"I am distressed that students are taught to belittle the discoveries of science..."
I Thought the Greeks Lost
by Dovid Landesman
Published November 2010 - Rabbi Landesman has since passed away. Yehi Zichro Boruch.
For
many years, the Torah Umesorah Annual Dinner was scheduled for the week
of Chanukah. One year, R. Gedaliah Schorr zt’l, rosh yeshiva of Torah
Vodaath, and at the time, the only member of the organization’s Rabbinic
Advisory Board who spoke unaccented and fluent English, was invited to
give the keynote address. The master of ceremonies, when introducing Rav
Schorr, decided to use the opportunity to offer his take on the
educational needs of the country. In his lengthy remarks, he challenged
Torah Vodaath to open a college and “show how it should be done.” When
it was finally his turn to speak, Rav Schorr stood silently at the
podium for a moment, a pensive expression on his face. He then turned
toward the m.c. with an enormous smile and said: “You know, I was under
the impression that we defeated the Greeks!”
(He was among other rabbis that signed a letter in 1946 approving the opening of a Yeshiva College under the auspices of Torah Vodaath - Moreover, one needed a Bachelors degree from a recognized university to meet the entrance requirements for the proposed American Hebrew Theological University. Rav Shraga Feivel passed away before he would be able to realize the opening of AHTU. P.M.)
Click On Images to Enlarge:The photos are add-ons by me.
The relationship
between am Yisrael and Greece has always been somewhat equivocal. Greece
is counted as one of the four nations [along with Bavel, Persia and
Rome/Edom] who have subjected Israel to exile, yet throughout the period
when we were subservient to Greece, we were never physically absent
from the land of Israel. Moreover, the initial acceptance of Greek
domination was passive. Alexander the Great was crossing Eretz Yisrael
on his way to battle the Persians for world domination when Shimon
ha-Tzaddik – kohen gadol and leader of the sanhedrin – reached a
political agreement with him to insure that Yerushalayim was not
“accidentally” destroyed by the Greek legions as they made their way
east. The physical conditions of exile under the Greeks were benign
until the period of the Chashmonaim when the Jews revolted against their
rule; a revolt that was in great part a reaction to the assimilation of
Greek values by a significant portion of the Jewish population.
On
one hand, Greek culture is seen as particularly depraved. The worship
of beauty – especially of the human form – and the emphasis on
aesthetics [art and literature] is considered to be the embodiment of
the triumph of the physical over the spiritual. The proclivity towards
homosexual behavior, the lack of elementary tzniut at public events, the
vivid descriptions of intimacy among multiple gods in a series of
classic fables – all of these would seem to point to a culture that is
the absolute antithesis of Judaism. Thus, it is surprising to find that
Greek language is considered to be second only to lashon ha-kodesh in
its intrinsic holiness. I would expect that Chazal would have us avoid
such cultural assimilation at all cost.
Yaft Elokim l’Yeffet
v’yishkon b’ahalei Shem – God granted beauty to Yeffet so that it might
dwell in the tents of Shem. The simple explanation would suggest that
there is an entire area of Divine wisdom – the beauty of Yeffet – which
was made accessible to Shem through the good offices of Yavan [Greece],
the scion of Yeffet. Beauty has intrinsic value, for we find Chazal
(Shabbat 131a) interpreting the verse zeh keli v’anvehu – this is my God
and I shall beautify Him (Shemot 15:2) as indicating that in performing
a mitzvah, one should do so in the most aesthetically pleasing manner
possible. Given the clear link between the obsession with aesthetics in
Greek life and the excesses of Greek culture, one might expect this to
be less than important.
In building the mishkan, Moshe was
commanded to specifically utilize the craftsmanship of Betzalel because
he was blessed with extraordinary artistic talents in a wide variety of
fields. Betzalel is considered to be “filled with wisdom” because he
knew how to sew, weave and embroider magnificent tapestries – skills
that as far as I know, no contemporary yeshiva has ever encouraged!
True, these were undoubtedly inherent rather than learned qualities – I
would be very surprised to discover that Betzalel had been enrolled as a
student of the Ramses School of Design prior to yetziyat Mitzrayim –
but they are nevertheless talents that are not usually considered to be
part of Torah nor are they – or related fields like music or
architecture – part of the yeshiva curriculum.
