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The following is from RSRH's commentary on Devarim 6. Note that Rav
Hirsch says that we are to be familiar with "scientific
knowledge." However, we are to do only from the Torah's perspective.
YL<br><br>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4><b>7
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>And impress them sharply
upon your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house and when you
walk upon the way, when you lie<br>
down and when you get up.<br><br>
</i></b></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>The study of the
Torah shall be our main intellectual pursuit. We are not<br>
to study the Torah incidentally. We are not to study Torah from the
standpoint<br>
of another science or for the sake of that science. So, too, we are
to<br>
be careful not to introduce into the sphere of the Torah foreign ideas
that<br>
were developed on the basis of other premises. Rather, we should
always<br>
be mindful of the superiority of the Torah, which differs from all
other<br>
scientific knowledge through its Divine origin. We should not
imagine<br>
that it is based on mere human knowledge and accordingly is on the
same<br>
level as other human sciences.<br><br>
We have already explained in our Commentary on
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>Vayikra
</i></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>18:4-5<br>
that these statements [of our Sages] do not demand of us to
completely<br>
ignore all the scientific knowledge that has been gained and cultivated
in<br>
other spheres. Rather, these statements assume that a person is
familiar<br>
with these other realms of knowledge, but they teach us that one
should<br>
occupy himself with this knowledge only from the Torah’s
perspective,<br>
for only in this way will this knowledge be beneficial to us, and they
warn<br>
us that neglecting this perspective will jeopardize our intellectual
life.<br><br>
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