The Torah Dictates That We Think A Certain Way

In Is The Derech Too Narrow, Rabbi Breitowitz says that the “yeshivah world does insist on a certain notion of conformity, a notion that you have to dress a certain way, you have to think a certain way.” But it’s my understanding that the Torah dictates that we think a certain way. And the Yeshiva system seems to be there to help bring ourselves to that way of thinking. However, it may be that the way that the yeshiva system is asking us to think is not the only way. So, there may be other modes of thinking offered by such groups such as Sephardim, Chabad, Yemenite, Chassidim, and it may be unfair to ask one group to know how the other groups think. If one way does not work for you, it may be time to go and try out another branch on the mighty tree of Torah.

Rabbi Breitowitz also says that “certain questions cannot be discussed” in the yeshivah system. This is not unique to the yeshivah system, it is unique to the Torah. You have to know when to speak about what. Many things are and must be said in a one-on-one private setting with your rabbi. And many things are unique to you, so just talking about it on a public forum will not help anyone.

He also says: “On the other hand, how do I give the individual the freedom to breathe, the freedom to become who he is able to become, to give him the joy of Torah and avodas Hashem?” I would venture to say that one has to learn Torah to know where the exact limits rest. As Jews, we have to learn the Shulchan Aruch, and the seforim of our leaders. I dare say that we as a people need to stop watching movies and reading secular books; we have to actually learn how to be a Jew. It’s very similar to how we have to know a language so you can say “good” in more than one way, or how we learn more than one chord in music to know how to make a beautiful symphony. The same is true with a true-Torah life: one needs to learn Torah thoroughly so that one can navigate through life in the proper and most uplifting way.

We also have to our youth the reasons for the halachot and how it actually makes you a better person. It is hard to do that. But that is our task as parents and educators. Many of our gedolim have done a lot of the leg work for us. We just need to learn and teach it.

Ben Avraham N.
Roslyn, NY