Q:
How many daf gemora should a yeshiva man learn in a zman?
A:
It’s a good question. In the olden days they tried to learn about 30 blatt gemara in a zman; but today it’s a competition – the less you learn, the better yeshiva it is. It’s a fact. “Our yeshiva learned only four blatt this zman!” That’s what they say when they want to show what a great yeshiva they are.
Now, if you’re an ilui and you hear all the shiurim and you’ll remember them, then maybe. But if you’re an ordinary bochur, your time is wasted. You have to learn how to learn in yeshiva! And therefore you have to learn sugyos inside, to accustom yourself to the mehalech ha’gemara, to the expressions, to the idioms – and that means you have to cover ground. And it’s a very big mistake what they’re doing – they won’t listen to me but it’s a big mistake to learn four blatt or five blatt gemara a zman. They tried to cover it up by having two sedorim, one in bekiyus and one charifus shiur (iyun). But even that is a mistake. The shiurim are too long; they take up too much time. And they want you to sit and chazer the shiur for hours and hours. Now, I don’t believe in that but don’t tell the roshei yeshiva that I said that because I’ll get a lot of enemies. Keep it a secret.
TAPE # 731
