[Avodah] The Proper Method of Torah Research

[Prof. L. Levine]

The following is from the fourth footnote to RSRH's Eighteenth Letter in the Nineteen Letters.

A word here about the proper method of Torah research. Two revelations are
before us: nature and Torah. The same method of investigation must apply to
both. In studying nature, all phenomena confront us as given data, and we can
only endeavor to find the laws applying to them, and their interrelation, a
posteriori-by starting from these phenomena themselves. The proof of the
truth of your theory, or rather of the probability of its correctness, can be
provided only by nature itself, since you will have to test your theory against
nature's phenomena in order to be able to state with the highest possible
degree of certainty that the facts indeed confirm your assumptions, i.e., that
every phenomenon observed can be explained according to your theory. In
nature, one single contradicting fact can invalidate your theory, and you must,
therefore, make sure to obtain as much information as possible about the
phenomena that you are studying, so that, as far as possible, you will have all
the facts at your disposal. Moreover, even where we are not able to ascertain
the laws and interrelations governing any given phenomenon, the phenomenon
itself remains a fact.

All this applies equally to the study of Torah. Just as heaven and earth are
facts, so, to us, are the Torah21 and its commandments. In the Torah, just as
in nature, the ultimate cause is God. In the Torah, just as in nature, no fact
can be denied, even though we may comprehend neither its cause nor its
relation to others; instead, we must persevere, in the Torah as in nature, to
trace God's wisdom which manifests itself in them. In studying the Torah,
then, we must begin by accepting the Torah's commandments in their
entirety as given facts; we must study them and their relationship to each
other and to the aspects of life that they govern. Then we must test the
soundness of our theories by their conformity with the provisions of the Law;
and, here too, the highest possible degree of certainty is obtained if everything
fits our theory. Moreover, just as the phenomena of nature remain facts even
though we may not have found their causes or interrelationships, and just as
their existence does not depend on the results of our investigation-rather, the
reverse is true-so, too, the commandments of the Torah are law even if we
have not uncovered the cause and interrelationships of even a single one, and
our fulfillment of the commandments in no way depends on the results of our
investigation. Only the commandments belonging to the category of Edos,
which seek to convey insights and to affect the emotions, remain incomplete
without adequate investigation.

YL
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