Q&A: I Feel Like My Conceptual World Is Too Narrow
I Feel Like My Conceptual World Is Too Narrow
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I’ve been in the process of becoming religious again for about two years, and I’m studying at a Religious Zionist yeshiva in Israel. I began this process because of a strong interest in philosophy and Jewish thought, and I read anything I could get my hands on, including, among other things, your books and columns, especially those dealing with faith and philosophy.
Now in yeshiva I’m learning Talmud and Jewish law in a very simple, basic way, and I find myself thirsty for more knowledge about Talmudic reasoning, halakhic rulings, and this whole vast field. The problem is that in the yeshiva they don’t really deal much with these topics, and everything I try to learn on my own is too complicated for me, including your posts and columns in this area, because my conceptual world and knowledge base are honestly still too limited, both in the halakhic-Talmudic realm and in the philosophical realm.
Do you perhaps have any advice or recommendation for how to develop and broaden this world? Some book to learn, or something in this area?
Thanks in advance 🙂
Answer
Hello,
My advice is first of all to keep progressing in regular Talmud study, according to what is being learned in the yeshiva. Only after you acquire solid skill in Talmudic analysis will you be able to broaden the scope into Talmudic logic, meta-halakhah, and so on. If you do that too early, it won’t help you and will only confuse you. Familiarity with the Talmud and the way it is studied is required before you begin analyzing the reasoning behind it.
You certainly can advance in the regular methods of Talmudic analysis, and that I definitely recommend. Books like Shev Shema’teta, or The Methods of Halakhic Research and Darkhei Moshe by Rabbi Amiel, and the like, may be helpful to you. I’m not sure that at an initial stage you’ll be able to understand them, but you can try.