I imagine the best way to do Shas [Talmud] the first time is the way I was learning at the Mir --that is with the Maharsha and Pnei Yehoshua. The reason I say this that the first time through Shas I think it is very difficult to have any idea of what the "Lumdus" (note 1) of Rav Shach and Reb Haim Soloveitchik is all about. That is my suggestion. This is not the general way people do it. Most people just spend the morning preparing for the rosh yehiva's class at 12:00 P.M.. Then in the afternoon, to just plow through as many pages as they can with Tosphot.
It is hard to explain why I think these basic אחרונים [later commentaries] are important. You might say -it is to get the big picture before you get bogged down in the details.
So the Maharsha and the Pnei Yehoshua are perfect for that. You get an idea of the basic issues in Tosphot and the Gemara, but you do not have to spend a whole month on one Tosphot if you had been doing it with the Avi Ezri (note 2) and Reb Haim.
It is like a middle ground of Lumdus,--not too much, and not too little. But just right.
[If you are doing something that does not have the Pnei Yehoshua on it, you should probably change venue. But in any case, most things have something along the lines of the Pnei Yehoshua--like the ערוך לנר or the new edition of R. Akiva Eiger arranged in the order of Shas..]
(note 1) Lumdus means learning in depth and great detail.
(note 2) Rav Shach's book. It is arranged according to the order of the Rambam like Reb Haim's book the חידושי הרמב''ם
So the Maharsha and the Pnei Yehoshua are perfect for that. You get an idea of the basic issues in Tosphot and the Gemara, but you do not have to spend a whole month on one Tosphot if you had been doing it with the Avi Ezri (note 2) and Reb Haim.
It is like a middle ground of Lumdus,--not too much, and not too little. But just right.
[If you are doing something that does not have the Pnei Yehoshua on it, you should probably change venue. But in any case, most things have something along the lines of the Pnei Yehoshua--like the ערוך לנר or the new edition of R. Akiva Eiger arranged in the order of Shas..]
(note 1) Lumdus means learning in depth and great detail.
(note 2) Rav Shach's book. It is arranged according to the order of the Rambam like Reb Haim's book the חידושי הרמב''ם
