YESHIVA POLITICS: Should Yeshiva guys use Artscroll Gemaras?

 

The following question was presented on a VIN forum:

Artscroll Gemaras are an extremely valuable tool, which help thousands of people learn. The question is, can they sometimes be used as a crutch? Should Yeshiva and Kollel guys ever use an Artscroll Gemara?

DIN: This is one of the stupidest discussions I have ever heard.

Who cares how one learns? In Yiddish there is an expression "abee men lerent" "as long as one is learning?

We all say in the morning before reciting the Shama:

אבינו אב הרחמן המרחם רחם נא עלינו ותן בלבנו בינה להבין ולהשכיל לשמע ללמד וללמד לשמור ולעשות ולקיים את כל דברי תלמוד תורתך באהבה

The purpose of learning is לשמור ולעשות ולקיים is to put learning into practice! 

It doesn't say that you cannot use Artscroll. 

I'll bet that when Rashi first came out, there were Roshei Yeshivos that were pointing their middle fingers at those looking into a rashi laughing at them saying "oh look at that guy, he must be a big am-haaretz, he needs Rashi to help him!

The talmud was written in aramaic, because that was the language people were talking at that time. It was the "english" of that era!

I remember many years ago, when Artscroll was just beginning to publish the talmud and there were only a few out,  there was a meeting of school administrators, Roshei Yeshiva, and Rabbonim  about a certain issue, I cannot recall at the moment what the issue was all about, but what I found fascinating was something that I noticed about one particular rabbi. The Rabbi was R' Moshe Meir Weiss shlitah, who sat on the dais with other noted Roshei Yeshiva and Rabbonim all with their closed Hebrew seforim in their hands. R' Moshe Meir Weiss's sefer was an Artscroll gemarra and he was glancing inside, in-between speakers ! He was probably getting ready for his Daf Hayoimie class that he gives for decades. He was not embarrassed or intimidated at all.

I know baalei teshuva that never learned in a Yeshiva and who are huge talmeidei chachamim and who are proficient in the entire shas and poiskim, all from Artscroll!

There is another 'pirush" on the talmud  that has recently come out, but in Hebrew, called "Mesivta"! When you get a chance, take a look in the back. You will notice a section that explains every single tosfos, a section that reviews each and every daf, and there is a section that goes thru sugyois of that particular perek! I guarantee if you just learn those pirushim, you will be a bono-fide talmud chacham. 

I learn now in a kollel, some asked me if I can give a "chaburah" on the sugye that the kollel was learning. 

את חטאי אני מזכור היום

I cheated and just repeated one of the suguas from the back of the Mesivta. They were sitting there with their mouths open and couldn't believe that a "baal habyis" was as knowledgeable in this sugya as any guy that was learning in kollel for years and was throwing out references from the entire Yam ha'Talmud. When I admitted that it was all there in the back of the Mesivta gemarra they were floored. 

Some "taanid" that this isn't really learning and to attain knowledge you have to "hureva" and do the research yourself, and they brought a verse from Parshas Be'chukoisah where the torah states:

אם בחקתי תלכו

and rashi comments: שתהיו עמלים בתורה meaning to "labor in the Torah" 

I answered you left out the words of rashi right after that:

על מנת לשמור ולקיים "in order to observe and to fulfill that which you learn"

I told them that what I just did was far more productive and by doing what I'm doing I can cover far more in one year then they will in five. I added that I am prepared to be tested just like them and will fare far better than any of the guys. I quoted Rav Shach z'l who told a kollel guy that was on the same page in the gemarrah for over two days that he will be a "loimdeshe am'haaretz" 

My humble opinion is that now in this era where we can B'H access so much information in minutes, it is imperative to take advantage of that, and if it's by learning with an Artscroll or a Mesivta gemarrah then so be it. 

In the six months that I'm in kollel, not to brag, I have completed 2 and 1/2 difficult tractates in talmud with Rashi and Tosfos, completed Yehoshua Shoftim and will complete very soon Shmuel alef and bet plus sifrei musser, and a daily shiur in Mishnayois Kehati, Rambam and Mishna Berurah and was tested on all this, and if it wasn't for Artscroll and the Mesivta, I would not have been able to accomplish all that. 

I am advocating that Kollim start learning with.....yes... absolutely, Artscroll and or Mesivta!