[Avodah] R' Baruch Ber Leibovitch (Prof. Levine)

[Marty Bluke]

On Sun, Apr 15, 2018 at 3:01 PM, Prof. Levine <larry62341 at optonline.net>
wrote:

>
> The Rama clearly writes that secular studies cannot be learned on a
> regular set basis. Not only that, but he writes that even happenstance
> secular studies should only be done AFTER you know shas and poskim.
>
>
> Yet the GRA studied mathematics in his youth.
>
>
> The Gra was sui generis, when he studied mathematics in his youth he
> already knew shas and poskim.Â
>
>
> Can you verify this assertion?
>

Not really but given that the Gra was a super genius and the stories that
abound about how much he knew as a child it is certainly plausible to
believe so. The fact is that no one really knows how old the Gra was when
he learned these things so your assertion that he learned mathematics as a
youth is unprovable as well.

>
>
> Also, have not times changed since the time of the RAMA?
>
>
> Is halacha not timeless? Is the value of Torah less in 2018 then it was in
> 1518?
>
>
> Halacha evolves with the times.  It is not static. If it were,  there
> would be big problems, thus the values of Torah remains supreme.
>
>
>
And that is why the Rama writes "But it is not for a person to learn
anything but Torah, Mishna and Gemara and the halachic decisors that come
after them and through this they will acquire this world and the world to
come. But not with learning any other wisdoms. " It is very simple
according to the Rama, the study of Torah is what Hashem wants us to do and
is what will get us into the world to come and the study of secular studies
will not. That fact remains the same in 2018 as it was 1518, that  a person
should devote himself to the learning of torah and not secular studies.
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