Ki Tavo: Lone Learning vs. Group Learning

In this (late) dvar Torah article, we examine a drashah from Chazal about the superiority of group-learning, as interpreted by the Maharal with some help from Ralbag and Maharsha.

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Artwork: Virtue of Knowledge, by Piotr Dura

Ki Tavo: Lone Learning vs. Group Learning

The phrase “hapax legomenon” may sound like a Harry Potter spell, but the actual definition is “a term for which there is only a single recorded use.” The meaning of such a term is difficult to decipher, since there are no other instances of the word in context which can serve as a basis for comparison.

The word “haskeis” (הַסְכֵּת) in this week’s parashah is a hapax legomenon: “Moshe and the Kohanim, the Leviim, spoke to all of Israel, saying: ‘Haskeis and listen, O Israel: today you have become a people to Hashem, your God” (Devarim 27:9). Rashi (ibid.), citing Onkelos, renders “haskeis” as “pay attention.” Chazal (Berachos 63b), on the other hand, offer several homiletical explanations. One such homily plays fast and loose with the composition of the word, exchanging the letter hey with ayin and samech with sin and dividing the single word into two words which are then pluralized. Thus, “haskeis” (הַסְכֵּת) becomes “asu kitos” (עֲשׂוּ כִּתּוֹת). The Gemara elaborates:

"haskeis" means asu (make) kitos (groups) and delve into Torah, for the Torah is only acquired through chavurah (group study). This accords with the opinion of R' Yossi b'Rebbi Chanina, who said: What is the meaning of that which is written: "A sword is upon the bahdim (sorcerers, or lit. "those who fabricate") and they shall become fools" (Yirmiyahu 50:36)? [The homiletical meaning] is "a sword upon Torah scholars who sit bahd b'vahd (alone) and delve into Torah." Not only that, but they become foolish, as it is written here: "noalu" and it is written there [by Aharon and Miriam’s sin of speaking lashon ha’ra about Moshe Rabbeinu] "asher noalnu (for we have acted foolishly)" (Bamidbar 12:11). Not only that, but they sin, as it is stated [immediately after the preceding phrase]: "and we have sinned" (ibid.).

The general message of this Gemara is straightforward: it is better to learn b’chavurah (in a group) than to learn alone. The Gemara condemns those who learn alone in three ways: (1) “a sword upon Torah scholars who sit alone and delve into Torah,” (2) “they become foolish,” and (3) “they sin.” The second two reasons are easy to grasp: those who learn alone will be less likely to catch mistakes in their thinking (i.e. “they will become foolish”) and this will lead to mistakes in action (i.e. “they will sin”). But what about the first reason: “a sword upon Torah scholars who sit alone and delve into Torah”? What, exactly, does this mean, and why is it expressed this way?

The Maharal (Nesivos Olam, Nesiv ha'Torah 6:1-4) offers an explanation of our Gemara in dense and cryptic language:

Inasmuch as the Torah is the supernal intellect (ha’seichel ha’elyon), which is separate from man, and the human intellect exists in the human body, which is physical, therefore, man requires preparation so that he may acquire the separate intellect (seichel nivdal). This [preparation] comes about through the acquisition of Torah in a chavurah, for through the chavurah, he acquires the separate intellect. [The quality of this learning] is incomparable to the wisdom he gains by himself, for that intellect exists in physicality and is not a separate intellect. Only the intellect that is acquired in a chavurah [qualifies as a separate intellect], since that intellect is entirely separate from the body.

This is [the meaning of] their statement in Berachos 63b [cited above] … The explanation is that the intellect exists in the body, but it is necessary for the intellect to become separate from the body. When a person learns b’chavurah, each one expresses his intellect to another, which the other person receives, and, vis-à-vis the other person, it is a separate intellect, for it doesn’t exist [solely] within him and therefore becomes a separate intellect.

The main question here, to borrow a favorite phrase from my rebbi zt”l, is: What the heck is he talking about?!

