How come there is not one Yeshiva where they learn such classics as Moreh Nevuchim, Sefer Ha-Ikkarim, Kuzari, Emunos Vi-deyos etc.? Not one [of which I am aware]. These types of Sfarim are learned in hesder/zionist/modern yeshivos but not in the old fashioned type yeshivos which honestly turn out the biggest Talmidei Chachomim [by and large]. Isn't part of being a Talmid Chachom knowing "Jewish thought" or "Machshava" or "whatever you want to call it". These are not Sfarim that discuss frivolities. Chas Vi-shalom. They actually discuss Ikkrei Ha-emunah, the basics of what we believe and why. The Rambam writes that his greatest teaching pleasure was teaching Emunah.
Like - isn't that no less important, than say, knowing what happens when I bought a cow from you and we are in doubt as to when the cow gave birth, before the acquisition or after, and a million other questions that never come up? [See the Prefaces to the Chovos Halevavos and Mesillas Yesharim]. Now, don't get me wrong. I believe that studying any Torah topic from the most abstract to the most practical is more important and greater than doing literally anything else. That would include - davening EVEN at the Kotel or AMUKAH [!!!], being an emergency room doctor, riding a Hatzala ambulance, being the Prime Minister of Israel, a soldier in Tzahal, doing hafrashas challah, wearing a red string around your wrist, being a vendor a Cubs games [which it seems anybody I have ever met from Chicago was at one point, before buying nursing homes all over the place] - all of those. ותלמוד תורה כנגד כווווולם. No contest. גדולה תלמוד תורה יותר מהצלת נפשות. If you are fortunate enough to be learning yourself or supporting people who are learning then your merit is unimaginable. We could quote sources from now until next Thursday and still have more to say. There is no debate about the centrality of Torah study. The question is - so why not those areas of Torah which are so central to what it means to be a believing Jew?
Here is the answer [drummm roolllllllll]:
"זו מצוה גדולה לא להפיץ ספרי חקירה אפילו מקדמונים". כך מנסח רבנו [הגרממ"ש זצ"ל] את מה שפסק מרן [הסטייפלר זצ"ל] לרבי מאיר קליימן מרביץ תורה ירושלמי משרידי גידולי נובהרדוק שזכה להוציא לאור ספרי מוסר נדירים מקדמונים ואחרונים כאשר הביא פעם לפני מרן ספר ליקוט שכזה שבראשו נדפס ספר אחד מגדולי רבותינו הקדמונים בעניני אמונה שיש בו תשובות למילי דשטיות של הכופרים רח"ל. הסטייפלר הורה לו כי בתקופתנו יש להימנע מהפצת ספר כזה שכן אף אם יוכל לעזור לרחוקים מיהדות אולם אסור לנו לסבך בחקירות כאלו את אותם השלמים באמונתם הפשוטה שיהיה להם הפסד מקריאת שאלות ותשובות עליהן.
So there you have it fans!!
Of course - this is correct and the Steipler doesn't need me to give my haskama. [As a Rebbi of mine זצ"ל who was a huge Tzadik and died relatively young of brain cancer would say "He needs your haskama like I need a third armpit".]
But the other side of the coin is that in contrast to Gemara and Halacha where people learn very deeply and understand as best they can - in this area of Torah people often have a very superficial understanding. Emunah and Bitachon are not time bound mitzvos. We should be busy with them literally 24/7. How does tfilla work? That is a good question. Are we changing Hashem's mind when we nudge him enough?? Understanding tfillah makes for a better tfillah. If we misunderstand the nature of Hashem [as almost everyone does] - then aren't we serving an entity who doesn't exist and isn't that a type of Avoda Zara?? Instead of serving a physical idol, we serve a figment of our imagination. A large percentage of people still believe in the G-d they learned about in nursery and kindergarten. They call it "Ramat Gan". On the level of Gan. Shouldn't we be a tad more sophisticated than that???
The answer is - it depends who you ask. The Steipler would agree [I would guess] with every word I wrote but since there is a price to pay he said that it is not worth it. Hashem will forgive people for believing things about him that are not so just as He forgives LOTS of stuff. I mean ALL DAY EVERY DAY since creation Hashem has been busy forgiving people for things. So add this on to the list. The Ra'avad famously responded to the Rambam that many FINE JEWS, called in Spanish "Shayne Yidden" [finer, some read, than the Rambam himself] believed that Hashem has a physical form. And they are still part of our community. Kosher Jews.
If you would ask the R' Yehuda Halevi if you should learn Kuzari, he would probably tell you that you should [he wrote it after all]. There have been Gedolim who did encourage the study of "Machshava", particularly for people who are plagued by questions. So the Steipler's opinion is an opinion but I hope I am not branded as an Apikorus if I say that it is not the only opinion. The reality is that many people have gone off the derech b/c of a faulty, weak, superficial basis of Emunah. Had they had a strong basis - they would never have stopped keeping Shabbos. Other people find their faith weakened by dealing with these matters. So there is no blanket approach one size fits all.
As I have written here in the past - in the MO high schools they do have "philosophy classes" and the like, while in Telz or Torah Vodaas or Brisk they stay a mile away from such things and look at the products of the former vs. the products of the latter. And the good products of the MO system are almost never so good [and it is my contention that the good products of the MO system are the best Klal Yisrael has] because they studied Moreh Nevuchim and now are mamesh Tzadikim. They studied philosophy which made them get rid of their smartphone, stop talking to girls, spend ten years in yeshiva before going out to work etc. Like - I haven't heard one such story.
What people need in our day and age in order to remain "Ehrliche Yidden" is, IMHO, one thing. They need to feel GOOD about themselves and about their Yiddishkeit. They need to enjoy learning and davening and keeping Shabbos etc. Then they will remain frum. People who love being frum and are really seriously into their learning don't go off the derech b/c scientists say that the world is over 13 billion years old or b/c there was a Holocaust. They live with the questions just like many much much much smarter and more knowledgeable people before them have. People who have reasons not to be frum - they are mad at their parents, hate learning, feeling tied up by Halacha etc. etc. find their questions and no amount of philosophizing will change their minds. People just want to be happy.
If someone DOES have questions as it is - then most Rabbonim and Gedolim would agree that absolutely he should study these matters. Very often, it is not the direct answer that convinces a person but rather a broad base of faith that gives him a solid comfort zone such that specific questions don't throw him off keel.
"זהו כלל גדול במלחמת הדעות, שכל דעה הבאה לסתור איזה דבר מן התורה, צריכים אנו בתחילה לא דוקא לסתור אותה, כי אם לבנות את ארמון התורה ממעל לה, ובזה הננו מתרוממים על ידה, ובעבור ההתרוממות הזאת הדעות מתגלות, ואחר כך כשאין אנו נלחצים משום דבר, הננו יכולים בלב מלא בטחון להלחם עליה גם כן" [אגרות הראיה א עמ' קסד].
What is undeniable is that there is something special about the Jewish people, that the Torah has tremendous power and influence - more than any other book in the history of the world, that man seeks spirituality, that there are billions of integrated complexities in the world, and many other axioms that point in the direction of faith.
So bottom line: אלו ואלו דברי א-להים חיים. No one way is good for all.
