How Different Were the Rambam and the Maharal

The Rambam (Maimonides) is known as the Paradigm of rationalistic Judaism. Whenever someone wants to show how rational Judaism is they often find themselves quoting the Rambam. On the other hand, the Maharal is the champion of the non-rationalistic (mystic) approach to Judaism. One will often hear a Gemora, that sounds absurd, explained allegorically due to the Maharal's approach. Also, the fact that Maharal believed in Astrology, demons and other mystical creatures and devices, while the Rambam denied their reality, separates these two great thinkers. However, after reading the Rambam's "Introduction to the Chapter of Chelek" I see that these two Torah giants, that are on the opposite sides of the rational vs non-rational argument, had a very similar approach to understanding Aggadita in the Gemora.

First let's hear what Maharal says (found here):

Be'eir haGolah #4 (p 51), translation R' Mordechai Becher, posted to
V15n9 by RGSeif:

Now you will see that most of the words of the Sages were in the form of metaphor and the analogies of the wise... unless they state that a particular story is not a metaphor, it should be assumed that it is a metaphor. The matters of great depth were generally expressed by the Sages using metaphors, and should be understood as metaphors unless they are explicitly indicated to be taken literally. And therefore one should not be surprised to find matters in the words of the Sages that appear to be illogical and distant from the mind. (Berachot 61a:The evil inclination looks like a fly)

So the Maharal explains Aggadita Gemoras, as a general rule, as allegories and metaphors. This is what one would expect from a non-rationalist, because he is trying to show how the Sages were never wrong. Therefore, anything they say that can be misconstrued or misinterpreted as the Sages being wrong is changed into an allegory in order to show they had a deeper meaning and thereby they are saved the embarrassment of being proven inept. However, wouldn't we assume that a rationalistic approach would be to assume that the Sages made incorrect statements?

This does, in fact, seem to be the view of the Rambam and his son, Rav Avraham. From Rav Avraham's Essay on Aggadita (Found Here):

To begin with, let me point out that if a person puts forward a certain theory without offering proof, expecting people to accept it at face value just because they respect him, he is sadly mistaken; his approach flies in the face of both the Torah and common sense. It goes against common sense, because he wants people to believe something without evaluating and investigating whether it squares with the facts. And it runs counter to the Torah, because it goes against the truth and is unethical. The Torah [tells us not to curry favor with anyone], saying [to a judge], "Do not give special consideration to the poor, nor show respect to the great" (Leviticus 19:15). And it says also, "Do not give anyone special consideration when rendering judgment" (Deuteronomy 1:17). And there is no difference between a person who believes an idea without supporting evidence and one who trusts a person's statement simply because he respects him and holds that it must be true since it comes from a great scholar. This does not prove that the statement is true.
Accordingly, we are not required to endorse all the theories of the Sages of the Talmud on medicine, physics, and astronomy in every respect just because we know the authors to be outstanding personalities and eminent scholars in all facets of the Torah. Of course, when it comes to Torah knowledge, the scholarship of the Sages is unsurpassed, and it is their responsibility to teach it to us, as it says, "You must keep the Torah as they interpret it for you" (Deuteronomy 17:11), but this does not necessarily apply to all other branches of knowledge. You can see that even the Sages themselves when faced with an issue that could not be proven by debate and logical arguments, said, "I swear, that even if Joshua b. Nun had said it, I would not have obeyed him!" (Berachot 24b)3Which means, "I would not believe him although he was a prophet, since he cannot prove his point by the talmudical rules of logical argument."
Let me offer you one conclusive proof that no one will refute. It is this: We find that the Sages themselves said that the opinions expressed in the Gemara with regard to general medicine are not borne out, like for instance when the Gemara says that wearing a "preserving stone" is a safeguard against miscarriage, or other things mentioned in tractate Shabbat. They tested these remedies and found them not to have any therapeutic value.

 Also, the Rambam himself speaks of the Sage's ability to make mistakes in scientific matters. He says (The Guide for the perplexed 3:14 found here):

You must, however, not expect that everything our Sages say respecting astronomical matters should agree with observation, for mathematics were not fully developed in those days: and their statements were not based on the authority of the Prophets, but on the knowledge which they either themselves possessed or derived from contemporary men of science.

So we see that Rav Avraham and his father, the Rambam, admit that the Sages could err in non-Torah related areas. However, this does not mean that we are supposed to understand their Aggadita Gemoras (non-halachic) in a literal fashion. For Rav Avraham also says in his introduction (Essay on Aggadita):

It is important to understand that the homiletic expositions and stories in the Talmud have underlying meanings that are shrouded in secrecy, and most of the commentators did not even attempt to probe their deeper meaning.

.... If you follow my guidelines in understanding the aggadic teachings of the Sages, you will come to grasp their deeper meaning, and, as a result, you will not make light of them or deny that they are true. Neither will you fall into the trap of thinking that the miracles that happened to the Sages are as momentous as those that happened to Moses and Israel at the parting of the Red Sea, or as remarkable as the parting of the Jordan for Elisha and Elijah. Such misconceptions arise when you take the derash (i.e., homiletic interpretations) literally and accept only the surface meaning of the text. But there is abundant evidence to show that the aggadic tales and teachings, aside from their plain meaning, have profound hidden significance.

The Rambam also discusses this idea in a few places. First, the Rambam says later on in the same chapter of The Guide quoted above (3:14):

But I will not on that account denounce what they say correctly in accordance with real fact, as untrue or accidentally true. On the contrary, whenever the words of a person can be interpreted in such a manner that they agree with fully established facts, it is the duty of every educated and honest man to do so.

The Rambam is pointing out here that in every instance that we CAN interpret the Sages to be in congruence with the facts, we should. This idea is even more explicitly discussed in the Rambam's introduction to Perek Chelek (The 10th chapter of Mishnayos Sanhedrin and Talmud Yerushalmi and the 11th chapter in Talmud bavli). The Rambam discusses three groups of people that interpret the Sages words on Aggadita (non-Halachic discussions):

What you need to know, with regard to matters pertaining to the words of the Sages (May they be remembered for blessings), is that there are three groups of people (who interpret their words).

1) The first group, and it is the majority of what I have seen [in the sense] that I have seen their books or I have heard about what they say from others, [is made up of people] that interpret the Sages based on their simple reading and they do not believe the sages have a hidden meaning in any way. [The people in this group believe] that the impossible things the Sages say are obligatory for existence. Indeed, these people [interpret the sages this way] because they do not understand the Sciences and they are far from understanding [deeper meanings]. There are none among them that are men of integrity that can realize this by themselves (that some of the words of the sages are similes and therefore the message is the main point and not the simple meaning) and there is no one that points this out to them. The [people of this first group] hold that the Sages, may they be remembered for blessings, with all their righteous and sweet words only intended what could be understood according to their (the people of this first group) knowledge, which is the simple (vulgar) reading. [They believe this] even though some [of the Sages words (understood according to the simple meaning)] lead to slander against the Sages and they (the words) appear to be far from intelligent [so much so that] if they were read and explained according to their simple and vulgar meaning to a regular person, even more so to a wise person, the [regular person or wise person] would be in wonderment of how [anyone could think this] and they would say, "How could it be that there is a man in the world that thinks like this?!?! Also, [how could it be] that anyone thinks this is an acceptable belief and even more so that it is a proper belief?"

