Q&A: What to Study with Someone Returning to Religion
What to Study with Someone Returning to Religion
Question
Hello Rabbi. A friend from work, traditional, decided to "become more observant" after his father's death. He and his wife started keeping the Sabbath, and he wants to set a regular study session with me once or twice a week to learn Torah. He also gets a lot from the website and Torah talks of the Hidabroot organization, if you know the style..
He isn't an educated person, and he also hasn't sat down to study anything since he finished a vocational college..
When it comes to Torah, he knows almost nothing.
I'm a yeshiva graduate, very learned.
I'm very, very unsure what to learn with him. Humash, Talmud, Jewish law, your trilogy 🙂
How do you start? Have you had experience with a case like this?
Answer
Both intrinsically and from the standpoint of outreach and keeping the learner interested, I'm in favor of studying Talmud. That's the essence of everything, and it's the most important. Leave aside all the nonsense around it. In my experience, it's usually also the most effective kind of study. Along with that, it's worth having him progress in learning Jewish law so that he knows how to conduct himself properly. After he acquires some skill in Talmud, it's also worth showing him the connection between the Talmud and practical Jewish law. That strengthens the interest.
Discussion on Answer
Just because.
Thanks for the reply. Could you recommend chapters that are suitable for beginners?
Would HaKones and HaMafkid (which are where I started), or Keitzad Mevarkhin, which my son started with, work? Or another idea?
That's already very personal. It depends on you and on him. Personally, I prefer more conceptual chapters, like HaKones or HaMafkid. If the goal is to begin filling in knowledge, as with children, then Keitzad Mevarkhin has its place. But if the goal is to draw him in and get him interested, as with people returning to religion, it seems to me those are preferable.
For beginners, Tractate Megillah is highly recommended. It has a bit of study from the verses, a few difficult passages too (like "there is no difference between a zav…"), some aggadah, and also quite a bit of practical Jewish law.
Why?