In an early version of the "seed program" circa 1963 talmiddim asked R Hutner's advice re: whom to focus upon and who was a waste of time R. Hutner suggested to ask them about the origins of WWI.
If they expressed curiosity about the assassin Prinzip's motives, they were the desirable students. If they poo-poohed Prinzip and said he was just "a nut" - then don't bother...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In zen the maxim is:
First you need to empty your cup in order to fill it.
People may be either
- know-it-alls
- full of themselves
- too cynical or skeptical
to learn something new. With these people, one simply wastes one's time teaching.
R AKiva had held a cynical view of Hachahmim before he changed his attitude. Once he dropped this "holier than thou" posture Torah flowed to him as rivers flow to the sea.
KT
RRW
No comments:
Post a Comment