Derech halimud for high school bochurim

the maharahal says this at length at the end of perek 6 of nesiv hatorah

Personally, I believe learning in Yeshiva should consist of Bekios with unlimited chazzarah. Make chazzarah the goal. And iyun kal. I feel many bochurim don’t enjoy learning because they’re not learning – they’re trying to “do iyun.” Learning is enjoyable, let the bochurim learn and they’ll enjoy it. Don’t fluff it up. Don’t dump a ton of mefarshim on them. Keep it simple – gishmak. I think many Yeshivos system of learning could and eventually will do some overhaul on this. After the shidduch crisis it dealt with… Meanwhile, whatever the Yeshivos are doing are keeping klal yisrael alive and thriving. We couldn’t exist without them – no matter what derech halimud they are teaching. Their main accomplishment is creating “bnei torah” which a bochur absorbs just by being in the walls of the yeshiva and beis medrash. So critiquing the learning style is not critiquing the Yeshiva itself. It’s a פרט in the Yeshiva.

Of course, all this should come after a great deal of Tanach and Mishnah has been learnt.
Now, as for Gemara: Teach them Aramaic first. שפת התלמוד ודקדוקה by Judah Steinberg is a masterful textbook and chrestomathy. Then, teach them the legal terminology. There are many guides to this including Aryeh Carmell’s “Aiding Talmud Study.”
Yaakov Goldman’s three-book series consisting of גמרא למתחילים, גמרא לתלמידים, and סוגיות הגמרא are without peer. Also, “Tools for Tosafos” by Rabbi Haim Perlmutter is a wonderful guide.
It should take about three years of dedicated, inductive instruction of the aforementioned materials for the students to develop the minimum textual fluency needed for independent learning.
Bypassing the hard work of mastering the language, the hermeneutics, and basic halakhic themes from throughout Sha”s is akin to trying to drive an automobile without hands or feet. For it should be the goal of any learning program to equip the learner with the tools to learn using the Vilna Edition of the Talmud. Fewer and fewer learners can do this now thanks to popular editions that require no prior knowledge. Of course, hamstringing the talmidim in this way prevents them from cross-referencing other parts of Sha”s or looking up Rishonim and Acharonim on their own. Really, such editions confine the ignoramus to a very narrow window into the sugya. What about Rashi and Tosafos? What about the Maharsha”l and Maharsh”a? That is where true learning comes in–and there are no shortcuts.

If you truly desire to understand all of Shas, you must master all of Tanach.

Mastering all of Tanach is part of bekius, or should be part of bekius.

I believe it’s a good approach.
It allows the bochrim to become fluent with the gemorah and Rashi, focusing on entrenching and grounding themselves in poshut pshat.

Once they have spent a few years doing so they will be in an excellent position to fully grasp the subtleties of iyun.

Some may feel that the bochrim will be bored with only doing bikiyius. I believe that a dynamic Rebbi should be able to alleviate this issue.

What you think the Charedi attitude would be regarding the army and refusers if the roles were reversed?

In other words, let’s say Israel was a Charedi state. And the army was a perfectly Halachic army. And it was under attack by the surrounding murderous Arabs. And the Charedi soldiers were overwhelmed, they were dying, their businesses failing, their families breaking apart .. everything that’s happening today to the current soldiers. But the Dati Leumi refuse to join ranks for whatever reason (maybe they don’t want to be influenced by the Charedim). And the secular refuse to join a Halachic army because they don’t want to have to go minyan or eat kosher or have kiruv done to them. But the reason doesn’t matter… but because of that reason, the Charedim are the only ones serving and sacrificing for the safety of all of Klal Yisroel. Do you not think there would be that same anger and frustration? Would they not be offended by calls for achdus with their brothers who refuse to serve?

I think one of the main problems is a lack (or a refusal) of Charedim to understand the other side. To have genuine empathy. To be nosei be’ol chavero. I don’t know how many Charedim really put themselves in the shoes of what the soldiers are going through and how much pain they’re suffering. Maybe I’m wrong… But that’s the impression in getting.

Ard- You also need to define the term “mesorah” when discussing derech halimud. If mesorah means something that has been done for the last 170 years, then the reform movement has an older mesorah that rejects major principles of Judaism.

Also realize that the current system in most yeshivas today where even people learning for 8-10 hours a day only learn 10-12 blatt (first and second seder combined) over a winter zman, has ZERO mesorah and very little backing from Gedolei Hador.

You’re referring to curriculum, which is not the same thing as derech halimud.