Description
In Discussion, Volume 4 – Sefer bamidbar – By Pinchas Winston
THIS IS THE fourth in the series of “In Discussion” commentaries on the weekly parsha. It follows the spiritual journey of a young boy, Eli Goldhirsch, whose personal crisis forces him to find his own way in Torah.
When I wrote “Bereishis,” the idea was to use dialogue as a means to bring out points about the weekly parsha. It wasn’t so much about saying something new as rather using the characters to make older ideas more real, by adding an emotional component to the discussion.
Basically, the more of our senses we can involve in the learning process, the more we will be “there” for the learning, making it more impactful and easier to remember. When we think back to earlier years, the teachers we remember most are those who made learning enjoyable, even entertaining. It’s what THEY taught us that we remember best, even many decades later.
We only have to go as far as the Torah itself to see how drama is used to educate. We’re constantly told that the Torah is not a history book, which is why it is not strict about the chronological order of events. Everything in Torah has been divinely arranged to teach us about being more godly.
Yet a lot of history is packed into the Torah. There are places where the Torah can’t help but be technical only, but who doesn’t look forward to the dramatic narrative that is soon to follow? Those are the sections that keep our attention best, and that are most remembered.
I wasn’t sure after Bereishis whether I would do additional volumes in the series, especially when it became clear to me that the style of presentation could not be identical from sefer to sefer. The feedback, however, after Bereishis, and then again after Shemos, inspired me to go on with the other volumes and to complete the series.
While working on Shemos, I came to realize the value of the approach, not just in terms of teaching material on the parsha itself, but also in terms of teaching other ideas not necessarily related to the parsha. When you’re writing a book, you have to stick to the topic. When you’re mirroring life, there is room for meaningful wandering.
In any case, I truly hope that the “In Discussion” series will help in the learning and understanding of Torah ideas. Obviously it was never my intention to downplay the importance of Torah ideas in any way. On the contrary, I have tried, albeit through casual dialogue, to enhance the perception of the life-enhancing brilliance of Torah, especially for those who may have a difficult time seeing it for themselves.
