Sections
T134 PNC - Teaching Torah Even to One — Must Not Exceed Listener's Capacity (1 seg)
Pettek Nanach Running Commentary on Likutey Moharan
ביניים: לְלַמֵּד תּוֹרָה אַף לְיָחִיד = מְלַאכָה גְּדוֹלָה; כָּל שֶׁכֵּן לְרַבִּים. אֲבָל: זְהִירוּת קִיצוֹנִית לָ תְלַמֵּד מֵעַל כֹּחַ הַמְּקַבֵּל. לִמּוּד מֵעַל הַכֹּשֶׁר = כַּעֲרָיוֹת = מִשְׁגֶּה קָדוֹשׁ בְּמָקוֹם שֶׁאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְהַחֲזִיק. תוֹצָאָה: נֵזֶק, לֹא גִּדּוּל. תּוֹרָה חַיֶּבֶת לְהִמָּדֵד לְפִי כֹּשֶׁר הַתַּלְמִיד.
Beginner: Teaching Torah — even to a single individual — is a great and holy work. All the more so when teaching many. However, a teacher must exercise extreme care not to convey concepts that are beyond the listener's current capacity to receive and understand. Teaching Torah beyond the listener's capacity is compared to a form of licentiousness — it is a misplacing of something holy into a space that cannot yet hold it, and the result is not illumination but damage. The Torah given to a student who is not yet ready for it does not build him up — it can overwhelm and confuse, leading to spiritual harm rather than growth. The teaching must always be calibrated to the student: give what the student can receive and absorb, and when the student grows, give more. This is the path of the true teacher. Intermediate: Teaching Torah even to one person = great work; more so to many. But: extreme care not to teach beyond listener's capacity. Teaching beyond capacity = compared to licentiousness = misplacing holy thing into space that can't hold it. Result: overwhelm + damage, not growth. Torah must be calibrated to student's capacity. True teacher: give what student can receive, increase as student grows.
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