Norman Lamm felt that one should make a bracha of birchas hatorah before entering a chemistry lab. His writings espose the idea that Madda is an essential part of Torah. Not a yeshivish shita. Learning for parnassah is permitted, but it’s like going to the bathroom- permitted but not something on the same level as Torah. Torah V’Daas was originally Torah and secular studies, but the meaning got lost over the years as they embraced the idea of Yeshiva talmidim learning full time. I once heard a tape from Rabbi Rakefet-Rothkof (Nachum Siegal show during the 9 days) where he claimed that torah umadda was as opposed to Torah im Derech Eretz, and it meant madda on a lower level. however, the writings of Norman Lamm and other clearly contraindicate this.
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