quote from "The Spiritual Revolution of Rav Kook" by Schwartz, Ari Ze'ev -
"Many people have left religion because in their learning and spiritual perfection, they betrayed their unique personalities. For example, a person may be naturally talented in matters of aggadah1 and be unsuited to constant immersion in matters of halachah.2 Yet because he does not recognize his unique talents, he occupies himself in matters of Gemara and its commentaries, since he sees that this is customary in the religious world today. But deep inside his soul he feels a hatred toward the material he is learning, since constant involvement in it does not suit his unique natural gifts. However, if he were to find the specific type of Torah that fits his unique talents and immerse himself in it, he would then immediately recognize that the nauseating feeling he experienced when involved in matters of halachah was not coming from any flaw in that holy and important type of learning. It was rather his soul expressing its desire to be absorbed in another type of Torah. This person would then stay truly faithful to the Torah and become an expert in the type of Torah that is unique to him. In fact, he would even be able to help those who are more talented in halachah by showing them the inner peace of aggadah, poetry, and emotions. Unfortunately, because this person does not recognize the true reason for his feelings of nausea toward halachah, he forcefully ignores his nature. And as soon as the path of a non-Torah way of life opens up to him, he breaks out and then hates and becomes an enemy of Torah and religion. He will go from one sin to another. It is from these types of people that haters of our people are created. They try to proclaim a new vision and blind the eyes of the world. There is a great diversity of wisdom that expands even greater than this. One may be strongly attracted to a certain secular wisdom. Such a person must also follow his unique talents, while setting aside fixed times for learning Torah. If he does this, then he will succeed in both, because “Torah together with the way of the world is beautiful” (Pirkei Avot 2:2). And the Gemara at the end of Yoma discusses how to find the right balance of priorities for such people. In general, this whole issue is dependent on each person’s unique soul. (KYK 1, Pinkas Acharon b’Boisk, 52)"
And yet the whole Chareidi system is built on the opposite - everyone dresses the same, talks the same, learns the same material in the same way and if you deviate, you're out!
ReplyDeleteWow! Finally someone (Rav Kook) talking sense.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's why they banned him.
DeleteIt's like the person who saw me learning from a Steinsaltz Talmud and told me I wasn't really learning gemara.