[Avodah] RYBS at Cross-Currents

Micha Berger via Avodah avodah at lists.aishdas.org
Thu Mar 2 04:46:43 PST 2017


On Wed, Mar 01, 2017 at 11:20am EST, RnTK wrote on Areivim:
: See this article about RYBS in Cross-Currents and my comment there:
: http://cross-currents.com/2017/02/28/trying-to-unravel-the-legacy-of-the-rav

: Part of what I posted there:
:> You speak of "those who rejected the Rav due to his support for secular 
:> education...." The Breuer Kehilla in Washington Heights was geographically close 
:> but ideologically distant from Yeshiva University. Breuer's espoused the 
:> Hirschian philosophy of Torah Im Derech Eretz (TIDE) and was sharply 
:> critical of YU's Torah U'Mada (TUM) philosophy. The issue was not whether or not 
:> to acquire secular knowledge. Both TIDE and TUM advocate such studies. 
:> ....The issue is complex, and would need many pages to do it justice. But 
:> in a nutshell, TIDE advocates studying everything--yes, everything, 
:> science, history, literature -- through the lens of Torah. TUM advocates studying 
:> "the two mountains" or "the two magisteria"--two different spheres of 
:> knowledge, two separate domains, each with its own ethical and intellectual
:> rules. TUM over the decades has produced a veritable army of people with
:> bifurcated minds, while TIDE produces integrated Torah personalities. 

: see the rest  there

Iagree with most of what you quote here, but... it's not RYBS's system
that is creating "bifurcated minds" -- a/k/a compartmentalism.

The difference is that TiDE is seeking synthesis -- Torah give form /
purpose / function to the life of which DE is the substance.

RYBS was neo-Kantian, and therefore that the dialectics of the human
condition don't in general reach a synthesis. E.g. we study the
dialogues of the gemara, not just the Rif's collection of conclusions
because there is more value in how we get there than just the final
resolution. Similarly, he believes that the ramatayim tzofim can only
lead to a life whose meaning is found in navigating the conflicts between
Torah and Maddah. Not in trying to live with their non-existent final
resolution.

The reason for the frequency of compartmentalism is that dialectics
require a subtlety that makes it a difficult model for a the masses to
aspire to. RYBS's dielectics too often collapse into compromise, or to
avoiding negotiating the conflict.

There are a few issues I have with the strategy of teaching a community to
live according to RYBS's approach. They all boil down to the gap between
the person who is the subject of his very autobiographical observations
and where the majority of the community are holding.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             The meaning of life is to find your gift.
micha at aishdas.org        The purpose of life
http://www.aishdas.org   is to give it away.
Fax: (270) 514-1507                     - Pablo Picasso



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