.;::·.:: into the actual ·· ::. - =: :· _is there is only certainly deserves praise and recognition but it is not an - _- _: ::-. all else must be embodiment of the Hirschian philosophy. . __ - :~_ :: :,nal acceptance Likewise, an academy dedicated to the study of science 1 _ :: .::· . -:- -,.,·:th it. So that and philosophy, not in order to serve the understanding of f-'-' ,-_:~ c:::-ter spheres of Torah or to further the aims of the Torah but as the -=- ·:_,_,::,=-id aims of the independent search by the human intellect to understand . - _. ::.~ ·i. c r~ is dedicated and control the world around -- even when added to a department of profound and very scholarly Torah studies -­ :: .c -:-:x:Donent of the this is not an outgrowth of the Torah im Derech Eretz -=--:- :s principle is Weltanschauung of . ~:-:-_:er. as follows: Also, a secular university in Israel, albeit under -:· :,rnpromise or skullcap auspices, complete with Judaic studies, is ·-'- i.:-::-:1anded full and extremely remote from a Torah im Derech Eretz school _::.: T.:-.e Torah cannot even if it has established a "Samson Raphael Hirsch chair" - - - :t. As a true as part of its academic set-up, something which almost .___ . . . ~ndi\idual, the borders on blasphemy. . . --~ __ ·= apitalism, and The Orthodox professional who is not regularly __ z _-'- 5 ::~ the liberalistic "koveah ittim batorah", or otherwise lacks in the : :-:·.stances'', in the performance of , or who is immodest in dress or · -_· ,;:- fire of the Torah behavior, is not a follower of Samson Raphael Hirsch. From ___ ·s :med. As a true all of Hirsch's prolific writings, it becomes evident that his _ -:- :.c:-.s~on between the main concern was to establish the majesty of the Divine ~- .:- i 1:i\·er the Jews of Word and the role of the Divine Will as revealed in the -:- _: . ._,.-:.::h the weapons Torah, to dominate all the highways and by-ways of : - -:- ~- _: ,j_uwn to its last mundane life. < : ::·.-:-d it until it could Those who abuse Torah im Derech Eretz as a "hetter" to .:.. - _ .:--,,.- :1ourishment for lead a life of easygoing and lenient "Yiddishkeit" or those : : :-.::- rulership of the who consider the Hirschian idea as a compromise between : _.-. ::: achievement of the right and the left in Jewish thinking have distorted the _____ .. _ -- ("Hirsch as a meaning of the principle as laid down in the Mishne, A vos, ___ --:-_ :a~s of Judaism, Perek 2, 2: "Beautiful is the study of Torah combined with ·· ..: :-:- ~y. the principle Derech Eretz for the effort to attain both makes one forget - _, .. :· derstood by our to commit sins". The Torah is not a mere branch of human .: -:- ~ :· :'~mean that one knowledge, one discipline amongst many others, but rather _,: __ A.rnerica and at must the Torah dominate all secular knowledge and all - -:-- .. _:;_:-. :.S a follower of worldly activities. Equally so, the community of Israel, Klal - -:- - _ -:- ~1v,-s of the Torah Yisroel, as well as all Kehillos and organized communities,

Selected Writings • 91 be they local or international -- which are all segments of the Torah's =· :: -· Klal Yisroel -- are not supposed to be mere branches of a It mear.o; neutral Israel but are to be totally independent. The Torah human Derec'.·. :=:. community is not beholden to any non-Torah community the Torah's ~=· ~: .. , and it does not even recognize its authenticity. This is the There ar~ ~­ essence of the Hirschian Austritt (separation) ideology. The legitimate. Or-=- > -.:­ so-called "Austritt" is the militant vigilance of the Derech Eretz -~~- - conscientious defending the Torah community against goal. There c.>c all encroachments from the non-Torah powers that be. The approach. T>c:-: "Austritt" and Torah im Derech Eretz go hand in hand, they form "one package", so to speak, and both these aspects of Hirschian thought have one aim: the total domination of Torah over all thinking and actions of individual and national life. He who separates the rule of the Torah over all facets of the communal life of Klal Yisroel from the rule of the Torah over all human knowledge, in short, he who separates the "Austritt" from Torah im Derech Eretz, renders a disservice to both. Instead of becoming an inspiration to serve G-d in the spirit of 1iil'1 T:J11 7:i:::i, Torah im Derech Eretz is reduced to become an excuse for being "modern but frum", an excuse for the cultural assimilation which plagues the modern Orthodox Jew who considers this world a kosher pleasure cruise eventually resulting in all the sorry hangovers of our age. Let us therefore beware of some common misunderstandings. The motto does not have its accent on the last word but on the first word. It is TORAH -­ underscored for double emphasis -- with Derech Eretz. Furthermore, the leit-motif is neither Torah and Derech Eretz nor Torah U'Madoh -- the two are not equal partners -- nor must it be twisted around into Derech Eretz plus Torah. It is neither a synthesis of Torah with assimilation nor a bloodless orthopraxy blended with earthbound Americanism. It is none of these. It is Torah im Derech Eretz. It means G-d's Torah in its totality, utilizing Derech Eretz as the means to bring about

92 • RAV SHIMON SCHWAB 1:- :. -=- C'jl segments of the Torah's full realization. ···· -=-~-=- branches of a It means: Torah as a Divine nourishment and the . c -~

: '.·er all facets of · - - _· -=- :· _;;e of the Torah - separates the "' -::. . < .:ers a disservice --; _ -_ :·. to serve G-d in =erech Eretz is . __ - _. dern but frum", · : ic h plagues the _ _ '.';orld a kosher all the sorry

":·=ice common · :· c:. ·:e its accent on . ::. =~ is TORAH -­ -~- ::=:erech Eretz. - .:c:~:- er Torah and - "' ~-- :1 are not equal .-. _:· > Derech Eretz . . : : Torah with _. _· ·-. blended with

1 ·• " ::-.Js Torah in its -=- '.:- ~ r :1 bring about

Selected Writings • 93