x42 B flat major  x42 midi   x42 nwc

There are some laws that are from the sages [called "from the words of the scribes"]

 There are some laws that are from the sages [called "from the words of the scribes"] but not from the Torah itself. For most of these laws, the reason for them is known. [But for some of them there is some doubt. E.g. the laws of Mukza on Shabat. There is an argument as to the reason.]

In any case, most rishonim [mediaeval sages] hold when the reason for a law from the words of the sages no longer applies then the law itself is automatically null and void. [This is brought in Tosphot and in the Raavad in laws of Mamrim. There the discussion is about the first fruits that have to be brought to Jerusalem. The Raavad holds since the reason for that law no longer applies so the law no longer applies. 

You could apply this to marriage also. There is an argument if one is forbidden to marry someone from the Seven Canaanite nations or from all nations of idolatry. Since we do not hold from R Shimon Ben Yochai against the sages, so   לא דרשינן טעמא דקרא so only the seven nations are forbidden to the opinion of the Tur.  

 Okinawa should tell us a thing or two about the causalities that we could have expected in getting to mainland Japan. If 66 miles by 7 miles wide cost  95,000 Imperial Japanese Army troops and 20,195 Americans that were killed, then just dare to calculate what mainland Japan would have been like.

So the arguments against the American use of the Atom Bomb I think ignore the situation. Plus the arguments also ignore the issue of self defense. America was attacked --therefore it fought back as is the most basic human right of all--life.

And the demonstration is not a good argument since Japan was given a demonstration. That did not change anything. Then a second demonstration and that also changed nothing. Then the Russians invaded. And that is when the war cabinet assembled to discuss surrender. And even then there were not enough votes for a surrender until the emperor himself intervened and said that, "We are surrendering." [The military thought they still had a few aces up their sleeves--which is true. They had advanced airplanes in development. ] 

[The larger perspective here is this: The people entering this argument have a different purpose in mind. It is this. That whatever the USA does (or has done, or will do) is (was, and will be always) wrong. Their purpose is to disparage the USA at all costs. It does not matter what the subject is. It could be the American Indians or the Civil War or the Middle East. The one major principle of Leftist is always to disparage the USA.

 x41 G Major

Herem [חרם excommunication] of the Gra

 So why is it that the Herem [חרם excommunication] of the Gra is ignored? [That is his signature on the letter of excommunication.] I think it is because people do not realize that a herem is a regular halacha (law) based on nedarim נדרים (vows). The only question would be if a herem is made by someone qualified.  Clearly he was qualified. So it applies according to the strict law.

[Why do I say it comes from nedarim (vows). That is because I saw this in the commentaries on Laws of Shavuot and Nedarim.

So what is a neder (vow)? It is when someone says, "This loaf of bread is forbidden to you like a karban."(קרבן sacrifice brought in the Temple) If that loaf belongs to the speaker, then the neder [vow] is valid, and the other person can not eat from that loaf. אדם יכול לאסור את שלו. So in the case of the Gra,  the herem was valid, and anyone transgressing it even until today  transgresses a prohibition of the Torah.

Rav Nahman I believe was a great tzadik and not under the herem. However he does not seem to have been aware of its validity.   So while `I think the best idea is to be part of a straight Litvak yeshiva, I can see the importance of following the advice of Rav Nahman in the many areas that he touches on. [Rav Nahman himself said a prophet knows only what is revealed to him. He is not "all knowing". It is a mistake to think of any tzadik as impervious to mistake--even the greatest like Moses as we see in the Torah in the case of the waters of Meriva

SO in short there are two reasons to be careful about the herem of the Gra. One: it matters not if one agrees with it. It still has halachic validity. Two: is refers to objective reality.

. 

 Avraham Abulafia [the mystic from the Middle Ages I have mentioned before] had an approach צירוף אותיות combining the letters of the Divine names of God. His approach is brought at length in the Remak (Moshe of Cordoba) and Rav Chaim Vital.

There was a  debate because of his books of prophecy. That I imagine was too much to swallow for many people. But even the Chida (Rav Chaim David Azulai) brings him in Shem HaGedolim.  

