Monday, May 13, 2013
The 48 Ways to Acquire Torah: Think over what you have heard
10:27 PM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
The next of the 48 ways to acquire Torah is to think over what you have learned. This means that when you hear something, analyze it in an organized way to make sure you understand it. Even if you have heard the teaching a hundred times or more, nonetheless still think it through to make sure it is clear.
This can also teach us not to be so quick when we hear something. Don't interrupt until you have heard what the person has to say. This will help in the final analysis if a person is quick to answer before they have heard everything.
Aren't we quick to want to say something before the person has finished talking? Don't we want to interrupt before we lose the flow of what what we want to say? Even if that may be true, don't, you may have misinterpreted what you have just heard!
Even if we hear something, we should give it proper organized thought. Whether we have heard it before or if it is the first time, there is no mitzvah in blurting out something before it has properly been digested.
Sometimes the best answer or response is nothing at all. Just stop and think about what has been said. A knee-jerk reaction may not be what you have intended or what you wanted to say. We must be careful in our words and actions to the extent that the best thing for us in a certain situation is silence.
This reminds me of a funny story. Someone was telling their friend something and in the middle of the story, his friend blurted something out before hearing the end. This person looked foolish as his friend said, "how can you say this, you haven't heard the end of the story yet!"
His friend responded that the way the story was going, this was going to happen and then that...and I made the comment based on that. His friend replied that the comment was totally out of place because that is not what happened in the story.
When his friend heard the end of the story, he was totally embarrassed as to what he had said and wished he refrained from what he said. Ahhh, the power of listening, internalizing and thinking over what you just heard!
This can also teach us not to be so quick when we hear something. Don't interrupt until you have heard what the person has to say. This will help in the final analysis if a person is quick to answer before they have heard everything.
Aren't we quick to want to say something before the person has finished talking? Don't we want to interrupt before we lose the flow of what what we want to say? Even if that may be true, don't, you may have misinterpreted what you have just heard!
Even if we hear something, we should give it proper organized thought. Whether we have heard it before or if it is the first time, there is no mitzvah in blurting out something before it has properly been digested.
Sometimes the best answer or response is nothing at all. Just stop and think about what has been said. A knee-jerk reaction may not be what you have intended or what you wanted to say. We must be careful in our words and actions to the extent that the best thing for us in a certain situation is silence.
This reminds me of a funny story. Someone was telling their friend something and in the middle of the story, his friend blurted something out before hearing the end. This person looked foolish as his friend said, "how can you say this, you haven't heard the end of the story yet!"
His friend responded that the way the story was going, this was going to happen and then that...and I made the comment based on that. His friend replied that the comment was totally out of place because that is not what happened in the story.
When his friend heard the end of the story, he was totally embarrassed as to what he had said and wished he refrained from what he said. Ahhh, the power of listening, internalizing and thinking over what you just heard!
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