32 APPROACHES TO LEARNING TORAH

32 APPROACHES TO LEARNING TORAH

Dear friends,

Torah is infinite…..Years ago --- I was deeply exploring some creative personal approaches to learning Torah -----this is the list that I came up with…..maybe some of them can speak to you as well [the asterisk ones * spoke to me at the time---more than others]

Blessings,
Yitzchak

*1. 'YOUR TAKE'----Based on the teachings of the Arizal, a very powerful way to actualize our soul's potential is to express our 'take' in Torah. We are all unique and we all have therefore a unique way of seeing reality and understanding Torah. I would suggest to start on a smaller scale. Choose one particular topic in any Parsha in the Torah that truly speaks to you, and simply write [or teach] a commentary that expresses your unique perspective. Once you've got the hang of it--Expand!

2. 'BE A WARRIOR FOR CLARITY'-----Here we learn another way of self-actualization from the Arizal---The Arizal would enter into a study session with the goal in mind of identifying all areas of the topic at hand that were unclear, difficult or contradictory...etc... The important point to understand, is that those doubts 'on the page', in a different garb, are the roots of the same blocks, doubts, fears and baggage that we have in our lives. Clear up the former ones and the latter ones automatically clear up also. We can easily understand how to carry this out; the hard part is the actual clarifying. Take any piece of Torah that you encounter [from anywhere in the Written or Oral Torah], and go to work. Try to locate that which is unclear or somehow inconsistent with other aspects of the text, or with what you understand to be true, and keep fighting for an explanation that rings true.

3. ' 5 LEVELS OF SOUL TORAH'------ This approach is based on the principle that the layout of Torah parallels the layout of a person. Just as we have 5 levels of soul, so too are there 5 corresponding approaches to learning Torah---whose acronym is P R D S [the word PaRDeS is a garden as in PaRaDiSe--the garden of Eden].

4. TIKUN OLAM----When we fully understand that the world is an environment where Hashem hides Himself, and therefore the world's Tikun is to reveal Hashem in His hiding, then we'll be naturally motivated to become world-wide ambassadors to reveal Hashem in His hiding!

5. TORAH OR---the Slonimer Rebbe teaches in volume 1 of his series called 'Netivot Shalom', that any area of life or reality that is not actively learned in a Torah framework is by definition in a state of chaos. The Torah's dealing with that area or topic brings order and unity into the chaos. The more one learns about it in breadth and depth, the more order and Tikun there will be.

6. MARTIAN TORAH--- This would involve developing an approach to learning taught to me by my 3rd grade teacher [and I remain as impacted today as I was back then]. I was taught to try to see the other person as a Martian who is starting from point zero---no preconceptions---and I must take them by the hand and explain everything in a crystal clear manner. All that I learn would be with the altruistic goal in mind of clearly giving it all over to someone else.

*7. TIKUN OF THE INDIVIDUAL----The main application that this learning approach focuses on, is healing and solutionizing. List on the upper side of a sheet of paper the problems, challenges and dilemmas in life that you need solutions and\or healings for. While engaged in a Torah learning session, pay attention to the 'flashes' [the solutions] that Hashem is sending you 'in between the lines', usually having nothing to do with the topic you are learning. Quickly write them down, before they become forgotten.

*8. TORAH LEARNING 24\7---- This person is walking, talking, eating and even dreaming his Torah. !!]. Perhaps this person is walking around with 10 topics at once in their mind, and all the inquiries that such a big list entails, and everything that they learn and encounter in life would provide answers..... Their type of Torah not only engages their intellect, but also their emotions and all the rest of the various aspects of the human psyche. They may have set for themselves a goal of covering as much territory as possible in the Written and Oral Torah---this year all of the Mishna, next year all of the Midrash...etc...For this person to succeed , they would need to have 'staying power' through thick and thin with a healthy attitude of commitment and hard work, but probably even more important, a great 'geshmak' [taking great pleasure] in jumping out of bed every day for another full day of Torah.

9. ONE TORAH ----The Vilna Gaon's own personal approach [that kept him occupied 22 hours of the 24 hour day] consisted of trying to compact all of the written and oral Torah inside of the Book, the Parsha and the first verse of Bereshit [the first of the 5 books of Moses]. This comparison approach highlighted Torah's unique property of every part of Torah containing every other part of it.

*10. WALKING WITH ONE TORAH THOUGHT ALL WEEK---This was a practice that was done by the Arizal as well as some of the top contemporary Torah scholars that exist ---The idea is to go throughout your day while contemplating meditating and talking this one subject up to all that you know....

11. PRAYING FOR AND CO-CREATING TORAH UNDERSTANDING----R. Nachman as a child, in addition to learning properly would pray all day and night to understand the Mishna and Talmud...etc...he also teaches [in 'Sichot Haran '#62] the principle behind the "secret' or co-creating see our previous essays for more detail, and states clearly that this can be done for accessing Torah wisdom as well.