This is the group (the First group) that has a lack in knowledge that troubles themselves with their foolishness because they honor and glorify the Sages, according to their(this First group) understanding, [but really] they denigrate the [Sages] without understanding them. By the life of G-D (A serious exclamation)! This group destroys the beauty of the Torah and darkens its radiance and they are assigning to the Torah of G-D the opposite of what it is intended to be. For G-D said regarding the Perfect Torah (Devarim 4:6), "[The nations of the world] shall hear all of these decrees and say 'Surely this is a wise and discerning people, a great nation!'" However, this group tells over the literal words (not according to the allegory and true meaning) of our Sages, may they be remembered for blessings, that when other nations hear these words they say, "Only a nation of fools and rascals that is a puny nation [would say this]."

The majority of the time this is what is occurring with the interpreters [from this group]: They are explaining and making known to the greater nation [ideas] which they do not know (causing them to distort these ideas of the Sages). Who would grant [the people from this group], since they do not know or understand, that they should be silent[, that would be Wise for them]. In the same manner that it says [in Iyov 13:5,] "Who would grant that you fall utterly silent; that would be a wise thing for you!" Or they should say, "We do not understand the intentions of the Sages in this case, and we do not know how to explain it." However, they think that they understand it and try to make known and explain it to the nation according to their weak mental [abilities]- they do not explain what the Sages actually said. They preach at the head of the nation [their understanding of] tractate Brachos and Perek Chelek and other things according to the literal understanding, word for word. (Translation and elucidation provided by me, E-man)

I will translate the rest later, but for our point I think it is clear what the Rambam is saying. We must understand the words of the Sages, when they seem contrary to the truth, in an allegorical and metaphorical way when possible. The Sages, in Aggadita, were trying to teach us deeper meanings and the simple reading of their words is worthless. Not just worthless, but detrimental! The Rambam insists that we understand the words of the Sages in a deeper way and not make them seem unintelligent.

This view of the Rambam seems to make him almost in the camp of the Maharal. Both believe that the words of the Sages have a deeper meaning and excluding that deeper meaning is an incorrect way to learn Aggadita. The only thing that separates the Rambam and Maharal is to what extent the Rabbis sayings were to be made into allegories. The Rambam and his son, as we have shown above, believe that the Sages were incorrect in believing in the power of astrology and other mystical types of things. However, the Maharal believes that astrology and other mystical things, like Sheidim, do actually exist.

Therefore, the Maharal and Rambam agree on most things in the Gemora, when the Sages say something that seems untenable, we must try to understand the deeper meaning in their words. Where the Maharal and Rambam seem to differ is, basically, their own views on certain laws of science. The Maharal believed in Mysticism and, therefore, did not need to make the Sages words into allegory only type of Gemoras, whereas, the Rambam would have to make these Gemoras into allegories or individual opinions of Sages.

However, whether you are a rationalist like the Rambam or a mystic like the Maharal, it seems like no one would condone a simple literalistic interpretation of the untenable Gemoras unless it is IMPOSSIBLE to explain otherwise. Only then is one to claim, according to the Rambam, that this Gemora is a Daas Yachid (individual opinion that we do not hold like). The Maharal says that the words of the Sages should be understood as metaphors "unless they state that a particular story is not a metaphor." Showing that there are practically no Aggadita Gemoras that one can assume are literal. The Rambam also says (In Perek Chelek while dealing with the third group, the right way to understand the Sages), "Everything the Sages say that are impossible we should understand them as speaking through the language of puzzles and parables."

However, there are some Gemora's that the Rambam finds impossible to explain as parables and is willing to agree that there are a few beliefs found in the Sages that are false. However, he explains that these beliefs are not communal beliefs by the Sages. When there are beliefs that the Sages have that contradict logic and reality AND they are impossible to relate through allegories or metaphors THEN the Rambam ascribes those beliefs to a minority opinion in the Sages. As the Rambam says in his letter on astrology (found here):

I know that you may search and find sayings of some individual sages in the Talmud and Midrashim whose words appear to maintain that at the moment of a man's birth, the stars will cause such and such to happen to him. Do not regard this as a difficulty, for it is not fitting for a man to abandon the prevailing law and raise once again the counterarguments and replies (that preceded its enactment). Similarly it is not proper to abandon matters of reason that have already been verified by proofs, shake loose of them, and depend on the words of a single one of the sages from whom possibly the matter was hidden. Or there may be an allusion in those words; or they may have been said with a view to the times and the business before him. (You surely know how many of the verses of the holy Law are not to be taken literally. Since it is known through proofs of reason that it is impossible for the thing to be literally so, the translator [of the Aramaic Targum] rendered it in a form that reason will abide. ) A man should never cast his reason behind him, for the eyes are set in front, not in back...

What we see from here is that the Rambam seems almost identical to the Maharal in his understanding of difficult statements by the Sages. It seems that whether you are a rationalist or a non-rationalist, the simple meanings of the Sages does not reveal a real difficulty in the Sages as a whole. As a whole, the Sages were never wrong, according to the Rambam and the Maharal. However, there were some Sages that, individually, were incorrect in their understanding of some sciences. This would also explain why the Rambam and his son seem to ascribe misinformation to the Sages. They mean that there are som INDIVIDUAL Sages that err and believe in the power of astrology and other mystical things.

As stated above, it seems like the Rambam and Maharal do not differ in HOW to read the Gemora. Rather they argue on scientific fact. The Maharal believes in mysticism and, therefore, believes the Sages also believed in mysticism and finds no reason to relate these teachings of the Sages as allegories. The Rambam disagrees about mysticism and, therefore, he DOES relate these statements of the Sages as allegories.

Mishpatim- Understanding the Reasons

In this week's parsha G-D starts enumerating many of the laws that govern Judaism. However, when describing how G-D gave over these commandments to the Jewish people, the Torah gives us a very unique description. It says (Shemos 21:1):

וְאֵלֶּה, הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים, אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים, לִפְנֵיהֶם. 1 Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them.

