mind, whetted by talmudic dialectics, would point its edge against theexisting order of things, or turn in the direction of living knowledge,of "extraneous sciences," [3] it was checked by threats ofexcommunication and persecution.Many were the victims of this petrifiedmilieu, whose protests against the old order of things and whosestrivings for a newer life were nipped in the bud.[Footnote 1: On the _bahur_ or Talmud student see Vol.[Footnote 2: On the yeshibah in Volozhin, in the government of... read more
