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From: rhendel@mcs.drexel.edu (Russell Hendel)
Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 20:01:31 -0400
Subject: Textual Vs Hands On Learning

I would like to thank Stan Tenen for bringing up the issue of how we
learn(Vol 26n55)

Allow me to make two small points.

1) A beautiful textual support for Stan's thesis that "textual learning
without hands on experience is of inferior quality" is in fact one of
the themes of Rambams introduction to his mishnaic commentary on the
order of "Holy Things(ie Sacrifices)".
 In fact the Rambam remarkably and explicitly states what Stan says:

..But today we have no temple PRACTICE. And therefore even the greatest
scholars and the heads of Yeshivas are deficient in understanding of
Talmudic passages on sacrifices because there are no hands on experience
to reinforce the texts."

2) I think Stan's statement:
	>> not even Moshe (Rabaynu) if he lived today could remember it all>>
 is a little harsh. First of all the Talmud explicitly states that Moses
saw every novelty of every student in Jewish History. But I would like
to use a different angle: Namely besides TEXTUAL and HANDS ON EXPERIENCE
there is a third approach to learning: CONCEPTUAL LEARNING.

Let me give an analogy from mathematics: A student who knows how to
derive formulae is obviously better able to memorize them then a person
who just memorizes them.  Furthermore, the CONCEPTUAL learner will
RETAIN the information longer.

Throughout Jewish History pure textual learning of laws and regulations
(Mishnah) has always been accompanied by the ability to conceptually
derive these laws from underlying or unifying principles (Talmud: See
e.g. Rambam: Laws of Learning: 1:11)

In conclusion I believe Moses would be able to "remember it all"
today---but I don't believe that Moshe Rabaynu had a better memory than
me or Stan---rather I believe that he had a better conceptual framework
by which to derive and understand laws.

I think hands on experience is important for the continuity of Jewish
Learning. But I also think that the intensive learning of Midrash
Halachah (the derivation of legal minutae from Biblical nuances is
equally important)

I hope that what Stan and I have said increases peoples ability to learn
and retain.

Russell Jay Hendel; rhendel @ mcs drexel edu