Rav Kook's Ein Ayah: Subject Matter for the Complete and the Incomplete

(condensed from Berachot 4:18)

Gemara: [The following took place on the day that the more welcoming Rebbi Elazar ben Azarya replaced the less tolerant Rabban Gamliel in the post of Nasi ).  The guard to the entrance of the beit midrash was removed, and permission was given to students to enter, for Rabban Gamliel would announce: “Whoever’s inside is not like his outside should not enter the beit midrash”…. On that day, they studied Eidiyot.

Ein Ayah: This teaches us a great lesson about the importance of increasing the number of students. This is because there are many different ways of learning and not all of them require students to be on a high level.

There is a difference between a witness and a judge. A witness can testify even if he is friendly or antagonistic toward the person he is testifying about because we are not concerned that he will allow such feelings to make him lie. However, such feelings can sway the mind of the judge to unknowingly lean in the direction he desires.

Regarding the study of Torah, the same distinction exists. There are elements of Torah study in which one is like a judge, specifically regarding new halachic issues and matters that are in doubt. To take part in decisions on these matters, one has to have highly refined characteristics. Otherwise, he could be swayed to use incorrect reasoning in coming up with rulings based on his improper natural inclinations.

However, this fear should not cause us to close the doors of the study hall to those who are not of the highest caliber, for there are many elements of Torah in regard to which one is like a witness, not a judge. These include clear cut halachic matters and straightforward matters of ethics. There is no reason to suspect that one will falter or cause others to falter in these areas. In order to show the purpose of removing the guard from the study hall entrance they studied Eidiyot. That involved accepting testimony on halachic matters from people who were not of the highest level but whose testimony about how they had seen halacha implemented was nevertheless accepted in important issues (see Tosefta, Eidiyot 1:3).