*12. TOOLS TORAH----I have been exploring this realm for a few years now in these weekly essays as well as elsewhere---the general principle is to create an exercise , tool or meditation that will internalize the wisdom that you are learning...for more info of how to do this...email me....

13. ENLISTING ALL OF YOUR TORAH WISDOM [AS WELL AS YOUR WORDLY WISDOM] TO GET TO KNOW HASHEM AND HIS WAYS---R. Avigdor Miller [ob'm] dedicated his life to this approach and you can learn about it in all of his amazing Books and tapes. Simply reframe all that you learn to be one more uncovered puzzle piece instructing you in the ways of G-d...

*14. M.M.M. MUSICAL MYSTICAL MEDITATIONS---Utilizing All Other Creative and Non-Intellectual 'Intelligences' To Access and Express Torah.

*15. TANI VHADAR MEPHAREISH----Which means first learn or read the original Torah piece, and then use your infinite inner wellsprings of knowledge to expand upon the subject...you will be very pleasantly surprised to see how much you know, even though you didn't think that you did...

16. COMPARING SECULAR WISDOM TO TORAH WISDOM---Many people are attracted to this approach since they either have one or the other under their belts [secular or Torah wisdom] and therefore they can relate better to the as yet unknown wisdom they are encountering for the first time...

*17. TORAH IN EXILE---Utilizing secular wisdom to enhance the complete understanding of Torah wisdom as well as bringing the secular wisdom 'back home' to Torah.

18. TORAH AND TEFILLAH----Praying to actualize all that we learn [every detail].

19. HEALING TORAH---3 possible angles; a. Torah learned to expand consciousness and thereby open up the healing flow b. A mass 'diagnostic' whose essential appropriate Torah principles are prescribed for whatever is lacking or needs healing C. Torah learning in and of itself is a cure-all for whatever ails you.

*20. THE TORAH STORIES IN ME---- The Torah's 'Bible Stories' and characters and situations are related to as being various parts of my personality all waiting to be healed and expressed properly in life.

21. TORAH DVAIKUS----Every one of the 613 Mitzvot are different pieces of advice of how to cling to G-d [Dvaikus] in any and all of life's circumstances.

22. TAKING A TOUR OF THE WORLD AND NEVER LIFTING YOUR NOSE OUT OF THE TORAH----The world and the Torah are exactly parallel, allowing us to travel the entire world through Torah....be careful to leave enough time in each port to properly take a look around.

23. SEEING THE TORAH TEXT THAT YOU'RE PRESENTLY READING AS HOLDING THE ANSWER TO YOUR DILLEMMAS AND CHALLENGES IN LIFE.

24. 'TAP THE TANNA' TORAH---Our mystical texts teach us that when we learn the words of any Sage [who's already passed on] their lips move in their resting place] and in a certain way, they come inside of us when we learn their Torah...the ramifications are amazing.

25. LEARNING TORAH AT MANY DIFFERENT DEPTHS--- This can include anything from a simple browsing, a simple reading of the words [just to cover as much ground as possible], all the way to a very deep thorough analysis of 1 line, and everything in between.

*26. TORAH CHARTING ----Creating charts or series of charts that summarize in a very compact fashion, that summarize huge masses of wisdom, and possibly afterwards combine many charts into one large chart...

27. INTERINCLUSION TORAH------Viewing many different realms of Torah as all being included in each other and thereby discover whole new realms that only can be born and discovered in this fashion.

28. 'AL MENAT TORAH'----Learning Torah 'in order to'....i.e...Always learning in order to reach a higher goal such as teaching or practicing what's learned.

29. ''O.H.-ING' TORAH-----Reducing the essential concepts learned into a very short term [...i.e. An OH--omek Hamusag or essential point], and thinking and communicating with these terms...

30. CO-CREATION OR CAUSATIVE TORAH----When we align ourselves intensely enough to Torah, then Hashem promises that what we desire in life will manifest, and even beyond that, the Torah that we learn actually causes reality to come out the way it does....

31. 'BABA SALI' TORAH-----The Baba Sali as well as others when asked to solve any question or challenge in life, would simply open the Book [almost any Torah Work would do] and wherever they opened it up to, there would lay the answer.

32. 'TORAH GAUGING'------The soul level of a person can be measured by the level of understanding that they have with a corresponding piece of Torah appropriate for a certain soul level....they will fall asleep, or lose attention or be overwhelmed with that piece of Torah which is too 'high', whereas that Torah which resonates with their level will ring thoroughly true throughout their being.

Blessings,
Yitzchak

**Art by Leon Zernitski.

AUTHOR: Rabbi Yitzchak Schwartz

WEBSITE: http://www.paradiseprinciple.com/

FACEBOOK: Yitzchak Schwartz