QUESTION:
The Rav answered me recently in a response that a man’s main involvement on this world is to spend his time learning Torah, and to spend only “a little bit of his time” on understanding the soul and learning how to balance the soul, etc. This is in contrast with women, who have more of a task to learn about their souls [being that they don’t have the mitzvah of Torah study]. I have some questions about this.
1) There are thousands of shiurim of the Rav shlit”a (and, Baruch Hashem, may there be more!) about the soul. These shiurim are given to men, and many of these shiurim were given in particular to Kolel men, who are clearly scholastic and talented in their Torah learning, Baruch Hashem. Most of the Rav’s shiurim are an hour long, and lately the shiurim are about 30-35 minutes long. This is not “a little bit of time” that’s being spent on learning about the soul! This is a lot of time. So what does the Rav mean that a man should only spend “a little bit of his time” learning about his soul?
2) Also, why are the Rav’s shiurim about the soul different than studying Torah in-depth? In the “Da Es” and “4 Elements” series, the Rav explains about each detail in the soul with tremendous depth, and it requires exertion of the mind to understand, and ultimately it’s Torah. Why is this not as good as studying the laws of a cow goring an ox, and etc.?
It seems that the Rav’s shiurim are in the category of “mochin d’middos”, “the mind behind the emotions”, whereas learning Gemara, Rashi and Tosafos is in the category of “mochin d’mochin”, “the mind of the mind”. Through the Rav’s shiurim we are able to learn the wisdom of the soul and of our inner world, which there is no wisdom like. So why doesn’t this count as exertion in Torah study? I am not asking the same question as the Nefesh HaChaim, who asked why learning about fear of G-d isn’t counted as Torah study. I’m asking something else. Through the Rav’s shiurim, we are learning sugyos, in-depth! For example, when the Rav gives a shiur about the topic of gaavah/conceit, the Rav splits it apart into all its details, with tremendous depth (this is especially the style in the series Understanding Your Middos). So why doesn’t this count as in-depth Torah study for a man?
1) There are thousands of shiurim of the Rav shlit”a (and, Baruch Hashem, may there be more!) about the soul. These shiurim are given to men, and many of these shiurim were given in particular to Kolel men, who are clearly scholastic and talented in their Torah learning, Baruch Hashem. Most of the Rav’s shiurim are an hour long, and lately the shiurim are about 30-35 minutes long. This is not “a little bit of time” that’s being spent on learning about the soul! This is a lot of time. So what does the Rav mean that a man should only spend “a little bit of his time” learning about his soul?
2) Also, why are the Rav’s shiurim about the soul different than studying Torah in-depth? In the “Da Es” and “4 Elements” series, the Rav explains about each detail in the soul with tremendous depth, and it requires exertion of the mind to understand, and ultimately it’s Torah. Why is this not as good as studying the laws of a cow goring an ox, and etc.?
It seems that the Rav’s shiurim are in the category of “mochin d’middos”, “the mind behind the emotions”, whereas learning Gemara, Rashi and Tosafos is in the category of “mochin d’mochin”, “the mind of the mind”. Through the Rav’s shiurim we are able to learn the wisdom of the soul and of our inner world, which there is no wisdom like. So why doesn’t this count as exertion in Torah study? I am not asking the same question as the Nefesh HaChaim, who asked why learning about fear of G-d isn’t counted as Torah study. I’m asking something else. Through the Rav’s shiurim, we are learning sugyos, in-depth! For example, when the Rav gives a shiur about the topic of gaavah/conceit, the Rav splits it apart into all its details, with tremendous depth (this is especially the style in the series Understanding Your Middos). So why doesn’t this count as in-depth Torah study for a man?
ANSWER:
1) It is known in the name of Reb Yisrael Salanter that, generally speaking, a person should not learn mussar for more than 2 hours a day, and the rest of a person’s day should be spend on Torah study. This is what it means to spend “a little bit of time” learning about the soul [not more than 2 hours a day].
2) When it comes to mochin (the world of abstract thought), there is general mochin, and individual mochin, such as mochin d’middos (the mind behind the emotions). Therefore, when a person studies the soul because he’s trying to get to the wisdom behind the emotions (mochin d’middos), he should only spend a little bit of time on this kind of study, as mentioned before. Because, ultimately, he is learning about middos [which cannot replace Torah study itself]. However, if a person learns the material in a way that is general mochin [learning about this wisdom because he wants the wisdom and the knowledge itself], then it becomes included in Torah study.
2) When it comes to mochin (the world of abstract thought), there is general mochin, and individual mochin, such as mochin d’middos (the mind behind the emotions). Therefore, when a person studies the soul because he’s trying to get to the wisdom behind the emotions (mochin d’middos), he should only spend a little bit of time on this kind of study, as mentioned before. Because, ultimately, he is learning about middos [which cannot replace Torah study itself]. However, if a person learns the material in a way that is general mochin [learning about this wisdom because he wants the wisdom and the knowledge itself], then it becomes included in Torah study.
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