[One thing I noticed was his sympathetic approach to Jesus but from what I can tell that was not the reason the Rashba was against him.]

Nachmanides asks in the first mishna in Ketuboth this. We know that if the husband comes to court and says he found his wife not to be a virgin we believe him until she brings proof that she was. [So she loses the Ketubah and also to one opinion the marriage itself is not valid. [It is like when you buy something and what you get were two different things. The whole deal is null in the first place.] ]

The Gemara says the reason is that the Ketubah is from the words of the scribes, not from the Torah. So if it would be from the Torah she would be believed? And he would need to bring proof? But why? In general when a document comes to court that has a condition stated in in it do not we usually say first show that the condition has been fulfilled and then we can deal with the document?

The Ramban [Nachmanides] says the reason she would be believed is there is a Hazaka and a Rov [prior status and a majority that most women are married as virgins.]

So we see a hazaka (status) alone would not be enough. Rav Shach shows why this is the case from Ketuboth 76. There is an exchange of an ass with a cow. The owner of the ass now get the cow. But when the owner of the cow goes to take possession of the ass he finds it dead. Rav Yehuda said in the name of  Shmuel the owner of the ass has to show it was alive at the time of the deal. Tosphot askes over there but why? The owner of the ass already has a hazaka (status) in the cow. [He has already taken possession,] So should not the other party have to bring the proof the ass was not alive at the time of the deal? Answer. It is only a Hazaka. That is not enough when we need clear proof, not just prior assumptions. So we see from this that Where you need proof a Hazaka (status) is not enough, but a hazaka (status) with a rov (majority) would be. [Why would the Rov help? I did not look into this enough yet. But I assume it comes from that Gemara in Ketuboth where you collect the Ketubah because she got married in a garment that is reserved for virgins. That is a Rov (majority).]

There is such a thing as being too smart. Rav Nahman brings this up in the LeM in a few places but the most famous place is around LeM Vol II, chapter 12. "החכמות מטעות את האדם מאד".

You can see this in universities.  On one hand the stupidest people in universities are the students in the psychology departments. That is those are the students and teaches with the lowest IQ. They mostly have two digit IQs. But among the smartest are in the Philosophy departments. [They are not the smartest which are the Physicists.] But in the philosophy department you see this phenomenon that Rav Nahman talks about. They are too smart. At some point the smartness takes them off on some crazy tangent.

Even in Physics it is not the smartest that make the greatest advances. Anything more than an 150 IQ is  detrimental. The super IQ people that get on game shows are never the ones that make real advances. 

To combine faith with reason

To combine faith with reason was a major goal of the Middle Ages. But by means of Torah scholars that are demons as Rav Nahman [of Breslov] brings in the LeM vol I chapter 12 and 28 the Dark Side now tries to destroy faith under the cloak of faith.[It is like Daniel Defoe wrote that in every generation the Dark Side changes and develops new tactics.]

Another  method by which the Dark Side tries to destroy faith is by the disguise of "reason" which as a political system became Socialism. 

Socialism is not a good thing since I do not relish the prospect of the world de-evolving into socialist banana republics like in Africa or South America. I mean who in their right mind would want to live in Niguarda, the Sudan or Venezuela? You really think socialism is so great the  take a look at how it destroys everything in its path.

 The problem with teachers of religion especially in the Jewish world is actually seen from ancient times. That is the false prophets that were documented in the books of Ezekiel and Jeremiah. And you see this in the Mishna and Gemara. The Mishna brings that the prushim [Pharisees] were מכלי עולם (destroyers of the world). [The group of "prushim" ([Pharisees]) are often confused with the sages of the Mishna,- but these are not the same group. The prushim were the religious fanatics. That would be the religious today. This is the opposite of the sages of Mishna who were not trying to make a show of how religious they were, nor trying to use the appearance of Torah to get others to give them money.