The Torah tells us that G-D wanted Moshe to set these commandments before the Jewish people. In fact, the Torah used this language previously when discussing how Moshe was supposed to tell over the laws and commandments to the elders of the Jewish people (Shemos 19:7):

ז וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה, וַיִּקְרָא לְזִקְנֵי הָעָם; וַיָּשֶׂם לִפְנֵיהֶם, אֵת כָּל-הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, אֲשֶׁר צִוָּהוּ, יְהוָה.	7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD commanded him.

Also, when Moshe was giving his final speech, in Devarim, the Torah describes his teaching of the Torah in a similar manner. This verse can further help us understand why this type of language is used and can be found in Devarim (4:44):

מד וְזֹאת, הַתּוֹרָה, אֲשֶׁר-שָׂם מֹשֶׁה, לִפְנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.	44 And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel;

These verses show that when the Torah is taught the language of "setting" the Torah "before" the pupil is used. What is the significance of this type of language? How is it being taught by the teacher and how is it being absorbed by the student? Perhaps this language is used to teach us how one should teach, or perhaps it is teaching us about how one should learn the Torah? The question is, simply put, what is the significance of setting the Torah before the Jewish people, why not say that Moshe taught (Lilmoed) the Jewish people Torah or anything similar to that?

To answer this question we must bring down a Gemorah found in Eiruvin (54b) that states: (Soncino translation)

R. Akiba stated: Whence is it deduced that a man must go on teaching his pupil until he has

mastered the subject? From Scripture where it says: And teach thou it to the children of Israel.32 And whence is it deduced that it must be taught until the students are well versed in it?33 From Scripture where it says. Put it in their mouths.34 And whence is it inferred that it is also his duty to explain to him the reasons?35 It has been said: Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt put before them.36

((32) Deut. XXXI, 19; emphasis on ‘teach’.

(33) Lit., ‘arranged in order in their mouth’.

(34) Deut. XXXI, 19: emphasis on ‘put . . . mouth’.

(35) Lit., ‘to show the face’. . . that it is not enough to teach dogmatically.

(36) Ex. XXI. 1, emphasis on ‘put before’ (cf. Rashi). )

Rabbi Akiva is telling us something very unique about the words "set before" (or put before). G-D, in his infinite wisdom, realized that man must understand before he can perform actions. There are different levels of understanding, but in order to do something worth anything, there must first be understanding. Without any type of understanding, there is no purpose to the action. This is why we see that G-D commanded Moshe to set the Torah before the Jewish people. Moshe had to explain and give the reasons for the laws in the Torah.

This is one of the reasons why I believe even the laws that we have nowadays, like ritual slaughter, that seemingly have no reason, must have originally been taught with the reason. Everything in Judaism needs to make sense, logic is an integral part of the Jewish religion. Without logic there is no understanding and without understanding there is no true learning.

People nowadays are all to content with just learning the basic halacha, how to pray and go through the motions without ever understanding what they are doing. These actions are essentially worthless without deeper understanding. That is why G-D gave the Torah and specifically told Moshe, "Place it before the Jewish People." G-D was saying make sure they understand what they are doing and the reasons behind these actions. Knowledge leads to a closer connection to Torah and to G-D.

Is "Everything" Really In the Torah?

Many religious Jews are always taught that everything, all knowledge that exists and will exist, can be found in the Torah. However, we have to ask ourselves, "Whose opinion is this and where does this idea come from?"

In Pirkei Avos the following mishna exists (This mishna is listed differently in different pirkei avos. It is found at the end of the fifth chapter, but the mishna can be anywhere from 19-26). "Ben Bag Bag says, Turn to it, and turn to it again, for everything is in it. Pore over it, grow old and gray over it. Do not budge from it. You can have no better guide for living than it.'" (translation is from the book of legends from Judaica classic library)

Ben Bag Bag seems to be the source of this idea that everything can be found in the Torah. However, is he actually saying that all knowledge that exists or will exist can be found in the Torah? Perhaps, the idea of "everything can be found in it" refers to something else, something a little more specific? Maybe the last words of his quotation "You can have no better guide for living than it" can shed some light on what he is really trying to say.

In relation to this Mishna, most people have heard of the following Medrash Rabba (Genesis 1:1). It says, "R. Hoshaia Rabbah began his discourse with the verse 'Then I was by Him as a nursling (amon)' (Prov. 8:30). The word amon may be read umman, meaning "overall design"--I was in the mind of the Holy One, says the Torah, like the overall design in the mind of a craftsman. In the way of the world, when a king of flesh and blood builds a palace, he builds it not according to his own whim, but according to the idea of an architect. Moreover, the architect does not build it out of his own head; he has [a design]--plans and diagrams to know how to lay out the chambers and where to put in wicket doors. Even so the Holy One looked into the Torah as He created the world."

This Medrash seemingly tells us that G-D had the Torah before He created the physical world and that He used the Torah to create the physical world. On a simple level it seems that since G-D used the Torah to create the entire world that everything in the physical world (physics, biology, etc) should be able to be found in the Torah. However, this Medrash might not be as simple as it appears. Perhaps the Medrash is coming to teach us about the goal of creation and not just some simplistic reading that the Torah was an actual blueprint for all of creation.

I think that once we understand this Medrash in the proper way then we will be able to understand what Ben Bag Bag is trying to tell us. The Medrash is pointing out to us that G-D created the physical world with a specific purpose and that purpose can be found in the Torah. Therefore, once we understand the purpose of creation then we can understand the true meaning of the Torah. So what is the purpose of creation?

If we look at some verses in Tanach a proper understanding of this Medrash can be attained. In Mishlei (3:19) it says, "G-D founded the earth on wisdom." Then in Psalms (111:10) it says, "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of G-D." The Eitz Yosef and the Anaf Yosef on the first Medrash in Medrash Tanchuma tell us that the Torah is referred to as "the beginning." This means that the only way for one to acquire wisdom is to fear G-D and the only way to fear G-D is to learn the Torah. Therefore, "G-D looked into the Torah and created the world" means that He saw that the only way man could acquire wisdom in this world was to couple all of his (man's) learning with a fear of G-D. The Gra in the beginning of Mishlei tells us this as well. Only once a person has a fear of G-D can they acquire any type of knowledge. They can learn as much as they want, but until they have a fear of G-D all of their learning, in any subject, is worthless. This is because without a proper foundation nothing is stable. Learing anything without having a fear of G-D is like building a castle on quicksand, it takes a lot of work, but in the end there is nothing.

I think the idea that attaining knowledge is contingent on a fear of G-D needs to be explained. It seems to me that the only way one can truly know something is true is by having a belief in G-D. For example, no archeologist can ever be 100% certain that something happened in the past. They can make logical assumptions based on fractured pieces of evidence that they put together, but they can never really KNOW. However, a belief in G-D allows the believer to know that something is true. I can know that certain things are true because I believe in a G-D that controls the world or that set up nature in a certain way. However, why should someone who does not believe in G-D think that nature will remain constant? What is causing that person to think that nature works indefinitely? Therefore, a person that does not believe in G-D can never truly know something. Without G-D there are no objective truths.

