[Avodah] Self Esteem

[Prof. Levine]

At 05:02 PM 11/29/2010, R. Micha wrote:

>2- 
>http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2010/11/rav-dessler-yeshiva-should-deny-self.html
>(a/k/a <http://bit.ly/eWfrDd>.
>
>
>2- Monday, November 29, 2010
>    Rav Dessler: Yeshiva should deny self-esteem to those not fully
>    involved in Torah study
>
>    What follows is a partial translation of Rav Dessler (Michtav M'Eliyahu
>    3 page 355-357 by Prof. Low. I have modified the translation in a
>    number of places - in particular the last line.
>
>         The Frankfurt school supported an educational system in which the
>         students were exposed to the study of secular subjects and later
>         went on to universities. At the same time it paid attention to
>         the strict observance of all the mitzvot. The advantage of the
>         system was that the vast majority of its adherents stayed Orthodox
>         and carefully observed the ordinances of the Shulchan Aruch,
>         despite the fact that they were exposed to a general non-Jewish
>         intellectual environment.It is true that they [the Frankfurt
>         School] benefited in that the number of defectors from mitzvah
>         observance was small. The price paid for this was that few, if
>         any, Gedolei Torah emerged from such an educational system. On
>         the other hand, their weltanschauung was somewhat imperfect
>         as far as the complete acceptance of the Torah point of view
>         is concerned. Whenever there was a conflict between sciences
>         and Torah, they resorted to a strange combination of the two,
>         as if the two systems can be combined as a unity". Therefore,
>         exposure to non-Jewish ideas affected to some extent the purity
>         of their faith in the absolute truth of Torah, resulting in
>         strange compromises.

I posted the following comment about this post.

What I find strange about R. Dessler is that his father made sure 
that he had a secular education, since his father had studied in Kelm 
where secular studies were part of the yeshiva curriculum.

I have no idea on what he bases these assertions. "On the other hand, 
their weltanschauung was somewhat imperfect as far as the complete 
acceptance of the Torah point of view is concerned. Whenever there 
was a conflict between sciences and Torah, they resorted to a strange 
combination of the two, as if the two systems can be combined as a 
unity". Therefore, exposure to non-Jewish ideas affected to some 
extent the purity of their faith in the absolute truth of Torah, 
resulting in strange compromises."

Would he say that the same thing happened to the Rishonim who studied 
secular subjects?

Yitzchok Levine


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