Q&A: Advice for Lack of Motivation in Studying Talmud
Advice for Lack of Motivation in Studying Talmud
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Lately, I find myself with no desire at all to study Talmud or even halakhic analysis (I used to devote most of the day to it). The last thing that still somehow interests me is Talmudic scholarship (such as Henshke's articles), but even that doesn't really grip me. I feel much more drawn to philosophy, Jewish thought, the Hebrew Bible, history, and other fields.
But in some way I miss the Talmud, that whole world with its rules and its language. Only I'm worried that this comes merely from nostalgia and from discomfort with nonconformity (after all, everyone studies Talmud), and that there is no objective argument here that could bring me back to Talmud study.
Since I know that you deal a lot with the Talmud and Talmudic thought, I would be glad if you could explain what, in your opinion, the study of Talmud can give a person—and that only it can give—a person who does not aspire to become a halakhic decisor (like me). Am I really losing something if I completely neglect Talmudic analysis? Or is that just an unjustified feeling?
I would appreciate your reply.
Answer
It's hard for me to explain to you what you're losing, and I don't know whether you are losing anything. Each person has his own taste. One should study because it is important, and not necessarily because one enjoys it (although that is of course helpful and good. You surely know the introduction to Egley Tal).
Personally, I love it מאוד, and in particular I think that the practical application and the philosophical insights underlying the material—even if you are not planning to become a halakhic decisor—are fascinating. It combines analysis of the sources, understanding reality and its constraints, and connecting all this to philosophical issues, and of course the integration of all of them.
But if it doesn't speak to you, it is usually hard to be convinced and return to it. Usually, in my experience, this is an irreversible stage. Maybe you should choose something else, and in any case don't surrender to inertia (that is, don't stay where you are just because it's the most convenient). Perhaps if you lower the dose of study and focus on what you love for less time, you'll get more out of it. I'll give an example. My late father took over the management of a high school and told me that it seemed to him that the Judaism there was in bad shape. I asked him what he planned to do, and he said that the first thing he would do was cut the number of Talmud hours in half or even more. At first I was shocked—how did he expect to strengthen Judaism that way?—until I understood, and I remember it to this day. If people hate studying Talmud and you increase the dosage, they will only suffer more and hate it more. דווקא if you lower the dosage, you have a chance of making them love it, or at least not causing harm (as the saying goes: first do no harm).
Therefore, maybe it would be worthwhile for you to reduce the dosage significantly (if you are a kollel fellow or a yeshiva student), and engage in other things that interest you while setting fixed times for study. And in those times, try to produce your own novel insights and Torah creativity. If you could teach in some forum during the hours you dedicate to this, that would be very beneficial.
Much success,
Michi