The Ran from Breslov had a good point in emphasizing the fact that many times the places and people you might think to go to to learn Torah are actually Trojan horses. Traps laid out by the Dark Side to entice people.
This to a large degree goes along with his emphasis on private service towards God. However there are some good a holy places that I am thrilled and very happy about that I went to like the Mir in NY and also Shar Yashv of Rav Friefeld.
The problem is that authentic Litvak yeshivas are rare. However dens of the Dark Side are common.
So the best is to learn Gemara Rashi Tosphot and the Avi Ezri of Rav Shach at home unless one happens to be in an area like NY where the great Litvak yeshivas are located --or Bnei Brak.
Reb Nahman had a great deal of other important points, though for some reason when people get involved a bit too much in his books they tend to lose perspective.
Still this idea of Reb Nahman is not commonly known. But it comes often in the writings of Reb Nahman himself. For example in Volume I "the reason why people argue and make problems for those who fear God is because they (the problem makers ) hear Torah lessons from Torah scholars that are demons. שדין יהודאיים תלמידי חכמים. As a source the notes on bottom of the page say to look up the Zohar in Pinhas which I did not find there (though I did not look hard.). But this is a subject which comes up in the Ari. In any case it ought to be more well known
How many homes would be spared, how many lives would be save from ruin if this lesson was more well known and people would know to be wary and on guard?
[This theme is brought up also in the Rambam concerning people that make money off of Torah.The Rambam says they have no portion in the next world which means they lose their holy soul. That is in fact quite close to what Reb Nahman says in different words.]
The fact is that most people do not have much knowledge in Torah and thus are easily conned and deceived. And no one stands up except Reb Nahman to warn people.
It is interesting to note that the people who were with קורח (Korah) who argued against Moses were the heads of the Sanhedrin. Some things just keep on recurring.
In any case if one is learning at home, the thing to do is to get one Gemara and concentrate on it for a year with the Maharsha and Tosphot. Then to get one or two of the major later on אחרונים that deal with that particular Gemara. Most often that will be the Pnei Yehoshua., if you choose Ketuboth or the Bava's or Shabat. There is also a very great edition of R.Akiva Eiger that collected his works along the seder of Shas. Also the ערוך לנר. The Avi Ezri I think should just be learned in order independently. [That is in its own order, not according to the order of Shas. Just learn it from the beginning to end, and then review many times.]
Even though this is not a popular message, still judging from Yeravam ben Navat who refrained from the truth because of fear of losing his popularity and support, I would say that even at the certainty of losing popularity one ought to say the truth.
This to a large degree goes along with his emphasis on private service towards God. However there are some good a holy places that I am thrilled and very happy about that I went to like the Mir in NY and also Shar Yashv of Rav Friefeld.
The problem is that authentic Litvak yeshivas are rare. However dens of the Dark Side are common.
So the best is to learn Gemara Rashi Tosphot and the Avi Ezri of Rav Shach at home unless one happens to be in an area like NY where the great Litvak yeshivas are located --or Bnei Brak.
Reb Nahman had a great deal of other important points, though for some reason when people get involved a bit too much in his books they tend to lose perspective.
Still this idea of Reb Nahman is not commonly known. But it comes often in the writings of Reb Nahman himself. For example in Volume I "the reason why people argue and make problems for those who fear God is because they (the problem makers ) hear Torah lessons from Torah scholars that are demons. שדין יהודאיים תלמידי חכמים. As a source the notes on bottom of the page say to look up the Zohar in Pinhas which I did not find there (though I did not look hard.). But this is a subject which comes up in the Ari. In any case it ought to be more well known
How many homes would be spared, how many lives would be save from ruin if this lesson was more well known and people would know to be wary and on guard?
[This theme is brought up also in the Rambam concerning people that make money off of Torah.The Rambam says they have no portion in the next world which means they lose their holy soul. That is in fact quite close to what Reb Nahman says in different words.]
The fact is that most people do not have much knowledge in Torah and thus are easily conned and deceived. And no one stands up except Reb Nahman to warn people.
It is interesting to note that the people who were with קורח (Korah) who argued against Moses were the heads of the Sanhedrin. Some things just keep on recurring.
In any case if one is learning at home, the thing to do is to get one Gemara and concentrate on it for a year with the Maharsha and Tosphot. Then to get one or two of the major later on אחרונים that deal with that particular Gemara. Most often that will be the Pnei Yehoshua., if you choose Ketuboth or the Bava's or Shabat. There is also a very great edition of R.Akiva Eiger that collected his works along the seder of Shas. Also the ערוך לנר. The Avi Ezri I think should just be learned in order independently. [That is in its own order, not according to the order of Shas. Just learn it from the beginning to end, and then review many times.]
Even though this is not a popular message, still judging from Yeravam ben Navat who refrained from the truth because of fear of losing his popularity and support, I would say that even at the certainty of losing popularity one ought to say the truth.