This leads us to the purpose of creation. The purpose of creation, according to this Medrash, would then be for man to acquire wisdom. This goes beautifully with the Rambam and Ralbag's understanding of the immortality of the human soul. What part of a man is considered to live eternally? The Rambam and Ralbag both tell us that it is the acquired intellect of a person that lives eternally and will experience heaven. If this is true, then it must be that the goal of G-D's creation was man and his ability to acquire heaven.

Now we can explain the idea that Ben Bag Bag brings down. What does it mean that everything is found in the Torah? It does not literally mean that all wisdom is found in the Torah, but something much more basic. Everything that will lead you on the proper path to acquiring a fear of G-D is found in the Torah. This can also be seen from the last words that Ben Bag Bag says, "You can have no better GUIDE for living than it." It is impossible to live properly without a fear of G-D. Without a fear of G-D there is no wisdom to be acquired and your life will end up without meaning. However, with a fear of G-D, all wisdom is attainable and furthermore, heaven WILL be acquired.

*********(Later Addition to show I didn't make this up myself)
This is exactly what the Meiri says on this Mishna in Avos. The Meiri says,

"(Ben Bag Bag) is giving a warning that it is not enough to just have a crude reading of the Torah, rather it needs to be read over and over, meaning many times. If one reads it over and over then a person will be able to answer any doubts they had in their heart with it (the Torah). This is the idea of "Everything is in it."

The Meiri is telling us that when Ben Bag Bag says that "Everything is in it" he is telling us that we can answer up any questions that we have with the validity of the Torah. We don't need to look at other religions or science to figure out the truth of the Torah, we just need to really understand the Torah and what it is coming to teach. Since it comes to teach a fear of G-D this means that we will be able to truly believe in G-D and have a fear of G-D once we understand the Torah in all of its glory. Now, once you understand the Torah and you have acquire this fear of G-D, you are ready to acquire true knowledge.

The Medrash and Ben Bag Bag do not mean to say that one can learn to become a doctor through the Torah. However, they are teaching us that in order to acquire real knowledge that will lead a person to the proper path, the path to heaven, then a person needs a fear of G-D.

****UPDATE*******
See Rav Josh Waxman's post that deals with this issue as well:
parshablog: Should one study secular subjects, independently of Torah?

Maharal- How One Removes Themselves From The World to Come

While researching a little bit about what "Sefarim Chitzonim" means in the Gemorah on Sanhedrin 100B I came across a great explanation by the Maharal in the 15th perek of Tiferes Yisroel. Also, I was shocked at what I found Rav Moshe Shapiro, the Rav of Rabbi Hartman (he wrote the notes in the newest Maharals), says. First let us hear what the Maharal says.

In order to understand the Maharal's ideas, we must first translate part of the first mishna in perek hachelek of Sanhedrin. It says,

"Every member of Israel has a portion in the World to Come, as it is written 'For your nation has all righteous people forever they will inherit the land. They are the shoots of My saplings, My handiwork to glorify (Me).' (However,)these are the people that do not have a share in the world to come: Someone who says that the revival of the dead is not from the Torah; Someone who says the Torah is not from Heaven; and one who is an Apikores. Rabbi Akiva says, even someone who reads from 'Sefarim Chitzonim' and someone who recites verses of the Torah over wounds in order to heal them."

I am not going to go into what an Apikores is, however, I want to discuss what the Maharal says about Rabbi Akiva's additions to this Mishna. The Maharal says,

"Rebbe Akiva was trying to point out that it is not only these first three people, that completely remove themselves from having the ability to enter the world to come, that do not enter the world to come, but even someone who veers to the right or left of the path to the world to come. This that Rebbe Akiva said that 'Even one that reads from Sefarim Chitzonim or recites a verse over his wound loses his portion' is because Sefarim Chitzonim remove a person from the truthful Torah, that the Torah teaches the true and proper path. However, these Sefarim Chitzonim teach worthless ideas. These worthless ideas remove a person from the world to come, specifically from the world of intelligence, completely. This is because when a person reads from these Sefarim Chitzonim, that are full of worthlessness, this removes a person from the path to the world to come. Therefore, (if a person removes himself or herself from the path to the world to come) they will not receive the world to come."

The Maharal is telling us some basic principles. The first three types of people that are mentioned in the Mishna, the denier of the revival of the dead, the denier that Torah is from heaven and the Apikores are all people that completely remove themselves from having the ability to enter the world to come. Therefore, since they have removed themselves from having the ability to enter the world to come, they will be unable to enter the world to come. Why it is that these three people remove themselves from having the ability to enter the world to come is spoken about by the Maharal earlier in this perek.

With this in mind we can now venture forth and discuss why someone who does not remove themselves completely from having the ability to enter the world to come will still be unable to enter the world to come. According to Rebbe Akiva, the Maharal says that these two types of people, the reader of Sefarim Chitzonim and the reciter of verses over wounds, do not completely remove themselves from having the ability to enter the world to come. However, they do not follow the path that will lead them to the world to come. Therefore, since they do not follow the path that will lead them to the world to come, they will not enter the world to come.

The idea the Maharal is pointing out here is that Rebbe Akiva is of the opinion that Jews need to earn the world to come, whereas the Tanna of the Mishna seems to say only that Jews can lose their world to come. A person who removes himself, or herself from having the ability to enter the world to come is a person that knowingly rejects the existence of the world to come. That is why The denier of the revival of the dead, the denier of the Torah being from heaven and the Apikores are rejected from the world to come, because they deny the existence of the world to come. Therefore, if you deny the existence of the world to come, you no longer have the ability to enter the world to come.

However, a person that reads Sefarim Chitzonim or recites verses from the Torah over wounds to heal them do not deny the existence of the world to come. This is where the argument between Rebbe Akiva and the Tanna of the Mishna comes into play. The Tanna of the Mishna believes that all Jews automatically enter the world to come, no work is required. Therefore, even someone who wastes their time with falsehoods, like the Sefarim Chitzonim, can still enter the world to come. Rebbe Akiva rejects this idea. He is of the opinion that even though every Jew has a portion in the world to come, they must earn it. Therefore, if they waste their time on flasehoods, they will not enter the world to come since they have not earned it.

