Rabbi Soloveitchik: 2022

Sunday, November 6, 2022

the importance of mitzvos

What do we mean by תלמוד תורה כנגד כולם?

DH: What do we mean by תלמוד תורה כנגד כולם?

Rabbi Soloveitchik: It is not that this mitzvah is equal to all the mitzvos, but rather that it brings the person to do all the other mitzvos. The whole purpose of the limud is that it comes to asiah and asiah is the ikur.

The Rav Thinking Aloud, p. 69

And From There You Shall Seek, p. 104

Bottom line: Hashem acts, so we must act.

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Hebrew at the Maimonides School

Jewish schools all over chutzeh l'aretz either don't put enough effort into teaching the Hebrew language or don't do it all. However, the Rav's Maimonides School in Brookline, MA appears to take it very seriously as all schools should.

About Our Hebrew Curriculum

Knowledge, performance, and competency of any foreign language include two independent systems that complement each other in many ways: The acquired system and the learned system.

The acquired system, or acquisition, is the product of a subconscious process very similar to the one children undergo when they acquire their first language. It requires meaningful interaction in the target language – natural communication – in which speakers concentrate not on the form of their utterances, but on the communicative act.

The learned system, or learning, is the product of formal instruction and comprises a conscious process which results in conscious knowledge about the language, for example knowledge of grammar rules.

A deductive approach in a teacher-centered setting produces learning, while an inductive approach in a student-centered setting leads to acquisition.

Learning Pathways
At Maimonides School our students acquire the Hebrew language through four diverse and unique pathways.

Our wish and goal for our students is to test their knowledge and proficiency level through the International Hebrew Exam during 11th or 12th grade. This new initiative is a university-level course and test, taught and conducted by our Hebrew department teachers in collaboration with Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

In order to achieve the goal of succeeding in the International Hebrew Exam, all Maimonides students are exposed to and being taught the following learning pathways:

First Pathway: Bishvil Ha-Ivrit Curriculum
The Middle and Upper School curriculum is divided into three levels, and each level has two parts:

Beginner – Bishvil Ha-Ivrit books 1 and 2
Intermediate – Bishvil Ha-Ivrit books 3 and 4
Advanced – Bishvil Ha-Ivrit book 5 and NETA books 21-25

Second Pathway: Independent, Authentic Learning Units
Every year, the Hebrew Language Department continues to develop learning units for all grades and levels (beginner, intermediate, and advanced). These units are created and developed through personal connections and familiarity with our students and their interests. The units are not only student-centered, but also based on second language acquisition theories and research-based assessment tools. These units differ in content, function, scope of sequence, complexity, and language objectives, and strive to make use of as many authentic materials as possible.

Third Pathway: Reading Books and Reading Journals
The “People of the Book” (Am Ha-Sefer) need no justification for the importance of reading. Nevertheless, in recent years few leading applied linguistics researchers have identified reading books in the target language as a critical component of second language acquisition.

For these reasons, our department has developed a unique reading program:

Each year students will read two books that are aligned with their proficiency level in content, length, complexity, and cognitive development.
For each book we developed a supportive assessment and understanding mechanism, which is the reading journal. The reading journal is also our basis for class discussions, projects, and knowledge enrichment.
The books for the beginner and intermediate levels were written for those learners, whereas our goal is that the advanced level will read authentic books during this time.

Fourth Pathway: Israeli High School-Oriented Proficiency
We take pride in each of our students for their achievements and individual strengths. This is why we choose to further challenge the advanced level students in three areas of content which form the core of our shared identity: Literature, citizenship, and Judaism.

https://www.maimonides.org/middle-school-curriculum

Our interest in humanity

"There are religiously committed Jews who are indifferent to the concerns of the larger non-Jewish society. They are content to reside in isolated communities with unconcern, if not actual disdain, for the Gentile world and for the problems which afflict humanity. This introversion can be explained as a reaction to the centuries-old derision and persecution which have been the Jewish historical experience and to which they were subjected with particular ferocity in modern times. Nowadays, there are particular aspects of moral perversion afflicting the general society which are repellant to Jewish sensibilities. Nevertheless, this insularity cannot be vindicated as authentic Judaism even if it can be understood and justified in particular historical periods and situations." Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, Man of Faith in the Modern World, p. 73.

The Beauty of Religion

The error of modern representatives of religion is that they promise their congregants the solution to all the problems of life − an expectation which religion does not fulfill. Religion, on the contrary, deepens the problems but never intends to solve them. The grandeur of religion lies in its mysterium tremendum its magnitude and its ultimate incomprehensibility. To cite one example, we may adduce the problem of theodicy, the justification of evil in the world, that has tantalized the inquiring mind from time immemorial till this last tragic decade. The acuteness of this problem has grown for the religious person in essence and dimensions. When a minister, rabbi, or priest attempts to solve the ancient question of Job's suffering through as sermon or lecture, he does not promote religious ends, but, on the contrary, does them a disservice. The beauty of religion with its grandiose vistas reveals itself to men, not in solutions but in problems, not in harmony but in the constant conflict of diversified forces and trends.

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, "Sacred and Profane", Gesher, Vol. 3, No. 1, p. 7 in Besdin, A, Reflections of the Rav, p. 224)

Ethical Values

…the religious person is given not only a duty to follow the halakha but also a value and vision. The person performing the duty seeks to realize this ideal or vision. Kant felt that the duty of consciousness expresses only a "must" without a value. He demanded a routine form of compliance, an "ought" without aiming at a value. As a soldier carries out his duty to the commanding officer, one may appreciate his service or just obey through discipline and orders. Kant's ethics are a "formal ethics", the goal is not important. For us it would be impossible to behave this way. An intelligent person must find comfort, warmth, and a sense of fulfillment in the law. We deal with ethical values, not ethical formalisms. A sense of pleasure must be gained by fulfilling a norm. The ethical act must have an end and purpose. We must become holy.

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Mesorat HaRav Siddur, p. 112-3