Introduction to Gilyonot

A Word from Yitshak Reiner on the "Suggested Answers" section of the Gilyonot.

To those who are joining the Torah correspondence study using the Gilyonot of our teacher, Nehama, zikhronah l'vrakhah.

As students of Nehama we have learned to cherish the study Torah.

Thus we feel an obligation to enable others who wish to study Torah and commentaries using her methods to join us. Thousands throughout the world have learned this approach, some from Nehama herself, some from the Gilyonot, and others from students of Nehama.

Studying from the "Gilyonot for Study of the Weekly Portion" is different from studying from the books of Nehama ("Studies in Genesis", etc.) To make this distinction clearer I would like to give one of many examples. When you read Nahama's books you are presented with the following "on a silver platter": the commentaries are explained and worked through; the differences between one commentator and another are explained; what the commentator wanted to emphasize is highlighted; the difficulty that the commentator is attempting to resolve is pointed out.; etc. But if you study the Gilyonot, you yourself will struggle to attempt to answer the many questions therein, such as: What is the difficulty that Rashi (or another commentator) is addressing? What is the difference between one explanation and another? Why was a particular commentator not completely satisfied with his own answer, and why did he give additional ones? What do the other commentators add? What are the different problems addressed by each of several commentaries on the same verses? What is the weakness of each commentary? When you study using the Gilyonot as a guide, you must examine the verse, section, or chapter of Scripture carefully, you must read the commentary under discussion, you must try to answer the questions Nehama poses. Since one cannot answer the question unless the commentary was understood, this constitutes a kind of on-the-spot "comprehension test." Thus the method enriches your Torah study and understanding. "No one is as wise as someone with experience". Try this approach and see for yourself the efficacy of the methodology used in the Gilyonot.

We know that the questions are not at all easy - even for veteran users of the Gilyonot, and they are all the more difficult for novices.

Thus we decided to write suggested answers to the questions. Here we faced a difficult dilemma: how much detail to put into the answers? Should we just hint at the answer and allow the participant to complete it, or should we provide a full answer? There are advantages to each approach, and we have decided to take the minimalist approach. The main thing is that you will have feedback, and be able to either confirm your own answer, or continue to search for a solution, your own search being the heart of the method. Sometimes we have suggested you understand a particular commentator by referring to the sources of the commentator himself, or to other sources which will help understand the subject under discussion.

We have chosen Gilyonot which contain material which is different from that published in her books, and we have included the supplementary Study Guide ("Alon Hadrakhah") which Nehama wrote to accompany those particular Gilyonot. These Study Guides were written for the last 15 of the 30 years of the Gilyonot. For various reasons we sometimes chose a Gilayon which had no Study Guide, in which case we provided a second Gilayon. It is difficult to describe the material in the Study Guides, but in general they contain material that helps the participant delve more deeply into the subject matter of the Gilayon, or adds further commentary, or elucidates a certain approaches. Sometimes they guide the participant in tackling the Gilayon, or in indicating how a teacher can use the Gilayon in helping students.

I want to encourage and support you who are embarking on this endeavor, and wish you success and pleasure in your study of Torah. I will be happy to receive any comments or questions that you send to the JNF, Department of Religious Organizations, and we will be in touch with you about what is being done to perpetuate the legacy of our teacher.

May we all be privileged, as it says in the blessing before the Shma, "to learn, teach, safeguard, perform, and fulfill all the words of Your Torah's teaching with love."

Yitshak Reiner
Past principal of the Tahkemoni Jewish Day School of Antwerp, Belgium, and director of the Dept. for Seminars and Advanced Courses in the Jewish Agency, Jerusalem.