Reflections of Truth

Originally posted in March 2012.

Reflections of Truth

Those of you read my blog - and certainly those of you who know me personally - are aware of how frequently I make reference to books, movies, and TV shows in the course of my Torah learning. The same is true when I teach. I often bring in quotes and ideas from other sources, and I always try to connect the ideas to examples and applications from the "real world" and from works of fiction.

Earlier this year I was confronted by a parent who objected to my use of such "secular sources" in Torah learning. He phrased his objection as follows:

I believe in the 'perfection' of Torah, and as such, don't see the need of secular sources to explain religious concepts. Especially when the same or similar result can be achieved through Torah.

The implication of his statement is that I, unlike him, do not fully believe in the perfection of Torah, since I do include secular sources to explain religious concepts, even when the same or similar result can be achieved through Torah. To this individual, the only reason why a person would make recourse to secular sources is if he believed that the Torah was somehow lacking.

In this particular case I did not bother arguing with the parent, since I sensed that we wouldn't get anywhere. However, upon rereading the Allegory of the Cave, I thought of a good way to frame my response if I am ever in a position where doing so will be beneficial. I am going to quote a specific passage, assuming you are familiar with the allegory as a whole:

And if he is compelled to look straight at the light, will he not have a pain in his eyes which will make him turn away to take and take in the objects of vision which he can see, and which he will conceive to be in reality clearer than the things which are now being shown to him?

And suppose once more, that he is reluctantly dragged up a steep and rugged ascent, and held fast until he is forced into the presence of the sun himself, is he not likely to be pained and irritated? When he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled, and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called realities.

He will require to grow accustomed to the sight of the upper world. And first he will see the shadows best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves; then he will gaze upon the light of the moon and the stars and the spangled sky; and he will see the sky and the stars by night better than the sun or the light of the sun by day?

Last of he will be able to see the sun, and not mere reflections of it in the water, but he will see it in its own proper place, and not in another; and he will contemplate it as it is. 

In the allegory, the light of the sun outside of the cave represents knowledge. Here Socrates speaks of the cave dweller's difficulty in facing this light. At first this light is so blinding that he will be forced to turn away. In his state of "bedazzlement," he will only be able to look at objects of vision which he is used to seeing. Socrates mentions three categories of phenomena that he will be able to look at: first he will only be able to look at the shadows, and then the reflections of objects in the water, and then the objects themselves. If he ignores this progression and tries to look directly at the light before his eyes have adjusted, he will either be forced to turn away (and perhaps retreat into the cave) because he cannot tolerate the pain or else he will go blind.

And that, Mr. Parent, is exactly why I make recourse to "secular sources" in my Torah learning. I know myself, and I am aware of a number of my limitations. Some people are capable of moving swiftly out of the cave. Their eyes adjust rapidly and they can immediately begin exploring and examining the world outside of the cave ... but not I.

Can I learn Torah ideas on a purely intellectual level using only the Torah? Yes. But I don't think that's enough. I want the ideas to be real to me. In order to do that, I need to see examples and applications in the real world around me. I need to see them in the phenomena that capture my day to day interests and sources of entertainment. I need to see the reflections of truth in the water before I can see the realities themselves.

And I'm not the only one. I've seen many students who grapple with the same challenge. For this reason, my students really appreciate it when I incorporate "real world" references into our Torah learning. Without this, the ideas remain dry, meaningless, formulaic abstractions. Even if my students become convinced of the truth, they do not see it as a reality until they are shown how it is reflected in their lives. Sometimes this can be accomplished by showing them "reflections of men and other objects in the water," but in other cases, they can only see the shadows themselves. In such cases, my job as teacher is to show them those shadows that are most conducive to adjusting their eyes to the light outside of the cave.

In conclusion, I do not believe that making recourse to secular sources indicates a denial of the Torah's perfection. Rather, it is indicative of our imperfection. And I would argue that unless we recognize, accept, and work with our own imperfections, then we will not be able to reap the benefits of the perfect Torah.

I also maintain that Mishlei is founded entirely on this approach, but that's a topic for another post ...