[So even though Rav Nahman of Breslov brings up the problem of Torah scholars that are demons in the LeM Vol I ch 12, he is not the first one to notice this problem]

  Here I would like to answer the question I asked on רב שך.  The question was ר' יהודה and ר' שמעון both hold we go by the דרשינן טעמא דקרא, לר' שמעון תמיד ולר' רק כשהטעם נכתב בתוך הפסוק and yet come to opposite conclusions. The answer is this. ר' שמעון מחזיק  we go by both the reason and the literal meaning. You see this in the case in Sanhedrin כ''א ע''א. He says a king may not marry more than שמנה עשרה and also not even one that might turn his heart. It is ר' יהודה that says we go only by the reason when the reason is written.

So back to our subject about marrying a gentile woman. The reason ר' שמעון says not to marry any gentile woman is not because of going by the reason for the verse, but rather because that is the literal meaning of the verse. In that particular verse the seven Canaanite nations are not mentioned even though that is the larger context there. And if he would only go by the reason for the verse he would forbid only seven nations. And the reason ר' יהודה who is the תנא קמא forbids only seven nations is when the reason for the law is written in the verse he goes only by the reason which applies only to the seven nations since they are specially more attached to idolatry more than any other nations.  

כאן ברצוני לענות על השאלה ששאלתי על רב שך. השאלה הייתה שר' יהודה ור' שמעון שניהם מחזיקים שאנחנו הולכים דרשינן טעמא דקרא, לר' שמעון תמיד, ור' יהודה רק כשהטעם נכתב בתוך הפסוק, ובכל זאת מגיעים למסקנות הפוכות. התשובה היא זו. ר' שמעון מחזיק אנחנו הולכים גם לפי הסיבה וגם משמעות המילולית. אתה רואה זאת במקרה בסנהדרין כ''א ע''א. לדבריו, מלך לא יכול להתחתן יותר משמונה עשרה וגם לא אישה כזו שיכולה להפוך את ליבו. ור' יהודה אומר שאנחנו הולכים רק לפי הסיבה כשהסיבה נכתבת בפסוק. אז חזור לנושא שלנו על נישואין לאישה לא יהודיה. הסיבה שר' שמעון אומר שלא להינשא לאישה לא יהודיה אינה בגלל היותה של הסיבה לפסוק, אלא כי זו המשמעות המילולית של הפסוק. באותו פסוק שבעת העמים הכנעניים לא מוזכרים למרות שזה ההקשר הגדול יותר שם. ואם רק נלך לפי הסיבה לפסוק זה היה אוסר רק על שבעת האומות. והסיבה שר' יהודה שהוא התנא קמא אוסר רק שבעת האומות היא כאשר הסיבה לחוק כתובה בפסוק הוא הולך רק לפי הסיבה שמתייחסת רק לשבע העמים מכיוון שהם קשורים במיוחד לעבודת אלילים יותר מכל עם אחר

 Here I would like to answer the question I asked on Rav Shach in my previous two blog entries.  The question was R. Yehuda and R Shimon both hold we go by the reason for the verse and yet come to opposite conclusions. The answer is this. R Shimon hold we go by both the reason and the literal meaning. You see this in the case in Sanhedrin 21a. He says a king may not marry more than 18 and also not even one that might turn his heart. It is R Yehuda that says we go only by the reason when the reason is written.

So back to our sugia/ subject about marrying a gentile woman. The reason R Shimon says not to marry any gentile woman is not because of going by the reason for the verse, but rather because that is the literal meaning of the verse. In that particular verse the seven Canaanite nations are not mentioned even though that is the larger context there. And if he would only go by the reason for the verse he would forbid only teh seven nations. And the reason R Yehuda who is the Tana Kama [sages] forbids only teh seven nations is when the reason for the law is written in the verse he goes only by the reason which applies only to the seven nations since they are specially more attached to idolatry more than any other nations.  

There is an מחלוקת between ר' שמעון בן יוחאי and the חכמים if one can marry a woman who is a gentile but not from the seven Canaanite nations יבמות דף כ''ג ע''ב.

