Rabbeinu Tam (Sefer Hayashor Shaar 6): Damage from learning non-Torah wisdom: Tenth Midah - Wisdom which is no good. There is wisdom which destroys faith for example external wisdom, heretical wisdom and philosophy. There is no need for one who serves G d to be involved in them rather he should distance himself from them with all his strength. Because before he receives any benefit from them he will have lost his faith. It is like one who loses his possessions in the attempt to acquire other possessions and ends up having nothing. There are many who think they are wise who think this is an exalted wisdom and they think they will acquire profound and esoteric secrets – but they don’t realize they are going away from their faith. It is like a healthy person who accustoms himself to eating unhealthy foods because they taste good but he ends up destroying his health and complexion without realizing the changes. He considers himself healthy when in fact he is close to death. When a person associates with a heretic, he destroys his faith little by little without being aware. Similarly a person who studies philosophy becomes alienated from his faith little by little without being aware. While the intent and concern of philosophy is to understand the unity of G d - but when you learn it you suffer a loss. Philosophy has words and axioms which from the very beginning weaken faith. No one can be certain that when he engages in its study that he won’t lose his faith – except if he has an expert and pious teacher that will guide him and protect from the places which weaken his faith. In such a case then he will be able to avoid the pitfalls of philosophy and accomplish the goals he desires. But if he reads books of philosophy on his own or has a teacher who is not completely pious – then there is no doubt that his faith will be destroyed and he will lose more than he gains. This is the general situation that stands before all those who fear G d and therefore he has to be very careful.
Rabbi Nachman (Sichos HaRan 103) It is better to be the fool who believes in everything’ (Mishlei 15:15). In other words, it is better to believe and have faith - even if you end up believing in stupidity and lies - if you at least also believe in the truth. This is far superior to the other extreme of being a cynical skeptic who successfully rejects stupidity and lies but at the same time also rejects the truth because of his reflexive skepticism and ridicule of all beliefs. This is what Chazal (Eduyos 5:6) say, ‘It is better that I be called a fool all my life and not be wicked for a moment before G d’.
Maharal (Menachos 64b): Greek Wisdom is what we call the natural sciences. All the natural sciences are included in Greek Wisdom which is outside of the Torah. Even though it is a mitzva to calculate the seasons and astronomical movements…(Shabbos 75a) – it is prohibited to learn these except from the Torah. This is the desire of G d that everything be from the Torah and this is the way it should be done. However to learn them for their own sake without using the Torah – it is prohibited.
The story of Rebi going against the sages on the question of hot springs at night, where he says the wise men of the gentiles were correct and the rabbis were wrong. Rabbenu Tam wasn't happy with this so he said it might sound logical, but in fact he implies that Rebi was wrong.
ReplyDeleteSo how reliable is such a position?
Revisionism has been going on since the Talmud. Chazal revised how we should understand Tanach when it got inconvenient. The Rishonim and Acharonim revised how we should understand the Gemara when that happened again.
Delete> In other words, it is better to believe and have faith - even if you end up believing in stupidity and lies
ReplyDeleteAnd that explains Bratlover Chasidus.
If Karl Marx did not have a secular education, we would all be better off.
ReplyDeleteAnd if Louis Pasteur did not have a secular education we'd still be living in fear of every virus on the planet
DeleteIt was Stalin who didn't have any education.
DeleteSo you wonder why the Chareidim avoid secular education?
DeleteHow many stories do we have of Holocaust survivors with no education coming to America and then a couple of decades later they're milliionaires? (Recall bias because the vast majority worked hard and either barely made middle class or remained in poverty but we don't like to notice those)
And now you tell me that an uneducated peasant (Stalin, y"sh) and I could add, a failed artist (Hitler, y"sh) and chicken farmer (Himmler, y"sh) actually became powerful world leaders.
So you see: You don't need secular education to get ahead in the world so any attempt to force it on Chareidim proves you want to destroy The Torah!
The late modern orthodox rabbi Emanuel Rachman zl, would say that the members of the Sanhedrin would need to speak 70 languages and have knowledge of secular matters.
DeleteHis argument was that lack of secular knowledge would disqualify a Rav from making halachic decisions
If everything was created by God then secular knowledge is also part of the Divine and necessary to know.
DeleteSeriously, if one wants to reject secular knowledge then one needs to live in a cave because the house one lives in was built through the work of an architect (secular knowledge), engineers (secular knowledge), plumber (secular knowledge)....
Perhaps it's better to differentiate between the solid stuff and the social stuff. Engineering, medicine, science, that kind of stuff is good secular knowledge to know and enhances Torah learning. Buddhist philosophy or fine art? Not so much.
Btw hareidim are fine with opticians optometrists etc, and they make frequent use of this science and technology.
DeleteSo it's not all bad.
Kefirah. Moshe Rabeinu didn't wear eyeglasses. Neither did Dovid HaMelech or any of Chazal.
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