How to Study Torah... and the Constitution

I was asked the other day about comparing the study of Torah to the study of the Constitution.  Most of you know that I once went to Seminary. It was a huge mistake, but I did learn a few things when I was there. One of which was how NOT to study scripture.   Unfortunately, in the ensuing years what I have noted is that most people tend to study the Constitution the way that I learned NOT to study Torah.  The biggest difference between Torah and Constitution is the sheer volume of material available – if you know where to look – to anybody who is willing to accept things at face value and not simply ignore an idea because it doesn’t fit your inducted idea.   That really is the hardest part – dropping all of your preconceived ideas, all of your already decided beliefs, and approaching things with an open mind. You will find that you are right about some things, and you will find that you were wildly wrong about some others.   That said, these are my ideas for how to study Torah… I mean the Constitution…