Q&A: From the Talmud to the Medieval Authorities
From the Talmud to the Medieval Authorities
Question
Hello Rabbi,
How are you?
Attached to the email is a summary about Rabbi Isaac Campanton, who writes in his book The Ways of the Talmud about the skill of asking questions in the Talmud.
He presents there a very clear and orderly method for how to “conduct oneself” in a passage: first to read it, then to ask questions about the “text” we read—what is called external reasoning, using your own head before Rashi, and so on. After that he presents ways of dealing with it—tools for working through the passage, with questions such as: what did the Mishnah add, what is the point of the dispute, what is the factual reality, and so on.
My question is: after I have studied the passage and drawn from it whatever can be inferred and understood, is there also an orderly and clear skill for how to approach the medieval authorities (Rishonim)? For example, why should I open the Ritva and not the Ran? If I ask a question on the passage, how do I know whether the kind of question I asked will be answered by the Rashba or the Rosh?
My goal here is to learn the medieval authorities independently, autodidactically, the way Rabbi Isaac Campanton teaches—even at this stage after learning the passage itself, only now with the medieval authorities.
I would be very, very glad to receive guidance.
Best regards,
P.S. I manage very well with the stage of learning the Talmud itself, but when it comes to the way the medieval authorities think and how to study them, I can’t get to the bottom of what they mean. I’m looking for tools—for the skill of asking questions.
Answer
I don’t believe in algorithms or universal methods of learning. This is an acquired skill, and it doesn’t operate according to rules. Beyond that, different approaches suit different people according to their inclinations and interests. If you learn in classes and on your own, in the end you’ll acquire the skill and formulate your own way. You’ll also develop a sense of which commentators to open for each kind of passage and each kind of difficulty. Sometimes it’s enough just to skim the medieval and later authorities, and then you’ll see which of them addresses the points that matter to you.
In my opinion, for example, it isn’t right to approach the Talmud the way you described in the name of Rabbi Isaac Campanton—unless you are already very skilled in Talmudic analysis. A beginner should approach a passage with guidance from the teacher or from later authorities, and even from what are called the “automatics” (collected analytical works, Beit Lechem Yehudah, and the like). That gives a lot of tools in a short and focused time. Once you build up skill, the need for them decreases and your use of them becomes more efficient. Once you are skilled, when you approach a passage you’ll be able to ask good preliminary questions even before opening the commentators.
I also don’t really believe in broad survey learning, although of course this is individual. In my view, analytical study also gives you better breadth, because the material becomes structured and connected for you to general ideas and to other passages, whereas broad-coverage learning is just collecting decontextualized material that is hard to remember and easy to forget. Instead of investing in review, study analytically.
Much success,