The Maharal continues and explains why it is that someone who recites a verse over a wound has no share in the world to come. He says,

"By a person that recites a verse over a wound, he or she is using the Torah for something that is the opposite of the Torah, since he or she is using the Torah as medicine for the body. It is the opposite use since the Torah is abstract (spiritual, intelligence) and this person is using it for something physical. This person is removing the grandeur of the Torah that is abstract (spiritual, intelligence) since he or she is using it for physicality which is the opposite of the Torah. We have already said that the Torah itself is the world to come, like is known to the ones who understand and the wise ones, therefore, when a person veers away from the abstract (spiritual, intelligence) Torah, that is the world to come, then he or she will lose their entrance into the world to come. These two things, reading from Sefarim Chitzonim and reciting a verse over a wound are the two ways of veering away from the Torah either right or left. This is because one who reads Sefarim Chitzonim does not consider the Torah of any value, for if this person considered the Torah of any value they would not waste their time with these books that are full of nothingness and worthlessness. However, one who recites verses from the Torah over his or her wounds does the exact opposite of this. This verse reciter values the Torah, however, this person thinks that the Torah should even be used as medicine to heal wounds."

The two ways to veer from the path to enter the world to come are 1)to not value the Torah enough and 2)to think that the Torah has application even to physical matters such as healing a wound. However, what are the real problems that are divulged through this understanding? Rabbi Hartman quotes an idea he heard from Rav Moshe Shapiro. He says,

"Here we are dealing with the disgraces of adding or subtracting. Someone who reads Seforim Chitzonim does not give enough credence to the Torah, therefore there is the disgrace of subtracting (value from the Torah). However, when someone recites a verse from the Torah over a wound he or she thinks the Torah can do everything, even things pertaining to physicality. This is the disgrace of adding to the (value of the Torah). Veering to the right or left means disgracing the Torah by either adding (right) or subtracting (left)."

The lesson here is that we have to understand the place of the Torah. Adding or subtracting to the use of the Torah takes away from the value of the Torah. To say something like, "the Torah can heal a wound" is absolutely ridiculous and diminishes the value of the Torah. However, saying that there is no value to the Torah is wrong as well. What is important is to find the balance and realize the place for the Torah. Therefore, one can enter the world to come through the Torah.

As a side point, it seems like we are saying that Sefarim Chitzonim are books that are read instead of the Torah according to the Maharal. However, Philosophy, Science, Mathematics, and any other type of book that helps one understand the Torah seems like it would be fine. The only problem is a book that will lead one to discount the Torah. Perhaps this means that one who reads books that bring a person to reject the Torah has no share in the world to come according to the Maharal.

Ramban-All Knowledge is Derived from The Torah-Toras Hashem Temima perek 1 siman 5

In this post of the Ramban here he asks, " What is the greatness of the Torah." In this siman he begins to answer this question. He says,

"The beginning of everything is that a person should know that everything that the created (aka people) know and understand, all of it comes from the Bible directly or indirectly. If it were not for the Bible there would be no difference between a man and the donkey he rides on. This can be seen from the nations that are distant from the Bible and its prophecies. For example, the Barbarians that dwell in Dacia (The Romans conquered the Dacians and then the Romans were destroyed by the Barbarians), the Tartars, and the nations like India- that these people do not recognize their creator and they think the world always existed. Also, there are people that exist that are not deep thinkers and do not consider whether the world always existed or is a new creation. They do not contemplate whether the spheres move themselves or if something else moves them like King David mentioned in the Psalm that we quoted previously (Tehilim 19) and like the other deep thinkers (philosophers) from the nations close to us. All of these ideas have not been seen or thought about by nations that have not heard of the Bible. This is because a man that is not taught is like an animal, like it says in Job (11:12), "Let one who is like a wild donkey be reborn as a man. (meaning: When man is born he is like a wild donkey)"

The Ramban uses facts from the situation of his time to prove why the Torah is so valuable. He shows that the only people that really think about things and care to acquire knowledge are people that have been effected by the Bible. The barbarians and other people that acted without knowledge at the time of the Ramban were groups of people that had never been effected by the Torah or even had a relation to it indirectly. This is very telling of how the Torah teaches and compels people to think. Also, the Torah invokes deep thinking and this is another focus of the Ramban. That the source of all knowledge and the drive to acquire knowledge comes from the Torah.

This is just one of many examples that show how great the Bible is and this example shows the Bible's importance. It sounds very compelling to say that every civilization that has been effected by the Bible is deep thinkers and values knowledge, whereas populations that have been unaffected by the Bible are simple and those people are not deep thinkers in any way.

Ramban- What is The Greatness of The Torah- Toras Hashem Temima perek 1 siman 4

The Ramban asks a very intriguing question. He has spent the first 3 simanim of his book describing how great the Torah is and how every revers the Torah. However, where does this reverence come from? What is it about the Torah that makes it so great? He says,

"We need to ask and explain what is this value and honor [everyone is showing the Torah]? What is this wisdom and greatness of the Torah? [Everything that it contains] seems obvious, even a student can read and know what it says. Also, even the nations of the world that treat it as an ancient text can learn it. Furthermore, they themselves can come up with civility and statutes that compare to the rules of the Bible and its laws."

The Ramban is pointing out the seemingly obvious morals that the Bible points out. It seems like most of the ideas contained within it are simplistic and easy to understand. However, if this is true then what is the greatness of the Torah that the three previous simanim talk about here.

It seems hard to tell what the specific features of the Bible are unique to Judaism. The specifics are obvious, but the overall idea of the Bible seems common. In the upcoming simanim the Ramban will discuss the uniqueness of the Bible from all other moral codes and books of law.

Ramban-Praise for The Torah From Psalms- Toras Hashem Temima perek 1 siman 3

The Ramban uses this siman as his final attempt to show how revered the Torah was among ancient Israel. He brings in quotes from Tehilim that reveal this idea. He says,

"Furthermore King David says in Tehilim (119:18) 'Unveil my eyes and I will perceive the wonders from your Torah' and (same source:34) 'Give me understanding and I will cherish your Torah' and (same source:96) "For every goal I see an end, but your commandment is very broad.' There are many pesukim that talk about this idea in the prophets and writings. They praise the Torah and say that it is more valuable and honored than all other things in the world, it is more important and it contains broader knowledge than all other wise ones and prophets."

The Ramban believes that it is important to point out how ancient Israel felt about the Torah. The reason for this is because Judaism is based on tradition. The reason we believe in Judaism is only because we believe in the validity of the Torah and the oral tradition. Therefore, anyone who wants to talk about the greatness of the Torah needs to focus on the tradition and lineage of the Torah. This is exactly what the Ramban does, he focuses on the ancient view of the Torah.

It is especially important to bring in the views of Tehilim on the Torah. The reason for this is because at the beginning of the second temple period there was a body known as the men of the great assembly. This assembly decided which books would be canonized into the Tanach. This shows that during King David's time, around 1000 BCE, the Jews believed the written and oral Torah contained more knowledge than anything in the world. It also shows that during the time of the men of the great assembly, around 400 BCE, this feeling had not changed. We can see from this that the Jewish perspective on the importance of the Torah had not changed even back then and it still has not changed.

