What is defined as Torah study?

שו”ת › Category: Torah and Science › What is defined as Torah study?

asked 6 years ago

Hello Rabbi,
If I study physics to try to understand the electrical circuits on Shabbat, or if I study a language to better understand the Bible, is this defined as “studying Torah”? I have been asked about the blessing of the Torah before me, fulfilling my obligation to set times for Torah, studying these subjects at the expense of attending the Hesder track, etc. Are these perhaps mitzvah devices?
And what about a person who studies these subjects not necessarily for the purpose of studying Torah, but knows that it can help him in his future studies?
Alternatively, is, for example, studying passages from the Gemara that discuss medical advice that many today would say is not factually correct “studying Torah”?
Of course, if you have already addressed this question, it is enough to send a link, and there is no need to answer again (in a short search I did not find a reference on the site, but it is certainly possible that I missed it)
thanks

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מיכי Staff answered 6 years ago

For the Jewish community, these are mitzvah instruments and not Torah study. Although if you study this in order to know, it will be Torah study in Gebra (and not in a haphazard manner). Although regarding a discussion in a Jewish community, part of which revolves around clarifying reality, this is indeed defined by the Sages as Torah study, but perhaps it is only in a Jewish community. And it is possible that it is defined this way only when you have a concrete problem and you are dealing with it (an ox slaughtered in front of you), and not when you are dealing with another theoretical field as a general preparation for problems that will arise in the future. In this way, some jurists divided regarding autopsies on dead bodies (between when they are done for the sake of medical studies in general and a specific medical need that currently exists).

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Meir Torjman replied 6 years ago

I see that there is a missing answer to another part of the question: Do all pages in the Gemara that contain scientific or medical information that is fundamentally incorrect have the name "Torah study" on them by virtue of their being in the canon?

מיכי replied 6 years ago

In my opinion, definitely not.

מיכי replied 6 years ago

It should be remembered that facts in general, even remedies that do work, are not Torah, like assumptions (a person does not break a contract during his time, such as this). But there is usually a halakhic lesson (for example, that an assumption takes money, or the difference between a blind person and a person who does not have a blind person), and this is Torah regardless of the fact and its correctness).

ואם כן replied 6 years ago

And if it is true that facts are not Torah, then it must be said that studying Torah is not studying Torah either 🙂

With the blessing of ‘Upside Down’, from the city of Hacar

אלי replied 6 years ago

What does it mean to “study Torah in the spirit and not in the flesh”? And does this require a Torah blessing?

מיכי Staff replied 6 years ago

It seems to me that it is not. In my opinion, the legends of the sages also do not justify the blessing of the Torah. I think this has already been discussed on the site, it is worth searching.

EA replied 4 years ago

Is it permissible to study Torah in a gabra without a kippah?

מיכי Staff replied 4 years ago

A kippah is not obligatory at all, but rather a custom. The custom is to wear a kippah even when studying.
https://ph.yhb.org.il/category/%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%98%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%90/08-%D7%9B%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%94/