Torah_Umadda Torah_Umadda

Torah Umadda - Definition and Overview

Torah UMadda תורה ומדע - Hebrew , Torah and (secular) knowledge - is a philosophy of Modern Orthodox Judaism, concerning the interelationship between the secular world and Judaism, and in particular between secular knowledge and Jewish knowledge. The resultant mode of Orthodox Judaism is referred to as "Centrist Orthodoxy".

Contents
1 Philosophy

1.1 Secular knowledge and culture
1.2 Centrality of Torah
1.3 Synthesis
1.4 Jewish law

2 Crticism
3 Relationship with Torah im Derech Eretz
4 History
5 External links and references

Philosophy

In the view of Torah UMadda, "Jewishness and Jewish faith.. and the universal concerns and preoccupations of humanity" are not "fundamentally inapposite"; Judaism and culture are, "in essence part of one continuum". Jewish knowledge and secular knowledge, Torah and Madda, do not, therefore, require "substantive reconciliation", in fact, the study of Torah with other knowledge results in a heightened and enriched Judaism.

Secular knowledge and culture

As articulated by Rabbi Norman Lamm: "Torah ... on the one side and worldly knowledge... on the other, together offer us a more over-arching and truer vision than either one set alone. Each set gives one view of the Creator as well as of His creation, and the other a different perspective that may not agree at all with the first ... (but) both together present the possibility of a larger truth."

Centrality of Torah

Despite the simultaneous acceptance of both Torah and secular knowledge and culture, the philosophy demands "unquestioned allegiance to the primacy of Torah, and that the apprehension of all other intellectual disciplines must be rooted and viewed through the prism of Torah". In the words of Lamm, "Torah Umadda does not imply ... coequality. Torah remains the unchallenged and preeminent center."

Synthesis

Although Torah UMadda regards science and religion as separate, where the "wisdom of the world" maintains its own domain of significance, it nevertheless posits a "synthesis" between the two realms. In Torah UMadda "the integration of secular knowledge with sacred wisdom" takes place "within the personality of the individual". Thus, the realization of Torah UMadda may find "different legitimate expressions in each individual". The philosophy recognizes the challenge this is likely to pose to its adherents, and posits a framework in which "the confrontation between Judaism and secular culture results in heightened creativity within Judaism".

Jewish law

Lamm is careful to point out that Torah UMadda demands strict adherence to Halakha, Jewish law. “Not a single fundamental of Judaism has been disturbed by us, we adhere to the same ikkarim, we are loyal to the same Torah, we strive for the same study of torah and observance of mitzvot that our parents and grandparents before us cherished throughout the generations.”

Crticism

Critics of Torah Umadda – including those on the "right" of Modern Orthodoxy - see the "complementarity" of Torah and secular knowledge proposed by the philosophy, as suggesting that the Torah is not of itself whole or complete; in their view, Torah Umadda is thus premised on a flawed appreciation of Torah. They hold further, that Torah Umadda is problematic in that its synthesis allows for an "encroachment" of the scientific worldview on Jewish theology; Torah Umadda thus represents a dilution of the "pure sanctity" (taharat hakodesh) of the Torah.

Relationship with Torah im Derech Eretz

Torah im Derech Eretz - Torah with "worldly involvement" - is a philosophy of Orthodox Judaism which formalises a relationship between Torah Judaism and the modern world, first articulated by Samson Raphael Hirsch in c. 1840. In some senses the two philosophies are largely similair - both value the acquisition of secular knowledge and both demand adherence to halakha. The two are distinct though, in that in the Hirschian view, the acquisition of secular culture and knowledge is (largely) functional, whereas here, "the study of worldly wisdom is not a concession to economic necessity, it is de jure not de facto." The distinction, though subtle, is such that those holding to the "narrow interpretation" of Torah im Derech Eretz, are described as being "spiritually very distant" from Yeshiva University. See further discussion on the interpretation of Torah im Derech Eretz.

History

Torah Umadda is closely associated with Yeshiva University. The actual philosophy underlying the combination of Torah and secular wisdom at Yeshiva University was variously articulated, first by Rabbi Dr. Bernard Revel, by his successor Rabbi Dr.Samuel Belkin, and most recently, and formally, by Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm. The use of the term "Torah u-Madda" was a relatively late development, dating to 1946.

Yeshiva University publishes the Torah Umadda Journal which "explores the complex relationships between Torah, the humanities, and the natural and social sciences" as well as the Library of Jewish Law and Ethics (published jointly with Ktav publishing House Inc.), monologues on related topics.

The use of "Madda" as "secular knowledge" is also recent; in Rabbinic literature, "worldly knowledge" is usually referred to as chokhmah חכמה. The first book in Maimonides' compendium of Halakha, the Mishneh Torah, is entitled "Madda" מדע - there, though, the term refers to knowledge of the fundamentals of Judaism. "In the first book I will include all the commandments that are principles of the law of Moses and that a man should know before all else, such as the Unity of God and the prohibitions related to idolatry. And I have called this book Sefer ha Madda the Book of Knowledge."

External links and references
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