Is Yeshivah Education Accomplishing What It Should? by Chaim Eisen
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Is Yeshivah Education Accomplishing What It Should? By Chaim Eisen Said Rabbi Yochanan: What is [the meaning of ] an angel is [based on] that which is written, “I that which is written, “For the Kohain’s lips should shall give you moving ones, among these standing safeguard knowledge, and they should seek Torah ones” (Zecharyah 3:7). For man … through his from his mouth; for he is an angel of the God of engaging in Torah ascends every day from level to Hosts” (Malachi 2:7)? If the rav resembles “an angel level [and is therefore called “moving”]. And the of the God of Hosts,” then “they should seek Torah angels are called “standing,” since they stand at one from his mouth”; and, if not, then they should not level, as at the moment when they were created.… “seek Torah from his mouth.” And Rabbi Yochanan’s intention is that the rav, (Chagigah 15b and Moed Katan 17a) when he teaches his students, should direct his atten- Apparently, the meaning of likening [the rav] to tion to raise his students and to explain [Torah] to them graciously. And he should not think at that moment of benefiting [through] his own [attendant For almost 20 years, Rabbi Eisen has taught at Yeshivat spiritual] ascensions. For thinking of his own ascen- Hakotel and other yeshivot in Israel and lectured on Jewish sions prevents [focusing on] his students’ ascensions. thought throughout Jerusalem. As founding editor of the OU journal Jewish Thought, he also wrote and edited numerous And at that moment [the rav] must be like an essays in this field. Along with Yeshivat Hakotel, he teaches at angel, who is called a standing one.… the OU-NCSY Israel Center and in the Torah Lecture Corps (Rav Pinchas HaLevi Horowitz, “Pitcha Zeira,” of the IDF Rabbinate (reserves). Foreword to HaMakneh [Offenbach, 1801]) Some of the ideas presented in this essay are developed more fully in the chapter “Rabbi Chaim Eisen,” in Learning in Jerusalem: Dialogues with Distinguished Teachers of Judaism, ed. Shalom Freedman (Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson, 5759), 85-115, where they first appeared. In addi- Over the course of almost 20 years of teaching tion, the author gratefully acknowledges the comments of Rav in post-secondary yeshivot, I have often reflected on Rav Nachum Neriah, who reviewed this essay. Horowitz’s admonition. His words are especially germane JEWISH ACTION Winter 5762/2001 JEWISH ACTION Winter 5762/2001 when I encounter dedicated students who proudly reviewing midrash, halachot, and aggadot, and if he possess- announce their plans to pursue teaching careers them- es no fear of sin, he possesses nothing.”2 In Talmudic idiom, selves. Typically, when asked for their motive, their Torah is not simply learned but “acquired” (nikneit), con- response is that they love studying Torah. Invariably, my noting a process of internalization that can transform the (admittedly irreverent) reply is: So, because you love Torah acquirer. Thus, the sixth chapter of Avot, whose pervasive learning, your students should suffer? theme is study of Torah, is “the Chapter of Acquisition of We aspire to instill a love of Torah in all our students, Torah” (Perek Kinyan Torah), not the chapter of Torah believing that Torah study should be “our life and the learning or study. length of our days” (Arvit service, Birkat Ahavah) for all, In this light, the most immediate issue to confront con- regardless of vocation. Every profession is compatible with cerns the agenda and priorities based upon which we struc- a serious commitment to ongoing Torah learning. And ture our yeshivah curricula. Rav Avraham Yeshayah while a love of Torah is obviously a prerequisite of a suc- Karelitz (the Chazon Ish) forcefully deplored the current cessful career in Torah education, by itself it is woefully tendency to ignore such basic, straightforward commenta- insufficient. Students who seek, through teaching, gratifi- tors as Maharsha.3 Rav Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky (the cation of their own craving for Torah study fail to appreci- Steipler Rav) similarly stressed, “A maggid shiur [lecturer in ate the teacher’s true mission and are liable to wreak havoc Talmud] must understand that there is no need to present in the classroom. and it is best to avoid presenting self-composed novellae.