Torah and Derekh Eretz: Where Do We Go From Here?

Torah and Derekh Eretz: Where Do We Go From Here? - Summary (1984)

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Torah im Derekh Eretz: Where Do We Go From Here? (1984)

In many ways, this Samson Raphael Hirsch Conference at Yeshiva University is a historic occurence which is long overdue. It is a puzzle to me that Hirsch and his thought were never accorded a full course of study at Yeshiva when, to such a large extent, Yeshiva University is a proud fulfillment of his teachings. This event, therefore, is an act of mutual legitimation. The fact that Mrs. Hannah Schwalbe is a great granddaughter of the legendary Samson Raphael Hirsch, and that it is in her and her husband's honor that the professorship has been established by their family, is a happy omen for the future. If, in the realm of ideas, Frankfort and Washington Heights are really that close, can Broadway forever remain the "great divide" between Bennett Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue? Hirsch was one of the giants of German Jewry. As a leader and educator he was eminently successful. He was personally responsible for the flourishing Denkglaubigkeit — or "enlightened Orthodoxy" — that survives him to this day. Thoroughly Jewish, and also a completely modern Western man, he aspired to bring about a harmony between the two traditions and outlooks. He tried to formulate a Jewish Humanism, demonstrating that the Humanism so popular in the Europe of his day had Jewish roots. Hence, his superman, the Yisroelmentsch. And hence, too, his great educational program of synthesis under the slogan of Torah im Derekh Eretz. A word about nomenclature. I confess that I have never been very happy with either of the terms used to describe the Weltanschauung that both Hirsch and Yeshiva share. The term Derekh Eretz never seemed to me to be adequate because it is too broad — it admits of a large variety of interpretations, from business to conjugal relations, and therefore does not adequately describe the world of culture to which Hirsch meant it to refer. I am equally dissatisfied with the term Mad da, because it is too narrow — in modern Hebrew especially it refers to science, and the culture to…

Torah Umadda

Torah Umadda Speech (1992)

1. apolgy f treatg thme here/book. *TuM so self-evdt... Many/most yshvot except far Hasidic: nght collg; All – HS; halkhc diff'ce? *True, attackd mny reasns. But note, e.g.: *R. Hayym Brisker: totl rjctn M – evn lang/nwspprs... any ready forbd Eng tdy? *same tm: nt true w no precdnts! Evn in hal'c commy *Exs: הרמ"א התעניין גם בלמודי פילוסופיה, קבלה היסטוריה ואסטרונומיה. בספרו "תורת העולה" מצטט הוא בתמידות חכמים רבים במקצועות אלו, אע"פ שבנוגע לתורת חכמי האומות שאב את ידיעותיו מכלי שני. הוא מתיחס

Torah Umadda