In general,
Judaism does not seem to completely reject the absorption of values from
outside sources. Chazal declare chachmah bagoyim, ta’amin – recognize
that the nations are in possession of wisdom; i.e., there are valuable
fields of knowledge that are accessible without recourse to Torah. This
would not a priori mean that these fields of knowledge are unavailable
to one who has never been exposed to secular studies. In theory, one
could utilize his natural talents and eventually achieve the same
results. As far as I know, there is not even an illusion to the healing
properties of Vitamin E in Torah shebichtav or sheb’aal peh.
Nevertheless, even if I had never been exposed to the scientific process
of observation and experimentation through which all pharmacology is
established, I could in time determine the medicinal value of Aloe vera
on my own. Similarly, the complex nano-technology which allows for the
manufacture of microscopic devices is ultimately a result of the
scientific process that could theoretically be developed without relying
on the instruction of others. Obviously, however, it is more efficient
to utilize the publicized findings of others rather than repeat
experiments by yourself. But is this determination the totality of what
Chazal had in mind when they spoke of chochmah bagoyim?
I would
posit that chochmah bagoyim ta’amin means that we should accept that
this chochmah is valid even though it comes from non-Torah sources.
These fields of knowledge do not depend upon Divinely revealed wisdom
accessible only through Torah; they are a byproduct of the Divine gifts
of intelligence and creativity with which all mankind was imbued and
which everyone can develop to the extent that his potential allows. If
you decide that you will ignore scientific breakthroughs because they
are not rooted in Torah and instead engage in your own research and
experimentation so as to be sure that your life is al taharat ha-kodesh,
then know that you will be guilty of a grievous amount of unnecessary
bittul Torah.
I am distressed that students are taught to
belittle the discoveries of science, claiming that we have no need for
it since hafoch bah, hafoch bah, d’kulo bah – study it (Torah), study
it, for everything all [knowledge] is in it. I have often heard students
– and quite a few rebbis – point to the mathematical and medical genius
of the Chazon Ish as proof that there is no need to teach our children a
core curriculum of general studies. Glibly, they claim: “Look how much
the Chazon Ish knew without ever having gone to college!”
My invariable
reply is that the Chazon Ish also achieved an incredible level of
mastery in all fields of Torah despite [or perhaps because of] the fact
that he never attended a yeshiva!
There is another factor that
needs to be analyzed when considering the extent of general knowledge to
which one allows himself to be exposed. Our ability to efficiently
utilize the wisdom of the scientific process is dependent upon a basic
familiarity with the fundamentals of math, science, and foreign
languages augmented by reading comprehension and writing proficiency.
Most of these areas of knowledge are not included in the basic cheder
curriculum in Eretz Yisrael. I wonder whether the excesses that the
scientific method is judged to have brought to society have led to a
rejection of the notion that there still is wisdom among the goyim.
Casey
Stengel once wisely commented that “nostalgia aint what it used to be.”
Nonetheless, I think that it is worthwhile to look back and see if we
can determine why the yeshivot a few decades ago were apparently more
successful in producing talmidim who saw no contradiction in straddling
the divide between Torah study and general education.
Forty or
fifty years ago, parents expected the yeshivot – at least the
non-chassidic mosdot – to provide their children with a decent secular
education, for the majority of them intended that their sons continue
with professional studies after they graduated high school. To be sure
there were a number of students who did not do so – if I recall
correctly, approximately 30% of the beit midrash bachurim in Torah
Vodaath did not attend college – but as a general rule, this was the
expected path.
For the most part, talmidim learned two sedarim
in the yeshiva and then attended college from about 5:30-10:30 two or
four nights a week. Many then continued onto graduate studies in a
variety of fields, including law, accounting, business, medicine,
engineering, psychology and the sciences. For the most part, and there
were of course exceptions, they remained bnei Torah and have built homes
that are paradigms of Torah and chessed. I would say without hesitation
that in the overwhelming majority of cases, their homes are more
strictly observant than those of their parents. Their immersion in the
world of general knowledge did not erode their level of observance.
Did
Rav Schorr see them as casualties of Greek culture? I obviously cannot
speak for him, but can only convey the impressions I have based on what I
heard from him. Rav Schorr also served as head of Beit Medrash Elyon in
Spring Valley – which was a parallel institution to Lakewood – but he
made
the bachurim in Torah Vodaath feel that we were no less bnei Torah
than the students there. He stressed that the primary responsibility we
had was to establish our own identity as bnei Torah. Some talmidim
learned all day, others learned less while still others were kovea itim
for a defined period based on the time they had.
But we were all equal,
for Torah was the mirror which we looked at when we wanted to see our
image.
