Torah Learning discussion

Hi all, I am curious as to what the general opinion is on mediums through which to "consume" Torah. For example, Hebrew vs. English, book vs. audiobook, and if anyone had any thoughts on how and why which mediums are better than others. Coming from someone who is fairly new in in-depth Torah learning.

If you can read it in the original Hebrew that is the best but if not try Tiptoe Though Genesis to get started. It will help you engage and access the original text in English. Disclaimer: I wrote it but precisely for people like you

Of course reading them in the original Hebrew is best, but if you are unable to read Hebrew, the best place to start would be a good side-by-side translation of the Five Books of Moses, such as The Living Torah by Aryeh Kaplan or The Stone Edition Chumash by Artscroll. After that, There are also many good translations of the major Jewish texts such as Nach, Mishna, Hallacha, and philosophy. After Chumash, I would say the the most important part of any Torah study course would be Talmud Bavli. Artscoll has the most complete collection of translations for the classical texts such as Tanach and commentaries like Ramban, Mishna, Talmud, while Feldheim, Targum Press, and Ktav have a good selection of some of the medieval and contemporary classics of Jewish thought such as Ramchal, Ibn Pequda, Rambam, Ramban, R' Samson Raphael Hirsch, R' Abraham Isaac Kook, R' Dessler, et. al. I would also suggest a good dose of hallacha such as Rambam's Mishne Torah and Shulchan Aruch. An accessible primer would be Kitzur Shulchan Aruch by Ganzfried which has several translations, and for some of the more difficult topics such as Shabbos and Niddah, modern works by R' Simcha Bunim Cohen and Rabbi Binyomin Forst. As you can probably tell, I am a big fan of translations of the original texts.

As far as audio goes, there are two areas where that format is best suited. First is shiurim (classes) on Talmud, especially to help you through some of the most difficult sugyas (topics). Some good ones are available here:
http://www.dafyomi.org/download.php
https://www.ou.org/torah/dafyomi/
http://dafyomi.co.il/members/shiurim/

The other area where audio is best suited is lectures on special topics in parsha (weekly torah portion), mussar (ethics), machshava (thought), and chassidus (mysticism). Everyone has a different taste, but some of the good speakers include R' Yisroel Reisman, R' Frand, and R' Zev Leff. Another good resource is http://torahway.org.uk/ . Those are some of the speakers I consider more "serious". There are also myriads of other speakers I'd consider "entertainment". Most of these are readily available online.

According to pherusi orthodoxy, the Torah is divided between Torah She'be'ksav - The Written Law, and Torah She'baal Peh - The oral law. Ideally, the written law, which includes Chumash (the Five Books of Moses), Navi (the Prophets such as Yehoshua, Shoftim, Shmuel, Malachim etc.), and Kesuvim (Writings such as Tehillim, Mishle, Shir Hashirim, Koheles, Job, Esther, etc.) is meant to be read from the book, while the oral law (Mishna, Talmud, Halacha) is best learned by listening, but because of the historical position of the Jews as a nation in exile, we have become "the people of the book". However, there is no substitute for listening to Torah shiurim (classes). The Mishna (actually an addendum to the Mishna) in Avos lists 48 ways that the Torah is acquired. Many deal with personal conduct and virtue, but those that deal with the medium through with Torah is consumed, as you asked, include: listening of the ear, utterance of the lips, attendance of the sages, didactics of friends, dialogue of students. Reading and listening to Torah in isolation only takes you so far. A big part of Torah learning is hanging around teachers and friends with whom you can discuss, argue, and review.

My name is Jeffrey Radon, and I am the author of the book Reconciling A Contradictory Abraham: On The Orthoprax And Anti-Theological Nature Of The Hebrew Bible (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...). The book deals with a central question relating to 2 stories of Abraham that stand out in the Bible - the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and the story of the binding of Isaac. The question that I deal with is - how can the very same Abraham who argues with God on behalf of wicked people in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah ("will the Judge of all the earth not do justice") be silent in the story of the binding of Isaac when he is asked to offer his beloved son, innocent of wrongdoing, as a sacrifice (and his silence is deafening)? I offer a unique and original interpretation of the story in reconciling an apparently contradictory Abraham as a springboard to understanding Biblical theology in general. I argue that the great revolution of the Bible is not as is widely and mistakenly thought monotheism - but, rather, the way in which God is conceived as a moral God who demands morality leading to the revolutionary conception of religion of the Bible in which the essence of religion is morality, and not faith or ritual. The Biblical conception of religion is not an orthodox (correct doctrine) conception, but an orthoprax (correct deeds) and anti-theological conception of religion. Thank you, Jeff

Sam wrote: "Hi all, I am curious as to what the general opinion is on mediums through which to "consume" Torah. For example, Hebrew vs. English, book vs. audiobook, and if anyone had any thoughts on how and wh..."

Hello Sam, my name is Jeffrey Radon, and I am the author of a recently published book on the Hebrew Bible Reconciling A Contradictory Abraham: On The Orthoprax And Anti-Theological Nature Of The Hebrew Bible (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...). In my, view in studying the Bible or in terms of Jewish studies it is best to begin not with the primary sources, the texts themselves as without sufficient background you will likely misunderstand texts. Thus, in my view, it is best to begin with secondary sources to give you background about the traditional sources. I think that my book on the Bible will give you very good background to then approach the study of Biblical texts yourself. I also have an internet site as a teacher of Jewish studies Orthoprax Judaism devoted to Jewish studies in a democratic spirit -
www.orthopraxjudaism.com -
and I would be very happy to respond to any questions or thoughts that you have. Thank you, Jeff