Yeshiva University - Masmid Yearbook (New York, NY)

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Mr. Norman B. Abrams Registrar of RIETS RELIGIOUS STUDIES Dr. Hyman B. Grinstein Director of Teachers Institute ADMINISTRATION Rabbi Morris Besdin Chairman of Jewish Studies Program

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Or. Samuel Belkin President. Yeshiva University It seems to me that there are four major dimensions into which all human knowledge naturally falls. These four dimensions may be called the four studies of man. The first of these is a study of the world into which we are born. The second dimension of human knowl- edge we may characterize as the study of the peoples among whom we are born. The third phase of knowledge, we may designate as the study of man himself. For our moral purposes in life we are entirely dependent upon our spiritual heritage and religious experiences, upon the things which we classify as Divine Law rather than as the Laws of Nature. Recognition of the unalterable fact that the moral law is as binding on us as human beings as the laws of nature are on the cosmos, is of paramount importance for the survival of mankind. This moral and spiritual purpose of life in no way conflicts with the three branches of knowledge discussed above. On the contrary, it comolements and supplements the knowledge man has acquired through centuries of living and thinking. It affords an end and ideal purpose for all the inventions and discoveries of the human mind. Only after we succeed in integrating the four phases of knowledge, can we hope to build a peace-loving society. Dr. Samuel Belkin The Four Dimensions of Higher Education

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RIETS 10