Description
In Discussion, Volume 1 – Sefer Bereishis – By Pinchas Winston
NO BOOK HAS been analyzed and explained as many times as the Torah, with no sign of slowing down. Every person and every generation has its own perspective on life, resulting in new takes on ancient wisdom.
That’s just one of the many wonders of Torah. It has this uncanny ability to talk to EVERY generation on their own unique level. But then, what else could be expected from the work of God? God is ABOVE time, and He knew about every generation since Torah was given, long before they ever came into being.
Sometimes the newness of the “peirush” is not the insight itself, but the way it is presented. Many times people hear ideas that just don’t impact them until they hear them again, in a specific way. Sometimes it is a matter of WHEN they hear them that allows them to connect to the idea as never before.
A technical reason for this is how our minds work. Very often we can be reading something or listening to something, and think that we are completely “there,” when in fact, we are only partially focused. It is not uncommon for a person to pay attention to what they are doing intellectually, but not emotionally. Without even being aware, a person’s heart can be somewhere else.
This weakens the educational experience, and lessens a person’s ability to be impacted by their current experience. It just won’t leave a lasting impact on them, and they will later wonder why they forgot what they learned or experienced so quickly.
The best educators know this. This is why they try hard to turn the educational experience into both an intellectual AND emotional one. They know that their presentation has to capture the attention of the student’s heart as well as their mind, and they try to “talk” to both of them. That’s how knowledge is truly passed from one generation to the next one.
One of the most effective devices for sharing information is a dialogue. It doesn’t always work, or at least not for everyone. But, if the discussion is done well enough, meaning that the reader doesn’t mind abandoning himself to the dialogue, then the information can be impactful, and the experience, fulfilling.
This is the goal of “In Discussion.” As the name explains, it is a commentary on the weekly Torah reading, but by way of dialogues. And, though the characters are fictitious, the information is completely factual. Hopefully, the combination of the two will lead to a fulfilling and memorable education experience.
