Thursday, May 21, 2009

Finals L'shmah?

Talia Stern asks the perfect question for the season of finals and Z'man Matan Torateinu:

In Birchat HaTorah, in the brachah of "hamelamed Torah l'amo Yisrael", we make a plea to G-d of "may we and our offspring...all of us...study Your Torah for its own sake" (V'Lomdei Toratecha L'shmah). We see very clearly here that we have the responsibility to learn just to learn. Don't we (in general) violate this when tests are given in the subjects of Tanach, Gemara, and Halacha?

Since I'm really busy writing my finals, I can't give a comprehensive essay-like answer to this important question, so here are just a few points to ponder.

1) "Torah L'Shmah" is a very complex concept. Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, Chancellor of YU, has a whole book called Torah lishmah : Torah for Torah's sake in the works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin and his contemporaries, which is dedicated to exploring its meaning. Chassidim interpreted "l'shmah" as "l'shem deveikut," for the sake of getting closer to God. Mitnagdim (like R. Hayyim of Volozhin) interpreted it as "l'shem Torah" - Torah for its own sake. But "Torah l'shmah" is not so simple to define.

2) As crazy as it sounds, a test can also be l'shmah. L'shmah does not mean "with no review or accountability." It's a question of every student's attitude. When you are in class or reviewing for a test, are you interested in the ideas for their own sake, or just for the grade? L'shmah is something everyone can create for herself, whether there is an externally imposed test or not. Each student can make her school learning l'shmah with her own approach: does she ever ask a question or explore an issue that's not covered? Does she say - "I'm going to study this and throw out the notebook the minute the final is finished," or does she say "I'm going to keep this notebook in case I want to review or ever have a shailah that we discussed in halacha class"?

3) The brachah may be saying that a school student has the responsibility to learn on her own - for example on Shabbat afternoon, with a friend or a parent, in addition to the learning she does for school.

4) The day will come when you will not be students anymore, but responsible for your own religious growth. The foundation you receive here (including tests which mandate review and allow both teacher and student to assess how well the student has learned) will allow you to maximize your learning when you are responsible for doing it on your own - when it's l'shmah.

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