A modern phenomenon: The ten minute shiur [even daf yomi!!], the six minute shiur, the five minute shiur, the two minute shiur etc. often with catchy titles. What is that all about?
"The medium is the message" is a phrase coined by Marshall McLuhan meaning that the form of a medium embeds itself in any message it would transmit or convey, creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived.
So what is the message?
I believe that there are two messages, a positive one and a negative one.
The positive: You have a few free minutes - LEARN SOME TORAH!!! Every second counts.
The negative: We don't have time and/or the mind set to invest protracted amounts of time towards Talmud Torah. There is TOO MUCH GOING ON on the countless social media outlets, there is money to be made, there are texts to be sent, news feeds to read [what did Trump tweet in the last five minutes?] etc. etc. So the BEST WAY to convince people to hear a shiur is to make it SHORT!!
This Shabbos in shul the Rav got up at the kiddush and announced that he was going to say a five minute drasha on condition that people remain quiet. The underlying assumption of that declaration is that people - even Talmidei Chachomim who sit and learn full time - have limited attention spans. So just FIVE MINUTES - if you fellows behave. And I'm like "Why just five? You say such good Torah, speak for longer!!"
I often give a short drasha in shul after Shabbos morning davening during the kiddush. Recently, the Gabbai of the minyan told me that I have to finish that week's drasha in 8 minutes. After 8 minutes, he saw that I wasn't finished. So in a loud voice he announced that the drasha is over. And so it was. [To be fair it was 8am and the next minyan was scheduled to start at 8am even though the almost nobody was there yet]. There is one older fellow who has never said a kind word to me about my shiur or anything else. After I finished, he approached me and told me that his wife makes sure that speakers end when she thinks they should. He told me that some rabbonim don't know how to stop talking because the gemara doesn't say so and they only know gemara but lack common sense. Meaning - you [i.e. me] have to learn how to shut up.
It is true that people [not only rabbonim] often speak for too long and people are not even listening or are bored to tears. One must know how to stop talking, despite the thrill of having a crowd listening to his thoughts. But why do some people only focus on the length and not on the CONTENT?
People today have little patience. I once sent out an email with weekly Parsha Torah [in Hebrew, that I have since discontinued due to lack of interest], and I received an email from a friend in the States IMPLORING ME only to send him a really short idea if I have one, but nothing more. PLEASE, he begged. Don't send me anything long. Some people can't even handle long Torah emails in their inbox that they don't even open. By the way - this person learns full time. But he is also a product of this generation that I call the "twitter generation", meaning - say it in 240 characters or less, preferably with graphics and a cool video, or don't say it at all.
But life is far more complex than what can be contracted into 240 characters or less. So is Torah.
I am not saying that there is no room for brevity or a pithy saying here or there. What I am saying is that if a person wants to have a deep profound perspective on him or herself, on life, on Torah - it requires an investment of time and energy.
But today people have trouble committing to investments of time and energy - unless it promises financial rewards.
So stay tuned for my new revolutionary idea: "The Five SECOND Torah Blast". How much can I say in 5 seconds? I am a New Yorker and can speak fast....
