Many of us tend to think of the stories that appear in the Neviim Rishonim as just that — stories. But a prominent rosh yeshivah who has studied, analyzed, and written and spoken about Navi for decades reveals in an interview that there is a way to see past the simple narrative on the surface and uncover the treasures within.
Iyun (in-depth study) is a term that takes on different meanings for different people. The world of yeshivos today features a variety of different analytical approaches all of which share the goal of delving beneath the surface of the Talmudic text and unearthing the principles the reasoning or the deeper meaning behind its statements. Far less common than the application of an iyun approach to Gemara however is its application to the study of Navi.
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Sosevsky the rosh yeshivah of Yeshivas Ohr Yerushalayim (which is actually located just outside of Yerushalayim) is an accomplished Talmudic scholar and educator who has also devoted a significant amount of time and effort to the study of Navi and has developed a rigorous analytical approach to its study. Some of his lectures on Navi have been released in a series of eight cassette tapes put out by the Orthodox Union in which he presents an analysis of a number of subjects in the Neviim Rishonim.
In an interview with Kolmus Rabbi Sosevsky shared some insights into how the principles of iyun can be applied to the study of the Neviim Rishonim the narrative portion of Navi. With the proper approach Rabbi Sosevsky explains it is possible to uncover incredible depths of meaning beneath the deceptively simple text of Navi and Chazal’s comments on it. This approach he adds is very similar to the way that one dissects and analyzes a Talmudic sugya.
Rabbi Sosevsky’s first experience writing on Navi actually began when he was learning in Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yaakov Yosef on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. After he completed his smichah he began delivering a shiurin English for post-high school students who did not speak Yiddish. He spent the next three years delivering this shiur which brought him to the attention of the Judaica Press publishing house.
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