[Avodah] Torah Study vs. other contributions to society

[Samuel Svarc]

>From: "Chana Luntz" <chana at kolsassoon.org.uk>
>Subject: Re: [Avodah] Torah Study vs. other contributions to society
>
>Rather it is a disagreement about the nature of people and their
>purpose.
>
>Look, let me give an extreme example.  My computer is (at least when
>attached to the Bar Ilan CD) Baki in all of Shas, Rishonim, Achronim,
>teshuvas, what have you - at least if you know how to ask the right
>questions.  But "knowing" Shas/Rishonim/Achronim in the fashion of my
>computer does not fulfil a person's mission in life.  There needs to be
>more than that.  Torah and mitzvos needs to be integrated into a
>person's life.  One clear way of doing this  is if a person is going on
>to be a Rav, he will be applying the Torah he has learnt to assist
>others (and that requires developing his understanding).  Same is true
>if he goes on to be a Rosh Yeshiva or teacher.  But if he sits in his
>ivory tower of a yeshiva and learns b'Hasmada, how ultimately does he
>differ from my computer (except that my computer does it better)?  The
>answer that I think everybody would give is that it is not just having a
>photographic memory that is important, but it is that something extra
>that human beings are capable of adding called understanding that can,
>if done properly, make this learning valuable.

I do not believe that is the correct answer. Your computer is an inanimate
object that has no chiyuvim or mitzvos. The Jew sitting in "his ivory tower
of a yeshiva" is doing what Hashem commanded him to do. 

>...  From a TUM
>perspective, the same level of understanding just cannot be achieved by
>remaining in an ivory tower yeshiva setting for one's entire life, and
>hence by doing so this fellow has just not fulfilled his mission in
>life, which is to develop his understanding to the utmost extent
>possible, no matter how hard he works at learning b'hasmadah and how
>many mesechtos he is Baki in.

Experientially, this is a disproven perspective. The two greatest examples
of people who spent their lives in an "ivory tower" are the Gra and the
Chazon Ish. It's ludicrous to assert that they didn't fulfill their mission
in life.

KT,
MSS