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Why does Torah (תורה) study give life while secular wisdom leaves one spiritually dead? Secular wisdom deals with finite creation, allowing complete mastery without humility, while Torah connects us to infinite divine wisdom requiring bittul. Chanukah (חנוכה) celebrates defending this distinction against Hellenistic attempts to reduce Torah to mere philosophy.
This shiur presents a profound analysis of the distinction between secular wisdom (chachmas yevanis) and Torah (תורה) wisdom (chachmas haTorah), using the framework of a Gemara (גמרא) in Tamid where Alexander the Great asks the Chachamim to define wisdom. The speaker explains that when Alexander asked what constitutes a chacham, they answered 'one who sees the future consequences' (ro'eh es hanolad), while our Mishna defines a chacham as 'one who learns from every person' (halomed mikol adam). This difference reveals the fundamental distinction between the two types of wisdom. Secular wisdom deals with the finite world - everything created after 'Bereishis bara.' It involves mastering and understanding the physical universe through analysis and study. Since the human mind has an almost infinite capacity while the subject matter is finite, one can master it completely and predict consequences (ro'eh es hanolad). This mastery doesn't require humility (anavus) because the student's intellectual capacity exceeds what they're studying.
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Tamid (discussion of Alexander the Great and the Chachamim)
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