Hi,
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways,
which it lists for us. The forty-ninth of the 48 is machkim et rabbo,making one's rebbe [mentor] wiser.
As we have already said, one must ask questions while learning, and doing so will increase not only the student's understanding, but also that of the mentor. This also leads to an indirect benefit for the student; as Rabbeinu Bechayye notes, the mentor will know be able to teach more, and in better ways.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Showing posts with label Sources: Rabbeinu Bechayye: Pirkei Avot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sources: Rabbeinu Bechayye: Pirkei Avot. Show all posts
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
48 Ways: #48 - Learn in order to practice
Hi,
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The forty-eighth of the 48 is lomeid al menat la'asot, learning for the sake of practicing.
One who learns Torah in the abstract is not necessarily careful to fully digest the material; contemplating implementation compels us to consider what we are learning far more carefully, and with an eye toward understanding how it relates to specific situations. Rabbeinu Bechayye compares this to studying medicine - one who is simply interested in the topic will not care about misunderstandings, but one who intends to practice will be far more diligent.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The forty-eighth of the 48 is lomeid al menat la'asot, learning for the sake of practicing.
One who learns Torah in the abstract is not necessarily careful to fully digest the material; contemplating implementation compels us to consider what we are learning far more carefully, and with an eye toward understanding how it relates to specific situations. Rabbeinu Bechayye compares this to studying medicine - one who is simply interested in the topic will not care about misunderstandings, but one who intends to practice will be far more diligent.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
48 Ways: #24b - The sincerity of sages
Hi,
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The twenty-fourth of the 48 is emunas chachamim; yesterday we translated this one way, but today we offer the sincerity of sages.
This is the approach taken by Rabbeinu Bechayye. In order to succeed in Torah study, one must be the same inside and out, as humble and pious and diligent inside as he appears externally. One must not only look like a scholar, one must be a scholar.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The twenty-fourth of the 48 is emunas chachamim; yesterday we translated this one way, but today we offer the sincerity of sages.
This is the approach taken by Rabbeinu Bechayye. In order to succeed in Torah study, one must be the same inside and out, as humble and pious and diligent inside as he appears externally. One must not only look like a scholar, one must be a scholar.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Saturday, April 27, 2013
48 Ways: #22 - A long temper
Hi,
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The twenty-second of the 48 is erech apayim - having a long temper.
There are many evident advantages to patience, personally and in society and in one's learning. Regarding this last category, on a very practical level, one who has a fiery temper is more apt to be distracted from his studies by personal issues and will have a harder time finding good mentoring and chavruta relationships.
Rabbeinu Bechayye notes an additional problem, though: We are taught that anger causes a person to forget his learning; see Rashi to Bamidbar 31:21, for example, stating that Moshe's moments of rage caused him to forget that which he knew. This may be explained naturally; in the learning stage our anger and stress deny us the focus needed to develop memories, and in the recall stage these same phenomena turn our mind away from tracking down those connections, and can also cause us to lose patience with the whole process of learning.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The twenty-second of the 48 is erech apayim - having a long temper.
There are many evident advantages to patience, personally and in society and in one's learning. Regarding this last category, on a very practical level, one who has a fiery temper is more apt to be distracted from his studies by personal issues and will have a harder time finding good mentoring and chavruta relationships.
Rabbeinu Bechayye notes an additional problem, though: We are taught that anger causes a person to forget his learning; see Rashi to Bamidbar 31:21, for example, stating that Moshe's moments of rage caused him to forget that which he knew. This may be explained naturally; in the learning stage our anger and stress deny us the focus needed to develop memories, and in the recall stage these same phenomena turn our mind away from tracking down those connections, and can also cause us to lose patience with the whole process of learning.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
48 Ways: #19 - Minimizing sleep
Hi,
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The nineteenth of the 48 is miut sheinah, reducing sleep.
The Rambam explicitly counsels us to pursue eight hours of sleep per night (Hilchot Deiot 4:4), so perhaps one might say that today we are all in fulfillment of this mishnah, since it's rare for us to sleep eight hours in any given night!
To me, though, the mishnah here is not talking about quantity. As Rabbeinu Bechayye explains, this mishnah is saying that one should not be אדוק בשינה, pursuing sleep as a goal and priority. It's about our attitude - is sleep a goal, or is it a means toward accumulating the energy needed to achieve a positive end? One who pursues sleep as a goal will have difficulty achieving greatness in his studies.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The nineteenth of the 48 is miut sheinah, reducing sleep.
The Rambam explicitly counsels us to pursue eight hours of sleep per night (Hilchot Deiot 4:4), so perhaps one might say that today we are all in fulfillment of this mishnah, since it's rare for us to sleep eight hours in any given night!
To me, though, the mishnah here is not talking about quantity. As Rabbeinu Bechayye explains, this mishnah is saying that one should not be אדוק בשינה, pursuing sleep as a goal and priority. It's about our attitude - is sleep a goal, or is it a means toward accumulating the energy needed to achieve a positive end? One who pursues sleep as a goal will have difficulty achieving greatness in his studies.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
48 Ways: #14b - Textual analysis
Hi,
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The fourteenth of the 48 is mikra, which refers to Tanach, a.k.a. Scripture.