 There is an מחלוקת between ר' שמעון בן יוחאי and the חכמים  if one can marry a woman who is a gentile but not from the seven nations של כנען יבמות דף  כ''ג ע''ב. To the חכמים this is allowed since the actual verse forbids specifically the seven nations. And in fact that is how the טור decided the halacha which is against the רמב''ם. That verse says more or less לא תתחתן בם בתך לא תיתן לבנו ובתו לא תיקח לבניך Now ר' שמעון says this is not allowed since דורשין טעמא דקרא. The well known question here is clear. ההלכה היא שלא דרשינן טעמא דקרא

 Now רב שך answers based on a גמרא in סנהדרין. In an argument there on page כ''א ע''א the חכמים say a king can not marry more than eighteen wives לא ירבה לו נשים. Now ר' יהודה says he can have more as long as they do not turn his heart, i.e. he goes only  by the reason. ר' שמעון says you go by both the literal meaning and also the reason. So even one that turns his heart, he can not marry. And more than eighteen even like Abigail wife of king David. So what רב שך is saying is the Rambam in fact goes by the first sage תנא קמא not like ר' יהודה nor ר' שמעון. And when the גמרא says the תנא קמא of ר' שמעון can marry a gentile is meaning ר' יהודה. He would allow this because he goes the reason alone. רב שך is saying the verse itself he says is in fact talking about the seven nations but we do not care about that and rather go only by the reason which expands it to all gentiles. THAT IS he is saying the רמב''ם understands that גמרא in יבמות differently that we usually understand it. לי יש קשה. For to ר' שמעון  we go by the reason for the verse and so we forbid marrying all nations עובדי עבודה זרה עכו''ם. And ר' יהודה goes by the reason for the verse when the reason is written into the verse and so he forbids only the seven nations. So I have to admit I am confused here. I assume there must be a way of answering for רב שך but it does not occur to me this minute.  

יש מחלוקת בין ר 'שמעון בן יוחאי לחכמים אם אפשר להתחתן עם אישה שהיא גויה אך לא משבע האומות של כנען יבמות דף כ''ג ע''ב. לחכמים זה מותר שכן הפסוק אוסר רק שבעת האומות. ולמעשה כך החליט טור את ההלכה שהיא נגד הרמב''ם. הפסוק הזה אומר לא תתחתן בם בתך לא תיתן לבנו ובתו לא תיקח לבניך עכשיו  ר’ שמעון אומר שזה לא מותר בגלל שדורשין טעמא דקרא. השאלה הידועה כאן ברורה. ההלכה היא שלא דרשינן טעמא דקרא עכשיו רב שך עונה על סמך הגמרא בסנהדרין. בוויכוח שם בעמוד כ''א ע''א הוא כך. אומרים החכמים מלך לא יכול להינשא ליותר משמונה עשרה נשים לא ירבה לו נשים. עכשיו ר' יהודה אומר שהוא יכול לקבל יותר כל עוד שהן לא הופכות את ליבו, כלומר הוא הולך רק לפי הסיבה של הקרא . ר' שמעון אומר שאתה הולך לפי המשמעות המילולית וגם הסיבה. אז גם אחת שמסירה את ליבו, הוא לא יכול להתחתן איתה. ולא יותר משמונה עשרה אפילו כמו אביגיל אשת המלך דוד. אז מה שרב שך אומר הוא שהרמב"ם למעשה הולך לפי התנא קמא לא כמו ר 'יהודה ולא ר' שמעון. כשהגמרא אומרת שהתנא קמא של ר 'שמעון יכול להתחתן עם גוי פירושו ר' יהודה. הוא יאפשר זאת כי הוא הולך לפי הסיבה לבד. רב שך אומר שהפסוק עצמו הוא אומר מדבר על שבעת האומות, אך לא אכפת לנו מזה, אלא הולכים רק לפי הסיבה שמרחיבה את הפסוק לכל הגויים. כלומר הוא אומר שהרמב''ם מבין הגמרא ביבמות אחרת שאנחנו בדרך כלל מבינים את זה. לי יש קשה. כי לר' שמעון אנו הולכים לפי הסיבה לפסוק ולכן אנו אוסרים להתחתן עם כל העמים עובדי עבודה זרה עכו''ם. ור 'יהודה הולך גם לפי הסיבה לפסוק כאשר הסיבה כתובה לפסוק, ולכן הוא אוסר רק על שבעת האומות. זאת נראית סתירה  

An argument between the Tur and the Rambam if one can marry a woman who is a gentile.

