ESSAY

The Derech in Derech Etz Chaim: An Evolving Retrospective
By Leib Zalesch ( DEC '00-'02 )

One day toward the end of my second year in Derech Etz Chaim, I found myself engaged in discussion with some other talmidim of the yeshiva about what it was, for all the hype, that makes Derech Etz Chaim unique. After all, our friends in other yeshivas had a similar daily schedule: b'iyun (in-depth) learning in the morning, b'kius (breadth) learning in the afternoon, review and other subjects at night. Was the "DEC Difference" simply that we tended to cover more ground in our bikius learning than did our friends? Had we missed something more monumental in the shuffle?

DEC as a philosophy puts more stock in the fresh reevaluation by each generation of its educational and spiritual needs than in the uncritical preservation of staid and archaic methodologies.

Synthesizing two years of experience into a definitive and articulate formula was not easy. Yet the attempt was important, for the seeds planted in my mind during the discussion have born the fruit of an ongoing attempt both to explain Derech Etz Chaim's approach to learning and to sharpen my own responsibility to the process of Torah study. Because, as we will see, self-definition and constant reevaluation are so very much a part of this process, I humbly share with excitement some of those findings and discoveries which I believe can be of guidance to many in their own task of studying Torah.

It is often pointed out that DEC approaches learning "differently," but this is a vague notion which, if clarified, may serve to enlighten and inspire many. What informs Derech Etz Chaim's strong bikius program and, more broadly, all that is accomplished in the yeshiva is an accelerated and highly intellectualized search for Truth beyond the inhibiting and prohibiting pre-conceived definitions which stifle and halt so much progress in the yeshiva world. DEC as a philosophy puts more stock in the fresh reevaluation by each generation of its educational and spiritual needs than in the uncritical preservation of staid and archaic methodologies which can be alienating to many and unresponsive to their particular needs in learning.

One important manifestation of this guided search for Truth is that DEC allows each talmid (student) to gain as he needs rather than confine him into the particular mold which has been created for "the yeshiva." The standard b'iyun and b'kius sedarim are retained and required of all talmidim, but it is stressed that such distinctions, though temporarily necessary, must ideally be integrated into one cohesive and ultimately honest "seder" encompassing and enriching the whole of his learning life.

For Torah to take deep and lasting root there must be an opportunity for the sort of challenging intellectual discussion which can endear Torah to one's life and being through the ownership of self-discovery.

Meanwhile, to augment this approach to yeshiva-wide growth, each talmid is directed to find his place in learning: those who gain more from shiur can grow in top-level shiurim; those who do not may spend additional time learning b'chevrusa (partnered) without fear of insulting the rabbeim or institution - for both are interested merely in that talmid's growth as a ben Torah. Still more students learn under the individual guidance of a rebbe or in small chabura-style groups with their Rebbe on call as needed. The hashkafah (philosophy) of DEC is that high-level learning can and must be accomplished in as many ways as talmidim under its wings but that there is no excuse for any talmid, or any member of k'lal Yisroel, not to accomplish in his unique way the most in learning that he possibly can.

Torah is the mainstay of our lives, but for Torah to take deep and lasting root there must be an opportunity for the sort of challenging intellectual discussion which can endear Torah to one's life and being through the ownership of self-discovery. At DEC, the search for Truth takes root in the study of Gemara but is not textual alone. Instead, a curious and probing community of learners and growers develops with the goal of finding truth in learning, truth in growing, truth in life. This search is undergone in several ways: ongoing informal communication among and between rabbeim and talmidim, guided discussions on our mission and means as Torah Jews, and experimentation in utilizing all of Torah's wisdom as a springboard for personal discovery. At the root of ongoing exploration lies an absolute belief in the primacy and centrality of Torah but a belief as well that the Torah can (and must!) withstand serious intellectual rediscovery by each generation and by each of its talmidim if it is to remain fresh, relevant, and alive. All are invited and encouraged to take part in this exciting community of thinkers and seekers and to let their mind wander in the vast sea of Torah.

Derech Etz Chaim's emphasis on constant thoughtful reevaluation has resulted in bikius learning's being placed on a higher pedestal in Derech Etz Chaim than in many other yeshivas, but this is neither the point nor the point of departure from which the yeshiva sees its purpose.

For Torah to be the living and informing lifeblood of our people it must be studied by each talmid with the sensitivity and individuality due his own lifeblood.

Far more important is instilment of the understanding that learning must take root in the creation and maintenance of a rigorous relationship with our Creator which can only be accomplished on His terms - through Torah. First and foremost, then, it is the aim of DEC's "derech halimud" to replace artificial titles with a love for learning, an ability to learn seriously and constantly, and an appreciation of learning as the most qualitatively important thing one can do with his time. Such goals, such accomplishments, are far more important than those of blandly finishing mesechtas or of viewing Torah merely as an intellectual or cultural pursuit to be "appreciated" for its "moral acumen." DEC takes the position that for Torah to be the living and informing lifeblood of our people it must be studied by each talmid with the sensitivity and individuality due his own lifeblood - and treated with that much importance.

It is my hope that this cursory presentation of Derech Etz Chaim's goals may open the door to deeper and broader discussion of our responsibility as the nation of Torah and to an increased appreciation of the responsibility each of us bears to constantly redefine and reexamine our roles in that nation.