QUESTION:
What’s lomdus, what’s pilpul, and how are they different?
ANSWER:
Pilpul is to combine together the branches [of the sugya] and to differentiate between them. Lomdus – true lomdus, that is – is to get to the root of a matter, and from there one can build all the branches. Whereas pilpul sharpens the mind and puts together information, lomdus (true lomdus) enables one to get to the root of the matter.
Categories