I believe that this is why the Ramban brings in the words of King David from Tehilim. He thinks that it is important to point out that all generations of Jews believed that the Torah was and is the most important book around. Its importance to the Jewish people can reveal just how fascinating the Torah is and always has been.

Power of The Rabbis

In a book that I read occasionally that comments on the weekly parsha I found a very intriguing idea. The book is called Foundations and in the end of the section on parshas Emor it says the following:

"The Gemorra (Pesachim 30b; Yoma 31a; Yevamos 11a; etc) propounds that any Rabbinic ruling (tikun) carries the weight of a d'Oraisah. The Rambam (Yad Hachazaka, Hilchos Mamarim 2:9) elaborates as follows: Bais Din is empowered to prohibit what was once permitted, and their ruling stands for all generations. Similarly, they can permit what the Torah has forbidden, all according to the needs of the times."

Now, this confuses and befuddles me more than any other statement I have ever read by anyone. The first idea of the Rambam is taught to everyone and easily accepted. Of course the Rabbis have the right to protect us from transgressing a commandment from the Torah. A lot of the forbidden things that exist nowadays are prohibitions that were enacted by the Rabbis to protect us from transgressing a commandment from the Torah. However, the other idea, that Rabbis can detract from the Torah as they see necessary seems like an idea out of the Conservative or Reformed movement.

I think we can explain the Rambam to make him sound more mainstream. The Rambam doesn't say that the Rabbis have the power to get rid of the prohibition, rather he says the Rabbis are able to get rid of the prohibition according to the needs of the times. This means that the Rabbis can only proclaim a temporary lenience that will not last forever. This can be compared to the idea that women used to never cover their hair. Everyone is always shocked that no one used to cover their hair and only recently did people start covering their hair. I don't know if there was ever a Rabbinic proclamation for this, but we can see the example where allowing this commandment to be transgressed brought a lot of people back to orthodox Judaism. However, after a little while it brought many people to keep the commandments and, eventually, many people even started to cover their hair again.

It seems like, in this situation, the ends justified the means. At least according to how the Rambam understands the Rabbinic authority. The Torah is not a rigid document, but rather a guideline that should always be followed. These guidelines can only be changed by the people that have been entrusted with that responsibility, the Rabbis. Only the Rabbis can decide when it is appropriate to bend the rules in order to save the greater whole of Judaism.

I am unsure if the Rambam means that any generation can change the rules or only a generation that has a Sanhedrin. It is hard to assume that the Rabbis of this day and age, a splintered group, would have the ability to do this since there are hardly any consensuses on any topic. However, this does reveal that the Torah is not the unchanging and rigid force that most of us assume that it is and has always been.

Link to this Rambam here.

Ramban- What The Torah Can Do For You- Toras Hashem Temima perek 1 siman 2

The Ramban continues his explanation of the greatness of the Torah. He explains,

"We learned in a braisa that Chizkiya bar Chiya said, The words of the Torah are like a crown on a head, a necklace on the neck, a soothing remedy to the heart, a salve for the eye, a compress for a wound, a root-drink for the stomach and it is a cure to the body. It is a crown for the head as it says in Mishlei (1:9) 'It is an ornament of grace for the head.' It is a necklace for the neck like it says in Mishlei (same source) 'It is a necklace for your neck.' It is a soothing remedy to the heart as it says in Tehilim (19:9) 'It gladdens the heart.' It is a salve for the eye as it says in tehilim (same source) 'It lightens up the eyes.' It is a compress for a wound as it says in Mishlei (3:8) 'It is a cure for your navel.' It is a root-drink for the stomach as it says in Mishlei (same source) 'It is marrow for your bones.' It is a general cure for the body as it says in Mishlei (4:22) 'And to all his flesh it is a cure.'"

The Ramban is bringing sources from the words of King David and King Solomon. Why? I think that it could be that since David and Solomon are two people that were well versed in the Torah and they were Kings, we can rely on what they say about the Torah to be true. Also, if someone is constantly being tested and, therefore, needs more guidance than everyone else, that person's advice should be heeded. This is especially true by David and Solomon since we see how successful they were and how righteous they were. If we hope to be even 1/100th as great as them we should listen to what they have to say about the Torah and how it guided them along the right path.

However, why would the Ramban choose this braisa to teach us the importance of the Torah? What are these references teaching us about the greatness of the Torah?

Crown on a head- the pasuk quoted was "It is an ornament of grace for your head." This could be referring to the development of the mind. The Torah is something that helps exercise the mind and hone it in such a way that it greatly benefits. This can be seen from the extensive works that have been made from the Torah like the Mishna, Gemorah, Midrashim and so on.

Necklace- the pasuk quoted was "A Necklace on your neck." This could refer to the idea that you can be proud of your Torah knowledge. A person that is rich with Torah knowledge is confident and happy. They feel confident in their connection to G-D. This is similar to someone who is wearing a nice piece of jewelry around their neck, they feel confident and proud of what is on their neck.

Soothing remedy to the heart- the pasuk quoted is "It gladdens the heart." The heart refers to emotions. The idea here seems to be that someone is cured of a problem when their heart is gladdened. The Torah is something that brings a person happiness. This is because a person who learns the Torah and believes in it feels a sense of purpose and completeness. The Torah teaches man that he is not the ultimate end, but rather there is something other than himself. This gladdens man since to think this is a world of pointlessness is depressing.

A salve for the eye- the pasuk for this is "It lightens up the eyes." Lightening up the eyes seems to refer to opening a persons knowledge up. The Torah allows a person to view the world around him in a different way. One is able to notcie all of the miracles and intricacies that are involved in the every day actions of nature. The Torah allows one to take in that knowledge and realize it is from a higher being.

A compress for a wound- The pasuk for this is "It is a cure for your navel." The pasuk tells us that this cure for a wound refers to an integral wound that is cured. The navel refers to the part of a person that is nourished while in the mother's womb. When a person comes into this world they are severed from their original nourishing source. The only way to reestablish a nourishing relationship is through the Torah. The nourishment of the Torah's knowledge can help a person sustain themselves. The main part of a person is the idea of belief and the Torah gives a person direction of this belief. However, one can believe in many things, so it is important to direct these beliefs in the proper direction.

A root-drink for the stomach- The pasuk for this is "It is marrow for your bones." The marrow for your bones, or the root-drink are things that help fix the inside of your body. The root-drink is something that cures a disease like gonorrhea and the marrow is what produces your bodies defences. This correlates to Torah, because Torah helps one protect their mind and body from detrimental things. Like pointed out before, a person needs to believe in something and that can either be pointless and harmful things or meaningful and helpful things.

A general cure for the body- The pasuk for this is "And to all his flesh it is a cure." This is an overview of everything that was stated previously. Also, this is coming to teach you the all encompassing nature of the Torah. Everything is found in the Torah, all the answers and all knowledge. If one were to search for things in the Torah, they will find the answer. An answer might be to learn science or math, but all proper direction is found in the Torah.

