Seminary notes . . .

Posted: Wed, Jan 04 2012, 8:51 pm Post subject: Seminary notes . . .

I have been out of seminary for 10 years now, and I still have binders and binders full of seminary notes from over 2 years of seminary.

I am trying to declutter, and I don't know if I should keep them or not.

I have all these lofty goals that one day I will type them all up and then I can throw out all my boxes of notes.

But then again in the past 10 years I can count on my hands how many times I have actually used them.
Mostly I just look things up online, or ask rav etc.

What do you ladies do with your notes? I do have a small house and every extra thing that I keep does take up space, but I don't want to regret it if I do throw it away,

Any help will be appreciated very much!

Gold Member Joined: Oct 08 2009 Posts: 1405

This won't help you, but I keep my old high school and seminary notes in my parents house. Lol all my sisters do that, we leave mom with all the garbage!
I'm the sentimental type that hates throwing anything away, so I totally get you. I honestly don't know what I would do in your place...I probably would find some drawer or cabinet to squeeze it into. I'm crazy like that. But if you want to get rid of it, go for it. I don't think you'd regret it once it's done.

Platinum Member Joined: Nov 17 2008 Posts: 5047

Platinum Member Joined: Oct 14 2009 Posts: 5879

So far I've kept the ones from the classes that were most meaningful to me at the time and/or have the most relevance to real life.

Anything messy or that would be hard to decipher later, tossed. But some of my notes were works of art. I kept projects/reports that I was proud of.

Gold Member Joined: Oct 08 2009 Posts: 1405

Diamond Member Joined: Nov 12 2005 Posts: 2715

I don't have seminary notes as such, but for notes, letters, papers and other things I want to save but can't justify keeping in hard copy, I scan in and save as PDFs. I put it on a memory stick and/or email it to myself through gmail (huge free storage) and then I know it's there if ever I need it.

Not that I ever have, mind you ...

Gold Member Joined: Jul 14 2009 Posts: 2094

I have 3 shoe boxes of tapes & haven't listened to in the past 4 yrs (since I got married), I just sorted out 1/2 of them to get rid of & hope to get rid of more at a later date.

Platinum Member Joined: Nov 17 2008 Posts: 5047

Platinum Member Joined: Mar 12 2009 Posts: 13168

I was (was? am ;-P) a real packrat and had a box full of high school notes at my parents' house. They got waterlogged. Oh well. Truth is, 30 years later I would LOVE to have those notes, especially from a a few classes, to show the principals what good teaching and testing is.
I still have sem notes, haven't referred to them. And loads of notebooks since then - I take notes when I go to a shiur during the work, it keeps me up and focused. And I do occasionally refer to them.
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The righteous praise and honor people for every good quality that is found in them while the wicked seek out faults in others to pull them down, even if they repented those deeds. (Rabbeinu Yonah, from Partners in Kindness)

Gold Member Joined: Jun 01 2009 Posts: 2307

I also have lots of books and projects from most of my school years and seminary. Truthfully, I have never even glanced at them since, so why do I still have them? Good question! I somehow can't bring myself to get rid of them... It is a silly thing though so if you've got the courage to get rid of them then please do, I doubt you'll ever miss them!

Beginner Joined: Dec 22 2011 Posts: 11

I went through my sem looseleaf and took out only what was really applicable/inspirational, and removed all the chumash, historia, etc. ---not that it is not important too!!! just wanted to keep the things that made me specifically grow so much in sem. I keep a plastic box in my basement with those notes, my wedding invitations, meaningful bday cards, stuff from when I was engaged, sheva brachos, etc, a newspaper article from when my zaidy was niftar, etc. so mostly my own memory box. I think every person should be allowed ONE box of sentimental things, no explanantions necessary! I allow my kids one box each, too

Beginner Joined: Dec 22 2011 Posts: 11

oh by the way:
it is very daunting to have this huge pile of notes, notebooks, paper, etc. this is what I do: I recently took a fantastic parenting course and it was very extensive. so I leave the notebook next to my bed. whenever I want to read a few mins before bed or while I'm nursing, I grab that book, and slowly I am making my way through it, taking out whats not necessary and highlighting whats important. my point is- maybe go through a few pages a week! not such a crazy goal...

Platinum Member Joined: Apr 12 2010 Posts: 5773

One good thing for living in a different country from my parents!
All my high school and sem notes and books are stored in a closet in their house and I can't bring them over here because well every time I have someone to bring stuff its way more important stuff than sem notes! Laughing

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Gold Member Joined: Nov 01 2010 Posts: 1686

Posted: Thu, Jan 05 2012, 3:58 pm Post subject: re: Seminary notes . . .

I was SO into seminary, two years of it, and the only time I looked at my notes was to show Hadar girls that I had their exact same notes because their principal was my teacher. Every shmita I tell myself that I'll review my Shmita notes. every Erev Pesach I think about reviewing my Tefilla notes. Never happens.

Save a few precious pages, even though you'll probably never get to those either.

Posted: Thu, Jan 05 2012, 4:14 pm Post subject: re: Seminary notes . . .

Toss it all. None of it was original, none of your teachers were poskim and iluyim right? They all learned it somewhere and that somewhere exists either on line today or in a sefer.

Better toss it all and when you need to look something up, go to the original.
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"Olam Chessed Yiboneh", Tehilim 89.

Posted: Thu, Jan 05 2012, 4:19 pm Post subject: re: Seminary notes . . .

It's more for sentimental value. It brings you back emotionally when you see it and remember that "I" learned Hilchos Whatever with Rabbi Whoever.

Silver Member Joined: Apr 28 2009 Posts: 831

I just- literally yesturday- chucked all my h.s., seminary and early teaching year notes and papers. I have not opened them in 10 years, so even though my notes are beautiful it was time. I think you'll feel relieved when you toss them. I was and my husband is very proud of me.

Posted: Thu, Jan 05 2012, 9:19 pm Post subject: re: Seminary notes . . .

while I am sentimental about people and experiences, I am not sentimental about things- including houses, cars, jewelry, etc, and notes. I would not save notes.

Gold Member Joined: Oct 08 2009 Posts: 1405