Q&A: Methods of Study
Methods of Study
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I heard a lecture by the Rabbi about the difference between Ponevezh and Slabodka, and about the idea that one should begin with Ponevezh and continue with Slabodka—in other words, first acquire methods of learning and then study broadly.
My question is this: I have already been learning Talmudic text in depth for many years, and it seems to me that I have already acquired the tools, at least according to my abilities. It is worth noting that I am no longer a kollel fellow, but in my free time—about three hours a day—I sit and study Torah. Now that I want to follow the Slabodka approach and cover the entire Talmud, I am asking the following question: I can begin covering the Talmud page by page in a style of quick in-depth study with review. That would give me great pleasure—but I am surrounded by a feeling of incompleteness, because I do not get to bring the topic to a sufficiently satisfying closure. On the other hand, my second option is to learn scattered topics throughout the Talmud with the help of study aids such as Olamot or even articles by the Rabbi, and from there to analyze each topic until the analysis is exhausted. In that case, my feeling is that without extraordinary effort (countless reviews), the material is preserved within me much better, and I also enjoy the learning much more because I investigate things and study them intensely.
The Rabbi can probably sense the direction my heart is drawn to, but my question is: can I reach the Slabodka level through such study—that is, knowledge of Torah—or should I give up what my heart wants and devote myself to studying the Talmud in the regular way?
Thank you.
Answer
You have mixed together two different statements of mine.
1. The difference between Ponevezh and Slabodka does not relate to scope, but to the mode of analysis. In Ponevezh, it proceeds through built-in, logical, general algorithms, whereas in Slabodka it is more personal and intuitive thinking (in the manner of the Chazon Ish). Here my recommendation is to begin with Ponevezh, and after you have skill and familiarity with the accepted methods of analysis, you can begin learning in your own way. You yourself are not yet fully formed until you have passed through the yeshiva melting pot and acquired the traditional methods.
2. The Sages say: first a person should grind through the material, and then understand it. I, however, think that in our times the order should be reversed: first a person should understand, and then cover material broadly. After you have acquired the analytical tools, your broad-knowledge learning becomes more effective.
I do not agree with you that analytical study produces less output. In my opinion, it is the same output, just done in a different order—not according to the order of the pages, which is just an incidental order, but according to the order of the subject matter. Instead of learning five unrelated topics just because they appear one after the other, you learn five topics that relate to the subject you are dealing with (including medieval authorities and later authorities, which are no less important to know), and then you also retain and remember them much better. So it is not less material, it is preserved better, and it is more enjoyable. Therefore, considerations of output do not really exist here.
You can definitely reach knowledge of Torah this way. If you want to do a parallel track of broad coverage, take various analytical books organized by topic and study them in order alongside your fixed learning. In my opinion, that will give you more useful broad knowledge.
After you have good skill, you can learn broad survey study in the accepted way, but even there you should make sure to understand the analytical principles—just do not enter very high resolutions and do not go through all the commentators. Someone who has analytical skill can reach those principles very quickly, and that definitely fits the pace of broad survey study.
Discussion on Answer
I assume you know the well-known works: Sha’arei Yosher, Shema’teta, Rabbi Amiel’s books, Atvan De’Oraita and Lekach Tov. You could even use Kehillot Yaakov in order; in my opinion that is excellent for analytical broad study.
Thank you very much, Rabbi, you helped me a lot.
Could you please recommend specific analytical books that are organized by topic?