The yeshivot – and roshei yeshivot – were able to convey
to the talmidim a sense of proportion. General knowledge was never
glorified but neither was it disparaged. The atmosphere in the yeshiva’s
beit midrash was eclectic; one year my morning seder chavruta was the
son [and eventual successor to] a prominent chassidic rebbe while my
afternoon chavruta was destined to become the chairman of the psychology
department at a well known local university. While the latter did not
wear the same garb as the former, there was very little difference in
their world views. The fact that they chose different “career” paths did
not translate itself into a parting of their ways. The talmidim felt
that we shared a similar commitment to Torah despite our diverse
backgrounds and aspirations which created a ruach within the yeshiva
that helped us when we were outside its doors.
Certain behaviors
were considered to be “conduct unbecoming” a Torah Vodaath boy and this
self-imposed and accepted code was a great source of support during the
times we found ourselves on the college campus. We did not need a va’ad
harabbanim to set these standards for us; the roshei yeshiva –
especially Rav Schorr and Rav Pam zt’l – made us feel that they trusted
us to do what was right. Perhaps the atmosphere on college campuses was
somewhat less hostile than it is today. Personally, I doubt that the
yetzer hara is stronger than it was then; it is the methodology that has
changed.
Today a bachur who leaves the beit midrash to study or
work is burdened by a sense of guilt; either because he is led to feel
that he must be a failure because he does not have sufficient motivation
to continue or because he lacks the mesirat nefesh (or deep pockets) to
survive the economic rough spots. That leaves him with few choices. He
can either plod on and increase his discomfort and sense of frustration,
masking it behind a false sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, or
he can break away – partially or completely. Without a sense of
accomplishment or identification with the yeshiva, the student seeks
those signs of success in the world of general studies. This is an
unnecessary tragedy that is the basic ingredient that allows the
contemporary Greeks their victory. Rejected in his own world, he seeks
acceptance and recognition elsewhere.
At what point does a focus
on the absorption of general knowledge and culture lead us to the point,
in Rav Schorr’s words, of providing the Greeks with a belated victory
and at what point does it fit into the rubric of chachmah bagoyim
ta’amin? Can we establish a quantifiable amount of general knowledge
desirable or is it a moving target that depends upon the era and
location of the community? At what point do we risk becoming assimilated
rather than acculturated?
I’m not sure whether there are clear
parameters that can be drawn. In one community in which I lived one of
the local roshei yeshiva would prepare his shiurim while listening to
Bach and Beethoven. I doubt that the people there would have been as
understanding if he had done so to the music of the Beatles.
Unquestionably lines have to be drawn; just as there are chochmot that
we can draw upon to enhance our Jewish lives, there are those that can
be misused and become destructive and dangerous. The trick, and
challenge, is to develop the skills to differentiate between them.
The
Greeks succeeded because they were able to convince the Jews that
adherence to Torat Moshe was primitive and uncultured. The contemporary
fallout from the yeshivot suffer from a similar damaged self-image.
Distanced for many reasons from the spiritual light of Torah – as
expressed by commitment to Torah study – which they cannot appreciate
and which brings them little satisfaction, they are easy victims for
seduction by the neon lights of the outside world.
The antidote,
however, is not to lock them behind high walls and deny them the
benefits of general knowledge; that would be self-defeating as well as
increasingly unfeasible in a technology driven world.
At the
very least schools, mechanchim, mechanchot as well as parents must be
sure to reinforce the sense of self-worth of each and every talmid –
reassuring them that they all have their own portion in Torah – portions
that are of equal import provided that they are the paths that are
right for each child’s potential and ability. Chanoch lanoar al pi darko
– instruct the child according to his path – based on the road that he
can follow, not on a one size fits all course of study. For some
students that might be defined as spending years in a kollel mastering
many blatt gemara, for others it might be applying the lessons of
Choshen Mishpat that they have been taught in yeshiva in their
businesses or medical practices. Yaft Elokim l’Yeffet – the outside
world has considerable beauty. It can be threatening when glorified as
an end unto itself or it can be enriching when it is properly brought
l’ohalei Shem – to dwell within the tents of Shem.
[
Rabbi
Dovid Landesman resides in Ramat Beit Shemesh where he comments on the
foibles of life in Israel. His collection of essays, There Are No
Basketball Courts in Heaven is available in Jewish bookstores and his
new book, Food for Thought – No Hechsher Required, will be published
b’ezrat Hashem this winter.]
The NY Board Of Regents Files are add-ons by me to Rabbi Landesman's essay.
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