Maharal On Learning and Teaching Torah

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Learning and teaching Torah has always been the cornerstone of Judaism. Throughout the years many Jewish scholars have contributed their theories of how best to learn or teach the Torah and its many components. One of the most influential and original thinkers on this subject is the Maharal MiPrague. The Maharal has written several sefarim that discuss his ideas on how to achieve success in learning and teaching, but one of the most prominent places that his opinion appears is in the introduction to his book Tiferes Yisroel. In his introduction the Maharal discusses why everyone can achieve success in learning Torah, the difficulties with teaching Torah to others, the proper intentions that one needs while learning and how learning Torah ultimately brings people closer to Hashem. In this influential work, it is obvious that the Maharal was strongly affected by the events that occurred in his generation. He even mentions specific deficiencies apparent in his time period that seriously crippled aspiring learners.

The Maharal lived in a time when society was experiencing a change in culture. The Renaissance was starting around the time of the Maharal and it affected several Jews. Science became more popular and people were questioning Hashem at every corner. The Renaissance was especially active in Prague where the non-Jewish community was more open and therefore more accepting of Jews. This accepting society is the reason more Jews were able to go to University. University education along with an open society caused a large amount of assimilation among the Jewish community. The amount of Torah learning, according to the Maharal, decreased during this period since more people were becoming secularized and assimilated. The affects were so dire that many Jews became great secular thinkers. Baruch Spinoza, who lived right after the Maharal, is a great example of a Jewish genius converting into a secular philosophizer.

In order to understand the Maharal’s position a little better the Renaissance must be further explained. The dominant intellectual movement of the Renaissance was humanism, a philosophy based on the idea that people are rational beings. Humanism originated in the study of classical culture, and it took its name from one of the era’s earliest and most crucial concerns: the promotion of a new educational curriculum that emphasized a group of subjects known collectively as the studia humanitatis, or the humanities. Humanities disciplines included grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and ethics. The humanists also stressed the general responsibilities of citizenship and social leadership. Humanists felt that they had an obligation to participate in the political life of the community.

Underlying the differences between the old philosophies and the humanists’ philosophies was the humanists’ deep conviction that society had outgrown older ways of thought. According to the humanists, the old ways of thought emphasized abstract speculation and relied too heavily on religious teachings. Many of the humanists were townspeople who were not directly associated with religion. These urban residents tended to object to an educational system that was largely monopolized by religion. Humanists were accustomed to the ever-changing, concrete activities of city life and found the rigid and closed systems of abstract thought to be both useless and irrelevant. In total, humanism reflected the new environment of the Renaissance. Its essential contribution to the modern world was not its concern with antiquity, but its flexibility and openness to all the possibilities of life. 

 

The Maharal wrote most of his books to counteract the secular ideas of the Renaissance and to help Jews focus on the important ideas in Judaism. The new secular ideas of philosophy and of the humanists were very attractive during this time and in order to give a Jewish perspective on these ideas the Maharal came out with a lot of Jewish philosophical books. The book Tiferes Yisroel is one of these philosophical books. In his introduction to Tiferes Yisroel, the Maharal tries to describe, to a crowd of people who need explanations and without the Maharal would probably not be learning at all, how to learn and why learning Torah is important.

The Maharal begins Tiferes Yisroel by talking about the verse in scripture that one recites during the lifting of the Torah after reading it (hagba). The verse is “And this is the Torah that Moshe placed before Bnei Yisreol.” The Maharal uses this as a springboard to discuss his first issue, success in Torah learning. He says that the verse specifically chose the wording of "The Torah was placed before Bnei Yisroel," implying that the Torah is something that anyone who wants can come and take since it is sitting there waiting to be learned. The Maharal is trying to emphasize that the Torah is not only for the extremely wise or bright, but for anyone who is willing to involve themselves with it. He points this out since, in his time, people thought that learning Torah was only for the elite. There was a preconceived notion that only the best and the brightest go to Yeshiva and learn, but everyone else does not have to, or may not be capable of learning. Most people probably thought this because they equated Torah knowledge to regular secular knowledge. By doing this they thought that Yeshiva must be similar to University where only the top students can attend. This thinking led the Maharal to tell us that everyone has the ability to learn Torah and he proves it from this widely known verse.

The next problem the Maharal brings up with learning Torah is someone worrying about making mistakes. A person might not want to learn because he may read a word incorrectly or understand the Halacha in a faulty manner. To this concern the Maharal brings down a Midrash in Song of Songs that says G-D loves someone even if they read the text incorrectly or misunderstand the Halacha. The Midrash explains that G-D will overlook the mistake of even a misread word and that Hashem understands what the person truly meant. This is used to encourage all of the people who can not correctly read Hebrew and to support them in order that they will still try their hardest to read Hebrew and not give up.

This problem also reflects on the Maharal’s personal experience. People in his time period lacked the ability to read Hebrew. In fact, the Maharal’s writings reveal his own lack of Hebrew vocabulary. For example, the Maharal uses the word “Rak” which means only, in an interchangeable manner with the word ela, which means but. This shows the Maharal’s lack in Hebrew capabilities and leads to the conclusion that his generation must not have been any better. Still, the Maharal wanted to give hope to all of those in his community and tell them that they can try and learn even though there will be many mistakes. The Maharal figured that positive reinforcement was the best way to inspire people to learn and keep tradition.

Based on the problems the Maharal thought were rampant among his community, making mistakes with learning and the lack of confidence that people were having with learning itself, the Maharal explains the blessing recited before learning. The blessing recited before learning is “to deal with words of Torah” and not only “to learn Torah.” This discrepancy feeds the Maharal’s idea that one should learn and not be worried about his lack of confidence or his concern for making mistakes. He says that the very fact that the blessing is “to deal with words of Torah” and not to actually “learn Torah” means that all one has to do is try to learn and even if the learning is incorrect then merit is still received. The whole idea is that learning is a commandment in the Torah and in order to fulfill that commandment one must do an action of learning. The action is speaking out the words, but even if one is incorrect he is still fulfilling the commandment. Whereas, if the blessing would be “to learn Torah” that would imply only fully comprehending the ideas of Torah counts as fulfilling the commandment and if one did not actually understand the true law being learned then he would not have fulfilled the commandment. Nevertheless, the Maharal points out that the true bracha is, in fact, “to deal with words of torah” and, therefore, even if one does not comprehend the true law he is still rewarded.

