Q&A: Foundational Books
Foundational Books
Question
What does the Rabbi recommend studying with a 14-year-old boy? The boy is smart and sharp. Which books, in the Rabbi’s view, are "foundational" books?
Answer
The question isn’t clear. Are you talking about Torah study?
Discussion on Answer
Okay, here there are of course issues of worldview, and not just didactic guidance. In my view, Torah study is only Talmudic analysis and Jewish law. Ethics, the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), and Jewish thought do not have great value. I call this “Torah in the person”; in my view it’s like studying philosophy or other fields of knowledge.
Therefore, what matters is to develop his analytical skills and his learning abilities in the in-depth study of Jewish law. To that end, it is proper to devote most of the hours to in-depth study (after getting somewhat past the initial struggle with the text itself), and alongside that a little time to broad familiarity.
See further details here:
https://mikyab.net/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/%d7%9b%d7%9c%d7%99%d7%9d-%d7%9c%d7%9c%d7%99%d7%9e%d7%95%d7%93-%d7%92%d7%9E%d7%A8%D7%90-%d7%A2%D7%99%D7%95%D7%9F-2
Torah study