Q&A: In Accordance with Practical Jewish Law
In Accordance with Practical Jewish Law
Question
I’d be happy to know what you think about the “in accordance with practical Jewish law” approach in some yeshivot. On the one hand, I understand that Torah study has value in its own right and not only in order to know what to do in practice. But the question is: which kind of study is preferable to invest in during the daily schedule in yeshiva? Is it better to learn with practical ramifications, so that I gain two things here, or is it better to do analytical study without practical ramifications?
Answer
The kind of study you call “in accordance with practical Jewish law” is not really Torah study. It is study of Jewish law, which is only a preparatory means for fulfilling a commandment. That does not mean it is unimportant, but that is the correct category for it. In yeshiva you should invest in analytical study, because that is the added value you can derive only there and nowhere else. Study of Jewish law you can do on your own at home. It is, of course, proper and worthwhile to devote a certain amount of time each day to studying Jewish law, but not in place of Torah study. Beyond that, one should know that studying the rulings of the Mishnah Berurah is not study of Jewish law. Study of Jewish law means studying the Talmudic topics and arriving at the halakhic conclusion in each of them. That is what is called “drawing the discussion to a practical halakhic conclusion.”
Discussion on Answer
I’m not familiar with that. What I know as “study in accordance with practical Jewish law” usually gets to the halakhic decisors too quickly and treats them as the bottom line.
I mean analytical study that reaches halakhic conclusions, which exists in some hesder yeshivot. On the one hand, you gain the value of analytical study, and on the other hand you also gain practical halakhic conclusions. But in most yeshivot they do not do this; rather, they study non-practical topics. Which is preferable?