|
Arts
and Sciences
Introductions |
|
|||||||
Incorporating Secular Studies into Torah Education
Science,
Music, Torah--Worlds, Souls, Divinity
The
Tanya's Two Reasons for Studying Secular Topics
The
Tanya's Two Reasons for In chapter 8 of the Tanya it is explained that the study of secular topics is permissible either for the sake of creating a source of income, or to use that knowledge for the service of God, as was the case with the great sages, the Rambam and Ramban. These two reasons are not presented by the Tanya in a negative light, as though people who are not able to master Torah may instead study secular subjects. The very opposite is true. Secular studies were permitted especially for the very greatest masters of Torah, such as the Rambam and Ramban, who were first expert in all the revealed and esoteric dimensions of the Torah. They invested a great amount of time to master the secular subjects of mathematics, science and medicine. Medicine is for the sake of helping mankind, which is a mitzvah ("commandment"). The other topics were studied because by knowing them one can better serve God. Through the knowledge of science one can meditate upon the greatness of God in the creation of the universe. The Rambam at the beginning of the Mishnah Torah explicitly says that one should meditate on the wonders of nature, as explained in science, in order to achieve proper Love of God and Fear of Heaven. The necessity to study secular topics as a source of income can also apply to a great Torah scholar. It is in no way a derogatory statement. This is a lower level than the person who studies secular topics in order to better serve God. In previous generations, study of secular topics in order to better serve God was reserved for the elite, such as the Rambam and Ramban. However, in our generation this knowledge is more accessible and, as stated above, more "spiritual." Science is so close to Torah, that the ability to use science for the sake of serving God is much more applicable to everyone than it was in the time of the Rambam and Ramban. Both the above reasons for studying secular topics according to the Tanya are in no way derogatory. On the contrary, they apply to very great souls.
|
|||||||||