Let’s break it down. When the Maharal speaks of ha’seichel ha’elyon (the supernal intellect), he is referring to chochmas Hashem (Divine wisdom) as it exists in the universe. This concept can be illustrated through an example from science. Many attempts have been made to explain why objects fall to the ground when we drop them. Aristotle held that objects made from the element of earth are drawn to the earth itself. Newton postulated a universal law of gravitation which states that masses attract. Einstein accounted for the same phenomenon based on the curvature of spacetime, in accordance with his theory of general relativity. Each of these explanations is a theoretical model of the way the universe actually works. Each is an approximation of the objective laws of nature which exist “in the mind of God,” so to speak (since God doesn’t have a mind which is distinct from His Essence). This is what Einstein meant when he spoke of “reason incarnate in existence” and said “I want to know God’s thoughts.” In short, what the Maharal means by ha’seichel ha’elyon is objective truth.

When the Maharal writes that “the human intellect exists in the body, which is physical,” he is alluding to the many ways in which the human intellect is limited by the physical media through which it operates (i.e. the senses, imagination, memory, emotions, etc.). Ralbag describes these difficulties in his preface to Bereishis Chelek 8:

The human intellect begins its development devoid of all concepts, and … intellectually apprehends these concepts via the senses and the faculties of imagination and memory. The influence on man’s intellectual apprehension of the deep truths of existence is similar to a flash of lightning or to the flash of a revolving sword, which is periodically visible and then hidden again. This is due to the difficulty in attaining objective detachment from the subjective character of the psychological faculties that the intellect needs for its proper function.

When Maharal writes that “man requires preparation so that he may acquire the separate intellect,” he is referring to the type of preparation mentioned by Ralbag, namely, the difficult process of “attaining objective detachment from the subjective character of the psychological faculties that the intellect needs for its proper function.” It is impossible for any human to attain absolute objectivity. So long as our intellects operate through a physical apparatus, we will always be subject to varying degrees of subjective distortions which color and warp our view of the truth. The best we can do is to distill our learning from its subjective impurities to the best of our ability.

This is the chief benefit of learning b’chavurah. So long as an idea exists solely in your own mind, it is impossible to differentiate between the objective truth apprehended by your intellect and the subjectivity to which your thinking is prone. But when you express your thoughts to an external mind unencumbered by your own subjectivity, and you both engage the idea as an object of thought outside of yourselves, both of you are brought one step closer to ha’seichel ha’elyon – objective truth. The Gemara in Berachos teaches us that this engagement with objective truth is valuable in and of itself, not only because it helps filter out errors and avoid mistakes. And the more people are involved in this process, the better.

What about the sword? The Maharasha (Chidushei Aggados, Makkos 10a, “kol”) offers a creative interpretation:

In the study of our Torah, which contains deep concepts, man can only arrive at a clear and true understanding through analysis and cross-examination by peers. This is not the case with the religions of idolators, in which each individual makes his own personal religion in accordance with his own will and mind without any need for peer [review]. This accords with what [Chazal] said in Berachos 63b, that “Torah can only be acquired through chavurah.” For this reason, [R’ Yossi b’Rebbi Chanina] said that if a person studies Torah by himself, he is studying it like an idolator, who studies alone. It is taught in Sanhedrin Chapter 7 that “an idolator who studies Torah is liable for death at the hands of heaven,” and it is stated there that “all capital punishments [for idolators] are by the sword.” Therefore, this [Jew] who studies Torah by himself, in the manner of an idolator, is fit to be punished with death by the sword.

Torah is the study of objective truth. Idolatry is a product of man’s subjective inner world. The idolator has no need for chavurah because he’s not even trying to apprehend objective truth. Thus, a Jew who learns Torah but doesn’t make an effort to escape the trappings of his own subjectivity is approaching Torah the way an idolator approaches his own religion. For this reason, he deserves the same fate: death by the sword.

Thus, homiletically, “haskeis and listen” urges us to pay attention to Torah in as objective of a manner as possible.

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Do you have another interpretation of the Gemara or the Maharal? Let me know in the comments!

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