There is an argument between R Shimon ben Yochai and the Sages if one can marry a woman who is a idolater but not from the seven Canaanite nations [Emori, Hiti, etc.] [Yebamot 36b]

To the sages this is allowed since the actual verse forbids specifically the seven nations. [And in fact that is how the Tur decided the halacha which is against the Rambam ] R. Shimon says this is not allowed since you go by the reason for the verse.

[That verse says more or less "Do not marry a woman from them (the context refers to the seven Canaanite nations) because they might tilt your heart"] 

The well known question here is clear. The law like the sages. 

Rav Shach answers based on a Gemara in Sanhedrin. In an argument there on page 21a the sages say a king can not marry more than eighteen wives [לא ירבה לו נשים] R Yehuda says he can have more as long as they do not turn his heart, i.e. he goes only  by the reason. R. Shimon says you go by both the literal meaning and also the reason. so even one that turns his heart he can not marry. and more than 18 even like Abigail wife of king David. So what Rav Shach is saying is the Rambam in fact goes by the first sage [Tana Kama] not like R. Yehuda nor R. Shimon. and when the Gemara says the sages of R. Shimon can marry a gentile is meaning R. Yehuda. he would allow this because he goes the reason alone. Rav Shach is saying the verse itself he says is in fact talking about the seven nations but we do not care about that and rather go only by the reason which expands it to all gentiles. THAT IS he is saying the Rambam understands that Gemara in Yevamot differently that we usually understand it.

I have to admit I am having trouble understanding Rav Shach. I definitely need to spend a lot more time on that section. For to R Shimon we go by the reason for the verse and so we forbid marrying all nations that worship idols [Akum]. And R Yehuda goes by the reason for the verse [when the reason is written into the verse] and so he forbids only the seven nations. So I have to admit I am confused here. I assume there must be a way of answering for Rav Shach but it does not occur to me this minute.  

[Just information for the general public. Idol worshipers means people that worship idols, not all gentiles. But because of the censors it is hard to know what the original Gemara was saying.

[Later note: In a later blog entry I answered this. The basic idea is that the argument in Yevamot is not between R. Shimon and the sages that always go by the literal meaning, but R. Shimon and R Yehuda who goes only by the  spirit of the verse when both are written. R Shimon goes by both when both are written. So back to our case: 

To R Shimon only the 7 nations are forbidden because of the spirit of the verse. To R Yehuda all nations are forbidden since the seven nations are not in fact mentioned openly in that specific verse. 

x40  E Flat Major

Schools of thought that have gone after Kant and other kinds of schools that have gone after Hegel.

 As is well known there has been a lot of  friction between the schools of thought that have gone after Kant and the other kinds of schools that have gone after Hegel.

Most of the critiques on Hegel seem to focus on his political ideas, and how the Communists took over parts of his ideas to justify their actions.

My feeling about all this is that the later schools that took off from Kant are mostly ready for the trash as Robert Hanna goes into excruciating  detail to show. [That is he shows the flaws of all the off shoots of Analytic philosophy of the 20th century.] His motto is "Forward to Kant". Yet I think that the school of thought of Kelley Ross and Leonard Nelson is a great development of Kant.

[Some of the questions on Hegel were answered by Cunningham and McTaggart. I feel that there is no system that cannot be misused. So the fact that Hegel is not a socialist at all should count. He does not hold of government control of industry or property.] 

I would be happy if it was possible to take the good on the Kant Fries School of Nelson and Ross and at the same time not ignore the important contributions of Hegel.

