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| Picture illustration credit: The Forward |
I love listening what various Rishonim, Achronim, and modern day Poskim have say on the those Sugyos (topics). I get
quite a bit out of someone else’s hard work researching those sources.
But I wonder how many people are able to understand the
language spoken by some of the Magidei Shiur? One might ask, “Don’t they give
those Shiurim in English?” The answer is, sort of. The language they use is something
called Yeshivish. That is a combination of English, Hebrew, Yiddish, and
Aramaic.
For most people who have attended a Yeshiva through high
school and beyond – this is not a problem. This is the way most of us have learned
Torah. We use this “Language of Learning”. It is in our blood. Using words like
“Mutar and “Assur” are far more natural for us than using their English
translations of “permitted” and “forbidden”. It is far more comfortable for us
to use the language of the Talmud itself in certain words and expressions.
In fact this is one of the problems I have with ArtScroll English
Shas. They translate too much. But I am not criticizing them for that. I
actually applaud them for it. They should use as pristine a version of the English
language as possible so that everyone can study the Talmud despite their
backgrounds.
So what’s my problem? It is the following. If one becomes accustomed to using Yeshivish instead of English one may actually come to
forget how to speak the language. Not everyone will be able to understand
them. In some cases the Yeshivish becomes
so ingrained and so extreme that they become completely incomprehensible to the
untrained ear. They may not even realize that normal English speaking non
Yeshivishe people have no clue what they are saying.
I will never forget a Sheva Brachos I attended one time. The
Chasan’s older brother who was born and raised in America but had been learning
in a Yeshiva for over a decade after he was married was asked to speak. He realized that not everyone
in the room understood Yeshivish and said so.
He therefore said that he was going to say his D’var Torah
in English. And he proceeded to speak incomprehensible Yeshivish anyway. Makes
me wonder what his actual Yeshivish sounded like. The point is, however, that
he actually thought he was speaking English!
This is a tremendous failing in the right wing Yeshiva
world. Secular studies are denigrated so much that the ability to communicate
with the non Yeshiva world is completely hampered. These students are either
never taught or they completely ignore English grammar and never try to
increase their vocabulary.
I don’t think I am alone in noting that this is a problem. I
believe that many even right wing Roshei Yeshiva believe it is a problem. I recall reading that Rav Avreimal Ausband,
the Rosh HaYeshiva of Telshe Yeshiva of Riverdale saying he felt this way. And
yet I don’t believe that any Roshei Yeshiva are doing anything about it.
If the right wing wants
to communicate their ideas to an educated Orthodox public, speaking or writing
in Yeshivish will not do the trick. They should be able to put together
complete sentences that do not contain Yeshivishe words.
Nor will they be able to even teach Torah to anyone who has
not gone through the Yeshiva system. Which brings me back to The Magedei Shiur
at Shas Illuminated. They are all Tamidei Chachmim, Talmudic scholars. But not
all of them speak English – even though they think they are.
My son does. In his Shiurim on that website, he utilizes the
vocabulary and English grammar he learned in high school and college. Although
he also uses some Yeshivishe words, they are only the ones that are most
commonly used. His Shiurim are therefore more broadly understood. But some of
the other Magidei Shiur use a Yeshivishe jargon that only those with a serious Yeshivishe
background will understand.
If the right wing wants to more fully participate in the English
speaking Jewish world beyond the four walls of the Beis HaMedrash by being on
the internet, I think the Roshei Yeshiva ought to require the serious study of
the English language. If they don’t do that, they will further isolate themselves
into becoming a sect with a language of their own which will be incomprehensible
to anyone but themselves.
Of course in the ideal, they should be taking all secular
subjects seriously. But I suppose that would be asking too much in a climate of
preferred isolation from the rest of the world. But at the very least they
should be able to communicate without sounding illiterate. Although there are
quite a few right wing writers who can communicate very well (such as Yale
educated Jonathan Rosenblum, Yeshiva University educated Rabbi Chaim D. Keller,
and Ner Israel educated Rabbi Avi Shafran to name a few) I’m not sure what the
future holds. Will the Yeshiva world of the right be able to communicate with
the rest of Orthodoxy? Only time will tell.