Another problem with learning torah is trying to teach it to others. The Maharal brings up this difficulty since the primary way of learning Torah in his time was through pilpul. Pilpul is when two people learn together and discuss or argue about the different points in the Gemara or Mishna in a heated way. The Maharal was against this type of learning, but since it was the method used, he tried to help people through the discouragements of this process. The first of the two difficulties is that how does one know he is learning the Gemara or Mishna correctly that he will be able to enlighten the person he is trying to teach the law or idea. The Maharal adds that it is especially a problem in his (the Maharal’s) generation since wisdom has been lost and true explanations are much more difficult to come by. The second problem is that even if a person is able to get to the true law or idea how will he convince the person he is learning with into accept his understanding of the law or idea. This second problem is more disparaging than the first since after a person has worked so hard to achieve the truth it is painful for his understanding to be denied by someone else. It is human nature for a person to want his hard work to be meaningful and not be disregarded.

These two different problems are evident from a prayer that chazal provided for everyone to recite before learning. It says, “May it be your will that I should not stumble in a lawful matter, that I should not say something that is pure is impure and then my friend will be happy at my expense and also do not allow my friend to stumble that I should be happy at his expense.” This prayer is used to counteract human nature, that one person is usually happy when another person fails or is lacking something. This is true since a man is usually happy when he sees that he is better than his friend in some area, even a great and righteous person will have some degree of joy. Also, from the fact that a person is supposed to pray that he should not say something is pure when it is really impure instead of saying that he should say what is pure when it is pure shows that one doesn’t necessarily learn the proper law or idea. From this prayer we see the two problems facing someone while learning with a friend.

The Maharal answers up these two problems with a simple retort. He says that if when a person is learning he learns for the right reasons, which is for the sack of getting close to Hashem, then Hashem will give him the true understanding since the Torah comes from Hashem. This is proven from the language of the blessing one makes on the Torah in the morning. In the morning one says a prayer that Hashem gives us the torah, in a present tense, instead of saying that Hashem gave us the Torah. However, this seems to only answer up the question of a person becoming disheartened from the fact that he might not find out the true law or idea, but what about other people accepting his way of learning as truth? What about the problem that other people will not readily accept another persons understanding of the Gemara or Mishna? Rav Hartman answers this in a footnote to the Maharal and tells us that when a person is learning for the right reasons not only does he understand the true meaning, but this will help overcome human nature and people will accept his understanding as truth and not disregard his opinion.

Pilpul can be seen as a very difficult way of learning for the reasons just discussed, but the Maharal was against the pilpul approach of learning for several other reasons as well. In a paper written by Yael Wieselberg she goes into the different reasons that the Maharal was against the Pilpul way of learning. First of all, the Maharal thought that pilpul was a flawed system of learning, which results in a lack of knowledge and a lack of understanding the written and oral Torah, which brought in its wake a ‘siluk hama’asim ve’yirat Shamayim min ha’dor ha’ze,’ a removal of good deeds and reverence from this generation. The Maharal felt that when one engages in intellectualism rather than in unity, the result is likely to be a void of mitzvos and an absence of reverence. Like the Maharal said earlier, it is in human nature to be pleased with the lack found in others and pilpul is a type of method that enhances that bad character trait instead of suppressing it.

Pilpul has a very interesting background that, at its core, seems to run counter to the Maharal’s view of Judaism. Pilpul was started by rationalist principles and the pilpulistic method originated in the Yeshivot of Germany and Italy and later found its way into Eastern Europe. By the sixteenth century in Prague, Pilpul had become the dominant mode of learning. Although Pilpul was immediately integrated into the mainstream of Polish Jewish learning in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, coinciding with a considerable growth in Jewish learning, the Maharal emerged in staunch opposition to its instructive principles.

The truth is that the Maharal recognized the value of “pilpul for the right reasons” insofar as it illuminates genuine aspects of existence, but he remained deeply suspicious of “pilpul for the wrong reasons,” the kind of philosophical abstraction that disconnects one from reality. In Maharal’s view, pilpul had developed into a form of learning based upon the abstract and the imaginary, upon sharpening one’s arguments to impossible extremes just in order to outwit the fellow learner. This was exactly what the Maharal feared would become of learning and did not want this to happen.

Still, there are those who argue with the Maharal and believe pilpul is a great way of learning. Those who endorsed it believed that having a focused perspective would aid intellectual development, encouraging the student to think more clearly and move on towards autonomous learning. However, at the same time because students were so concerned to extend the parameters of their argument, they would often enter the realm of casuistry, arguing that different positions could be reconciled on the basis of obscure interpretations. While those in favor of pilpul were unconcerned by those flights of the imagination that left the realm of truth, Maharal was deeply concerned that the Torah enterprise remain restricted to truth, to its applications in reality. This shows us why, in Tiferes Yisroel, the Maharal says that chasing after the truth is the most important part about learning.

The Maharal talks about  understanding the "truth" as being why learning is important. However, iIf one learns for learnings sake and does not connect it to Hashem then his learning is removed from truth. An example of this is a Talmud Chacham (wise person) that learns and loves his learning, but fails to connect it to Hashem. The Maharal tells us that this type of person will not pass on his righteousness to his children since his learning is selfish and therefore falsified. The only way to insure that ones children will be righteous is to have truthful learning and connect it and enhance it with love for Hashem. Without this love for Hashem all else is pointless and untrue.

When learning lacks spiritual direction, Maharal insists, it will not succeed in bringing us to the world to come. Learning that is separated from fear of heaven, from a relation with Hashem, is rejected as meaningless. Only when study is intimately linked with the experience of Yirat Shamayim (awe of heaven) will it succeed in opening up the channels of relationship. On the mishnah “Eizehu Chacham, Halommed Mikol Adam”, (who is wise, someone who learns from every man) Maharal explains this point in depth. The definitions chosen by the Mishna, he explains, are extremely precise, and thus the Chacham (wise person) cannot be defined by the quantity of knowledge he possesses. The judge here of what is a wise person is rather how vigorously one strives to connect himself to Hashem. One can not determine intellectualism to be the definition of a wise person, but rather a love and understanding of Hashem.

The Maharal tried to make many changes in his community that can be seen through his writings. He attempts to relate more productive ways of learning as apposed to the accepted pilpul method. The Maharal also tries to encourage people to use the pilpul method, but with many amendments to the general understanding of how it is handled. He also invokes a person’s confidence and self worth instead of allowing it to be demeaned.

In essence, the traits of a true teacher, according to the Maharal, are a person who strives for truth and looks for the best in their students. The Maharal believed that everyone is capable of performing on a spiritual level. Whether they are the brightest people or the slowest people, the Maharal tried to give advice to all. He did not discriminate nor did he discourage anyone, rather he believed that everyone could teach and learn. This is why he wrote Tiferes Yisroel, in order that people should realize learning and teaching Torah is for everyone and that no one should give up hope. Also, he wrote the book in order to counteract the anti-religious teachings of the popular Renaissance ideas that were floating around during his time.