So my point here is what is worth spending time on? I mean you only have  a certain amount of hours in each day. So to spend more time on philosophy than is really needed, I would rather not do. I want to get the best, and then move on to other things [the Avi Ezri of Rav Shach and Physics] that I need more urgently. So to get a good picture of philosophy it is helpful to have people that are good at building a system or making improvements on existing systems. It is even more helpful to have people that can critique and show the flaws of some supposedly well thought out systems. For example Habermas showed his real genius in a short paper that blew Rawls's Theory of Justice out of the water. Robert Hanna nuked twentieth century philosophy. So by default who is left standing? Kant and Hegel. But there were plenty of detours that lead to dead ends like Marxism and other kinds of off shoots. So that is why I am saying Kelley Ross and Leonard Nelson are the  best developments of Kant and Mc Taggart and Cunningham the best to show what Hegel is all about.

the subject of ספק ספיקא

 I wanted to go into the subject of ספק ספיקא in short. The wife of a kohen was found not to have been a virgin, so she is forbidden since the sex might have been after she was betrothed. Tosphot asks what about the status that she is assumed Ok חזקת כשרות until proven otherwise? Answer: the  prior status of the body חזקת הגוף goes against that since it shows she remained a virgin until the last possible minute. That pushes the act to be during the time she was betrothed. R. Akiva Eigger asks but status of "now" [חזקת השתא] pushes that back in time. I.e. we assume the way things are now goes back in time until the farthest possible moment. He answers that status does not join with status of her being allowed to her husband since these two different kinds of status say different things.(החזקות לא מצטרפות)

Rav Shach asked that R Eigger himself say elsewhere that that point itself is subject to an argument between Rav and Shmuel. His answer requires showing his point from a lot of places, but the short of it is that status of now only can put a prior status in doubt if the prior status was already weak. But if it is strong, then the status of now does not count at all.

 A lot of people get affected by some mental trap. There is a remarkable cure for this from Rav Nahman of Breslov: i.e., the prayer of Chavakook the prophet. That is the last part of that book. You can find this in the Bible in the minor prophets.

The fact is that nowadays with the whole world going insane, this seems like a good idea for people to say and even to say it as they are walking on the street. For the Evil Inclination, the Satan is attacking everyone in their thoughts. Bringing people to think exactly the things that are wrong and hurtful for them to think. This is a new technique of the evil inclination. For in former years people had to seek out evil ideas and insanities. Now these same evil thoughts come to everyone uninvited.  

[the prayer is השם שמעתי שמעך יראתי  השם פעלך בקרב שנים בקרב שנים תודיע ברוגז רחם תזכור Load i have heard about you and i was afraid. Lord you works are in the midst of years, in the midst of years let there be known, in anger remember to have mercy, etc.]

"Iyun" in depth learning and combine that with fast learning.

The idea of saying the words forwards and backwards as a way of doing "Iyun" in depth learning I found amazingly helpful when I was at Polytechnic Institute of NYU. I certainly see that it can get one bogged down if he does no fast learning either. Still in a situation where I found I had a time limit on how much I could study before exams, this method of saying the words forwards and backwards was helpful.

You can see this method in Rav Avraham Abulafia, a mystic of the Middle Ages [who is brought a lot as an authority by Rav Haim Vital and the Remak/Rav Moshe of Cordoba.]

When I first got to Shar Yashuv [beginner's yeshiva in NY] my first year was very difficult because there were no structured classes. I had to beg people to teach me anything. But I did manage to sort of get started. The second year was Hulin and that is when I began to understand the Litvak emphasis on "Iyun" in depth learning. The third year there was a class but instead I joined the group of Naphtali Yegger and then I began to see the depths of Gemara and Tosphot. But I could not do that own my own. So on my own I did just Tosphot along with the Maharsha and whatever Rishonim that seemed relevant to the sugia.

But all that time I had my separate sessions of learning fast in order to finish each tractate with Rashi and Tosphot. So I began to gain an appreciation for the idea of combining these two kinds of learning.

