We have now been learning at home for some time. Over the phone, Zoom or something else.
How has everyone's experience been so far?
Has your learning been more focused or less?
Covering more "ground" or less?
More B'iyun or less?
Etc.
On Shushan Purim we changed our night daf yomi from in person after the 945 maariv to 10 PM via teleconference. BH the group has expanded and more than tripled in number as people from the community and outside the community dial in and participate in the nightly chabura.
I am also covering more ground in my personal learning as the lack of a commute home from the office means I can stop work, daven, eat dinner, learn and have a shiur, rather than spend time in traffic, make multiple stops, pick up car pool or go to kids sporting events.
On the downside, my sefarim library is not what I had access to in shul and of course I miss seeing people face to face (and it goes without saying - davening with a minyan).
Still on the personal learning side there is a definite improvement.
Rabbi Frand actually discussed this last week when he discussed the showing of negai'm to the Kohain Gadol. If the Kohain Gadol did not understand what he was looking at, the Toras Kohanim writes that he would have the negah shown to a Chacham who would tell the Kohain HaShoteh (literally an idiot) to say Tahor or Tameh, even though he does not know what he is looking at.
R' Frand said in the name of R' Ruderman that the lesson of the Kohain Gadol saying the one word - Tahor or Tameh, teaches that the person who gets the negah for saying Loshon Hara that one word can make all the difference.
But why is he called a Shoteh instead of an Am Ha'Aretz? R' Frand answered by quoting R' Baruch who in turn quoted his father who noted that the Mechilta teaches that the Kohanim were given the special power to learn and understand Torah. Why? Because most people have to go out and learn a living and don't have the time to devote to learning. We don't have the time and ability to learn all day. But the Kohanim were given the 24 matnos kehunah so that they can sit and learn and they are relieved of the responsibility of earning a living.
Similarly, the people who were in the midbar did not need to earn a living and even their clothes did not wear out. These people, the Manna eaters, says the Mechilta, were also given the special power to learn.
But back to the Kohain Gadol - he is called a Shoteh because he had all the time to learn, but does not know Negai'm because he did not bother to learn. The Am Ha'Aretz is out in the field and does not have time to spend all day learning, but he is not a Shoteh.
R' Frand then remarked that the people who are furloughed or unemployed should put their time to good use and take advantage of the resources to learn while they are home, rather than reading the paper over and over.