Listen to this morning's class on Derekh HaShem here.
Follow along with the sources here.
For further research:
1) Read our devar Torah for Parashat Yitro 2016, related to the central topic of the class, here.
2) Read the "proper" version of the story I referenced, regarding the Gr"a and birkot ha-Torah here.
3) In Source 3 we read about "חכמה יוונית," and mentioned my friend Eliyahu Krakowski's article, "How Much 'Greek' in Greek Wisdom?" Read it here.
4) In Source 4 we mentioned the opinions regarding reading Zohar without understanding. See: a) R. Yaakov M. Hillel's discussion of this matter in his Ad HaGal HaZeh, as well as his citations of b) Shivhei HaAri and c) Hida's Moreh BeEssba.
5) Read Gershom Scholem's "The Meaning of Torah in Jewish Mysticism" here. See specifically pg. 37-44 for his discussion of Ramban's commentary in Source 5.
6) Read a related article that I wrote several years ago, בביאור החילוק שבין תושב"כ לתושבע"פ ולימוד כנתינתה בסיני, here.