ruach chaim

1 : 4 Let your house be a meeting place for the wise, sit in the

dust of their feet. One of the forty-eight ways in
which Torah knowledge is acquired is by making one's teacher wiser (Avos 6:6). A student is required to ask, to challenge, to debate in the
mutual goal of arriving at a true understanding of the topic. Talmudic
debate is called a battle. ''A father and son, a teacher and student, en-
gage themselves in Torah study and become like enemies; but by the time they finish they are friends" (Kiddushin 30b). Indeed, a student
should not mindlessly accept his master's teachings if he finds flaws in
his teacher's logic. Sometimes the student will arrive at the proper an-
swer, much as a match can kindle a large log. So, too, the pupil might
think of an approach that had not occurred to the teacher.

Reply to an article

Why Are Our Teens Going Off the Derech?  www.ou.org

Too much guilt in this article. And that's one of the reasons that kids leave Orthodoxy, the whole thing becomes one big guilt trip. Rather, may I suggest that we present Judaism as meaningful, as a thought system for making sense of life. Also, there needs to be more love in this community. Many find it cold and snobbish. The kids go off to college and find down to earth and approachable people. We need more rabbis that see themselves as community builders. Quite a few are aloof and seem almost to dislike their congregants. There's more to being a rabbi than giving daf yomi shiurim. Also, parents need to chuck the TV set. No religion can compete with TV. You get drunk on all that sex, violence, excitement, and bad middos, and religion starts to seem dull.