Yesterday we presented one way to look at this point. From the perspective of Rabbeinu Bechayye, though, this is about more than study of text; this is meant to encourage the student to examine the ways in which lessons are learned from the Torah's text. Over and above familiarity with the text, one must comprehend the ways in which we derive lessons from its words.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The fourteenth of the 48 is mikra, which refers to Tanach, a.k.a. Scripture.
Yesterday we presented one way to look at this point. From the perspective of Rabbeinu Bechayye, though, this is about more than study of text; this is meant to encourage the student to examine the ways in which lessons are learned from the Torah's text. Over and above familiarity with the text, one must comprehend the ways in which we derive lessons from its words.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Saturday, April 13, 2013
48 Ways: #12 - Heated debate
Hi,
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The twelfth of the 48 is pilpul hatalmidim, heated debate.
Rabbeinu Bechayye contends that the term pilpul comes from the noun pilpel, pepper. The heat of students' drive to question and challenge generates new insights, as it pushes our intellects further. We will succeed in our studies when they are driven by this great internal heat.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The twelfth of the 48 is pilpul hatalmidim, heated debate.
Rabbeinu Bechayye contends that the term pilpul comes from the noun pilpel, pepper. The heat of students' drive to question and challenge generates new insights, as it pushes our intellects further. We will succeed in our studies when they are driven by this great internal heat.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Monday, April 8, 2013
48 Ways: #8 - Humility
Hi,
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The eighth of the 48 is anavah, humility.
Humility is necessary in order to function a good student; one who views himself as knowing more than others will be less open to new perspectives. Also, as noted by Rabbeinu Bechayye, one who lacks humility will have difficulty acknowledging his errors and changing his mind.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The eighth of the 48 is anavah, humility.
Humility is necessary in order to function a good student; one who views himself as knowing more than others will be less open to new perspectives. Also, as noted by Rabbeinu Bechayye, one who lacks humility will have difficulty acknowledging his errors and changing his mind.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
48 Ways: #4 - Understand the Unspoken
Hi,
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The fourth of the 48 is binat halev, "comprehension of the heart".
Rabbeinu Bechayye contends that this refers to the ability to understand the unspoken. In an ideal scenario, lessons would be spelled out clearly in the spoken word, but communication of certain ideas is beyond our power of speech. For these, we are expected to understand in our heart that which we will not hear with our ears.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The fourth of the 48 is binat halev, "comprehension of the heart".
Rabbeinu Bechayye contends that this refers to the ability to understand the unspoken. In an ideal scenario, lessons would be spelled out clearly in the spoken word, but communication of certain ideas is beyond our power of speech. For these, we are expected to understand in our heart that which we will not hear with our ears.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
48 Ways: #3 - Speak clearly
Hi,
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The third of the 48 is arichat sefatayim, "arrangement of the lips", or speaking.
Rabbeinu Bechayye explains that this is not about the student, but the teacher. One must find a teacher who is not only learned and wise, but also able to formualte and express ideas clearly, so that students will understand.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The third of the 48 is arichat sefatayim, "arrangement of the lips", or speaking.
Rabbeinu Bechayye explains that this is not about the student, but the teacher. One must find a teacher who is not only learned and wise, but also able to formualte and express ideas clearly, so that students will understand.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Saturday, March 30, 2013
48 ways: #2 - Listen!
Hi,
Rabbeinu Bechayye explains that this includes "being careful to hear all parts of what is said, not responding until the teacher completes all of his words."
This is an important skill in many aspects of our lives, and certainly in study. To understand complex ideas, we need to hear the speaker out, paying attention to all aspects of the presentation. If we are planning our response to one segment before the other segments have been laid out, we are liable to miss important information.
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it
lists for us. The second of the 48 is shemiat ha'ozen, or listening.
Rabbeinu Bechayye explains that this includes "being careful to hear all parts of what is said, not responding until the teacher completes all of his words."
This is an important skill in many aspects of our lives, and certainly in study. To understand complex ideas, we need to hear the speaker out, paying attention to all aspects of the presentation. If we are planning our response to one segment before the other segments have been laid out, we are liable to miss important information.
Good moed,
Mordechai
Thursday, March 28, 2013
48 ways: #1 - Study!
Hi,
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The first of the 48 is talmud, or study.
Rabbeinu Bechayye comments that talmud refers to study, as well as to "refuting challenges using the proper method of study". This latter point is instructive: Torah is not entirely freestyle, with each new student approaching it as though she was the first to ever look at the text. There is a structure and system and method to Torah, and it must be mastered. The first step identified in learning Torah is the humbling understanding that before we can learn, we must learn how to learn.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The first of the 48 is talmud, or study.
Rabbeinu Bechayye comments that talmud refers to study, as well as to "refuting challenges using the proper method of study". This latter point is instructive: Torah is not entirely freestyle, with each new student approaching it as though she was the first to ever look at the text. There is a structure and system and method to Torah, and it must be mastered. The first step identified in learning Torah is the humbling understanding that before we can learn, we must learn how to learn.
Have a great day,
Mordechai
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