Learn Responsibly

Rabbi Judah said: be careful in study (talmud), for an error in study counts as deliberate sin. 

Memory is fragile. Cognitive psychologist, Daniel Schacter, identifies what he calls “The Seven Sins of Memory” that our brains commit that make it difficult to remember information and experiences accurately. Sometimes we are absent-minded or inattentive to content when we are attempting to encode it into memory, so we will not be able to recall it accurately later.  Memories can be distorted by unconscious biases, suppression of disturbing facts, and misattribution of the source of the information. Perhaps the most pervasive problem is what Schacter terms “transience,” which is the fact that memories naturally decay. One of the ways to help prevent transience is through spaced practice, which entails repeating and reviewing information over specific intervals of time.

Rabbi Judah forewarns all learners: “be careful in study, for an error in study counts as deliberate sin.” Gaining clarity in learning is difficult, and remembering what we learn is even more difficult. Scholar of ancient Jewish history, Mira Balberg, elaborates on how the rabbis acknowledged and understood the flaws of memory in her Fractured Tablets: Forgetfulness and Fallibility in Late Ancient Rabbinic Culture. They knew all too well that we are prone to many potential cognitive errors, and our memories have many shortcomings and pitfalls. Therefore, they advocated constant study, repetition, and memorization. Lack of such commitment to compensate for these human limitations, particularly in an oral culture, demonstrates a lack of devotion to God and Torah. 

Knowing what we know about the challenges of human memory, writes Rabbeinu Yonah, Rabbi Judah is putting the onus of responsibility on the individual to do all in his control to avoid cognitive mistakes and to ensure accurate memory storage and retrieval. In his article on the rabbinic approach to memory in the times of the Talmud, Professor Shlomo Naeh compares them to Graeco-Roman strategies for memory retention. There are numerous strategies advocated in the Talmud to help improve memory. Besides for repetition and review, mnemonics are employed regularly, and Bruriah advises verbalization of content. Naeh even connects the rabbinic notion of a “multi-chambered heart” to the ancient practice of creating a memory palace. This strategy is utilized in modern times by professional memory champions, as described by Joshua Foer in his bestselling Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything.

Rabbi Judah’s call for a learner taking responsibility for his or her own learning, writes Dr. Binyamin Ziv, promotes an internal locus of control and a feeling of self-efficacy for the students. This empowers students to understand their own learning process and utilize the best strategies to succeed. In their article “Self-Regulation and Academic Learning: Self-Efficacy Enhancing Interventions”, Dale Schunk and Peggy Ertmer identify several elements that a student needs to incorporate into her approach to successful learning, including; 

setting goals for learning, attending to and concentrating on instruction, using effective strategies to organize, code and rehearse information to be remembered, establishing a productive work environment, using resources effectively, monitoring performance, managing time effectively, seeking assistance when needed, holding positive beliefs about one’s capabilities, the value of learning, the factors influencing learning and the anticipated outcomes of actions, and experiencing pride and satisfaction with one’s efforts.

Becoming a self-regulated learner seems to be an effective way to comply with Rabbi Judah’s advice of being “careful in study.”

Some versions of the Mishna state instead of “be careful in study (talmud),” “be careful with students (talmid). This would highlight not necessarily errors in memory, but mistakes within the transmission of knowledge from teacher to student. It is incumbent on the teacher, writes Rabbi Samuel de Uceda, to make sure to teach clearly and accurately. Rabbi Dr. Reuven Bulka writes sharply;

Any mistake which comes from superficially approaching the learning is one which is founded on an incomplete appreciation of the full import of the teaching position. This is a brazen misrepresentation of a sacred calling. Anything which emanates from such a misrepresentation is considered an intentional sin, because it comes from an inexcusable failure to understand that which should be obvious – that a teacher forms the personality of the student and has a sacred, inviolable, and uncompromising responsibility to be meticulous and scrupulous in study, so that what is imparted in the learning process is absolutely correct.

Teachers who err in their subject-matter, delivery, or their interactions with students, bear the burden of responsibilities for the errors of content or character their students emerge with from the classroom. 

Combining the two versions of “study” and “student,” it would be a beneficial goal for schools, teachers, and parents to focus on helping their students and children become self-regulated learners. As educators, we should be particularly diligent in helping students learn to take responsibility for their own learning.