… Indeed, when we ignore Rav Hor owi t z ’s warning reg a r d- A simple answer to a simple question is immeasurably bet- ing the challenges of teaching, the consequences are far more ter than an intricate response comprised of multiple insidious than tragically inappropriate vocational guidance strands of thought woven into a tapestry of reasoning.”4 for would-be educators. While the vast majority of yes h i va h The dangers of indulgence in excessively recondite dialec- faculty undoubtedly devote themselves heart and soul to tics are first and foremost scholastic. Students who have their work, we need critically to consider whether we are not yet adequately developed the rudimentary tools for pr oviding our charges with what they need most. In parti c u - apprehending and analyzing the plain meaning of the text la r , to what extent can we honestly claim to be successfully are often schooled prematurely in subtle abstractions. In Students who seek, through teaching, gratification of their own craving for Torah study… are liable to wreak havoc in the classroom. equipping our students to function as exemplars of Tor a h the grind to prepare the source list for such a Gemara values in contemporary society? I submit that, on four level s , shiur, even experienced students may lapse into a “checklist our performance demands urgent rev i e w. mode”: “covering” the requisite Talmudic passage, then “covering” Rashi, the Tosafot, and whichever additional commentators are on the agenda, preparing—perhaps even 1 . “Ta l m u d [study] is gre a t e r, memorizing—the material well but externally. Attempts to 1 understand remain detached and superficial, dominated by because t a l m u d leads to deed.” shallow questions of “what” rather than probing demands of “why.” One can amass encyclopedic knowledge this way—but passively, devoid of personal animation and individual innovation. In the end, the results of such intellectual detachment are The Gemara stresses that talmud is great, not if, far more trea c h e r ous than pedagogical failure alone. Rabbi when, or insofar as it leads to deed, but rather because it Emanuel Feldman recently observed, “Our teaching of leads to deed; true talmud that does not lead to deed is a Torah is measured by surface standards. Students of Tor a h contradiction in terms. Likewise, the Mishnah instructs us, ar e considered to have ‘su c c e e d e d ’ when they know this or “Study is not paramount, but deed is” (Avot 1:17). Since that Gemara.… But the noblest internal possibilities of the not all talmud relates to practical halachah, “deed” cannot Jew … are by and large not an integral part of the learning refer simply to direct halachic ramifications. Rather, the pr ogram—as if mi d d o t [manners] and general spiritual study itself is expected to alter the student fundamentally. de v elopment will somehow take care of themselves . ” 5 As a changed person, all his deeds will inevitably be affect- Li k e wise, a friend of mine noted ruefully that, in many ed. Th e re f o r e, warns the Mid ra s h , “You [may] find a person yes h i v ot, considering the practical halachic implications of JEWISH ACTION Winter 5762/2001 the Talmudic passage under scrutiny is de rigueur when that students will somehow acquire the requisite tools for studying Seder Moe d (S habbat and the holidays) and all but elementary textual analysis on their own. un h e a r d of when studying Seder Nez i k i n (civil and mone- Howeve r , while competence in voc a b u l a r y and punctua- ta r y laws and ethics). The impression is unwittingly fostered tion is vital, it is only the introd u c t o r y phase. We must that Judaism is a religion in a purely ritual or transcendent red r ess the “checklist mode” in tackling a passage, by teaching Even advanced students are often appallingly ignorant of the axioms of Jewish belief and are at a total loss to grapple with...the theological, philosophical, and spiritual challenges of contemporary society. sense. Rav Samson Raphael Hir s c h 6 eloquently decries this our students first to learn it critically from their own stand- mi s p e r ception, in which “a part of a work … referring to point, asking themselves not only wh a t the Gemara is say- worship and holy days” (i.e., the Orech Chaim co m p o n e n t ing but wh y . Rav Karelitz rep o r tedly urged his students to of the Shulchan Aruc h ) is mistaken for the totality of Jewi s h formulate their own pe s h a t (understanding of the passage) la w . That people can bemoan the phenomenon of so-called in d e p e n d e n t l y , before consulting Rashi or any other com- “dishonest religious Jews ”—as if someone dishonest could mentator—an approach already advocated six centuries ago possibly be reg a r ded as “rel i g i o u s ” (God forbid!)—is a sad by Rabbi Yi t z chak Canpanton in Dar chei HaTa l m u d , his testimony to this perversion of Judaism.