Modern Yeshiva "a Torah prohibition"

Two weeks ago Rav Goldberg spoke to his yeshiva students about importance of a Seder (learning routine), waking up on time, etc. It was a spectacular summer day, serene and clear air of Catskills, a river, sunshine and mountains. I listened to Rav Goldberg thinking to myself why is it necessary to have a consuming harsh learning regiment? More importantly does it really improves learning or knowledge of Torah to be ensconced in fluorescently saturated, poorly ventilated Beis Medrash despite all the caressing natural beauty outside?

I posed this question to Rabbi Moishe Leiberman (a maggid shir in the NEHA and New Jew) during our farbrengen. He said that he heard from Rav Heller that modern yeshiva system might be "yissur d�oraisa" (a Torah prohibition). Rav Heller explained that the Jewish way of learning was always a beis medrash, where students learned in an unstructured way. This system produced all the great Rabbis of the previous generations. Then came Lithuanian Yeshivos (and Tomechei Tmimim that followed the model) that introduced a structured learning, an imitation of the way of gentiles at the time (hence the prohibition).

I recall two incidents in this regard. When I was in a Misnagdisher yeshiva it seemed to me that being from Russia I had a lot to catch up. Sitting in a class of some Lakewood shmuck listening to his brisker pilpulim seemed absurd. I asked Rosh Yeshiav a permission to seclude myself in a Beis Hamedrash so I can finish all the Mishnayos first. He refused; he didn't want to make a precedent. I remember how he asked me: "An if you want to go to a college, would you also stay in our dormitories" (a Boro Park tenement with bunk beds and constant smell of fumes from an adjacent laundry).

A second incident was in Morristown. I always had a keen interest in Jewish history. There was a book of Rayatz stories about Alter Rebbe�s times. I finished the book in a day. I shared this with my Hevrusa, a bocher from South America. He was in shock that �I read the entire book�. I was in shock that a Jew who excelled in Gemora didn�t have an urgent thirst to know about the days of old.

So perhaps not only Yeshivos in Melbourne and Boston are flawed but the very system is terribly out of step. Every person has his own learning rhythm and while the structured system helps a few it forever breaks the learning rhythm for many who like to climb the mountain alone, like Moses. May be the key to understanding our cultural stagnation is the system? This doesn�t contradict but rather reinforces the need for mentors and spiritual guides who give you tools to solemnly conquer the heights or risk falling into abyss.

(this is a follow up on Is this a despite world? and Discrimination against smart kids has to end!)