Pilpul

Pilpul is a method in Torah study where one reaches Halachic investigation through deep analysis and examination of the subject being studied from all angles.

Its Purpose

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Pilpul is a method in Torah study where through deep learning, questions arise about what is being studied, leading to a deeper understanding of the text. Sometimes questions also arise about the initial conclusion, bringing the learner closer to the depth of the matter. The main focus of pilpul is in the Oral Torah. The roots of this method developed primarily among the Amoraim, the Talmudic sages, in order to reach practical halachic conclusions.

Although the main purpose of pilpul is to reach a halachic conclusion, there is a separate approach of pilpul that continues even after the halacha has been decided, where one continues to delve into the subject to reach true understanding, as our Sages taught on the verse "He will magnify Torah and glorify it": "Expound and receive reward." There are also times when pilpul is used even when it is certain that this was not the original intention. Examples from the Gemara of this type of pilpul: "Rabbi Meir would declare the impure pure and show reasons for it, and declare the pure impure and show reasons for it." "It was taught, there was a veteran student in Yavneh who would purify a sheretz (creeping thing) with 150 reasons."

Learning Order

The order of Torah study is that first one learns the subject simply and grasps it, and only afterward delves into it deeply, as the Gemara states "One should first learn and then analyze," and this is the order established by the Mishnah: "At ten [years of age] for Mishnah, at fifteen for Gemara."

Nevertheless, in recent generations it has become customary to teach Gemara in the form of pilpul even to young children, close to the time they learn Mishnah. The Rebbe explains the reason for this is due to the special advantage of pilpul, and this was revealed in recent generations because we are very close to the Redemption, in which Torah study and Torah pilpul will be complete, and as a taste of the revelations that will be revealed in the Torah then.

The Advantage of Pilpul

Through pilpul, one reaches a deeper understanding in learning; through it, one can reach a conclusion according to the truth of the Torah, and new laws are innovated. This is the reason why halacha is decided according to the Babylonian Talmud rather than the Jerusalem Talmud, since the Jerusalem Talmud was written in a style of established laws, unlike the Babylonian, which is "longer and more explanatory" - including more questions and discussions until reaching a conclusion.

In Tractate Shabbat, a statement of Rabbi Yosi ben Kisma is brought: "Two are better than three," meaning that the two legs of a young man are preferable to the three legs of an old man (with his cane). According to the simple meaning of the statement, this is difficult to understand, for certainly the healthy legs of a young person are preferable to those of an old person who walks with a cane.

The Rebbe explains that his intention is to emphasize the advantage that exists in the days of youth when learning is done through pilpul, compared to learning in old age when the minds of Torah scholars become settled, and they learn with a settled mind rather than through pilpul. The intention is not that wisdom is added to them, but only that they gain more mental composure. And this advantage of a young person is preferable even to the other advantage that an old person has - his friends and students who make him "wiser than all."

In Kabbalah

Through pilpul [in-depth Talmudic analysis], evil is separated from good by engaging with the evil, which represents errors in Talmudic study, and negating it. This is called "separating waste from food."

The root of this method of study comes from Moses, when he struck the rock - this striking represents learning through pilpul.

Recitation of Pilpul by Yeshiva Students

Expanded topic – The Seven Branches

The Rebbe demanded that yeshiva students engage in reciting and writing pilpulim (analytical discourses). When one student complained to the Rebbe that he lacked desire to study, the Rebbe responded that reciting pilpul would instill in him a desire for learning.

Accordingly, starting in 5719 (1959), a special schedule was established under the Rebbe's instruction, where seven outstanding students in revealed Torah and seven outstanding students in Chassidic studies would deliver a special pilpul lecture every Saturday night at the central Tomchei Tmimim Yeshiva in 770.

In response to a student's question about how he could deliver a pilpul when he didn't know how, the Rebbe replied: "You present a question, you offer an answer, you look in a book – and a pilpul is created!..."

The Rebbe's Method of Study

Expanded topic – The Rebbe's Method of Study

The Rebbe's method of study is characterized by pilpul in the style of the Rogatchover, which involves bringing similar points from numerous places in the Talmud, even when the similarities between them are not immediately apparent.

Torah Novellae Books

Expanded topic – Torah Novellae

The Rebbe instructed that yeshivas publish special books containing Torah novellae every few years. It is customary that these books (unlike the collections of notes by Tmimim and Anash) primarily contain systems of pilpulim.

See Also

• Notes of the Tmimim and Anash
• The Pilpul Melody