 I tend to be careful about rebuke because of Rav Nahman of Breslov's last Torah lesson. LeM vol II section 8. "Even though rebuke is a commandment in the Torah and everyone is required to rebuke their fellow man when they see him acting not properly, still not everyone is fit to rebuke as R. Akiva said, 'I would be surprised if anyone in this generation is fit to give rebuke.'"

What makes this especially significant is the in the thought of Rav Nahman, the later a Torah lesson was the more important it was. 

So by implication the idea of not giving rebuke (even when you think it is required) is the peak of all his Torah lessons.

Separation of religion and state. Even the thought that the religious authorities would have power gives me nightmares.

 Separation of religion and state is a big issue in Israel. But I can not see any source in Torah for this. Nor is it in the Constitution. "No national church" written in the Constitution of the USA is not the same as separation of church and state.

Still, in Israel I can see the point of this since the religious tend to be insane. [There is also the problem of group insanity besides individual insanity.] Even the thought that the religious authorities would have power gives me nightmares.

So why is this important principle not found in Torah? ANSWER: one of the reasons for the mitzvot is "shalom ha'Medina" (peace of the country), and experience has shown than power of religious authorities is highly detrimental to peace of the state and of the family, therefore one should have separation of religion and state.

 

Who is "Akum" עכו''ם עובד כוכבים ומזלות [idolater]

 Who is "Akum" עכו''ם עובד כוכבים ומזלות [idolater]? This is an argument among rishonim. The Rambam (as is well known) holds Christians are in that category. To Tosphot in Tractate Avida Zara, they are not because "shituf" ["joining" with God ] is not idolatry. This comes up because this argument is often ignored and people think the Rambam is the only opinion. That is just not so.

However the particular Tosphot that deals with this issue seems to have about three separate reason for the fact that Christians are not idolaters. [But besides his depending on that Gemara itself that Shituf is not idolatry, I forgot the other reasons.]

I might add here that Aquinas spent a good deal of effort in defining and defending the idea of Divine simplicity. He shows that according to the Torah, God is "simple" which means not a composite. And he shows that that does work within his context.  Divine simplicity is central to Torah faith as no one in the Middle Ages disagreed with.

[Divine simplicity was a major issue in the middle ages and in fact probably was the reason that the Platonic model of Emanation was dropped and the Aristotelean model was adopted.]

 

 In the History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides there is a passage about revolutions. It is very accurate and gives one the chills. The idea is that  it brings out the worst in people.

[Though the War of Independence is called "revolution," it was to preserve the structure that had been in place from before Parliament started treating the colonies as serfs.]

A head covering, there is no requirement of such a thing except for during the public reading of Torah as brought in Mesechet Sofrim.

 The religious clothing has always seemed a little "off " to me. For one thing, you are not supposed to advertise how religious you are. מה השם אלוהיך שואל ממך ... והצנע לכת עם אלוהיך

"What does the Lord your God ask from you ... and to walk modesty with your God".

The skull cap itself has seemed to me to be even worse. There is no record of Jews wearing such a thing until long after it was the custom of popes and bishops. [Take a look at all paintings and drawings of Jews from the Middle Ages. There is not one skull cap.]

If the issue is a head covering, there is no requirement of such a thing except for during the public reading of Torah as brought in Mesechet Sofrim [not from the Mishna but one of the books on halacha from chazal/the sages.  The Taz wants to add that not wearing a head covering is the custom of gentiles. That is odd, since the skull cap itself is the custom of popes and bishops. So the Kipa itself is minhag hagoyim (custom of the gentiles). 

יצחק קדורי Rav Isaac Kaduri one of the most well respected mystics in Israel left a not that was not to be opened until after he died. It was opened and said the name of the true messiah is Yeshua [the well known name of Jesus in Hebrew]. It was ignored as you can imagine. Still, it does lend a degree of credibility to Rav Avraham Abulafia [a "mekubal" mystic from the Middle Ages] who wrote that Jesus is the messiah son of Joseph that is mentioned in the end of the Talmud tractate of Suka [Also this subject is brought up in Kol HaTor of the Gra and the New Tikunim  of the Ramchal.]

 Leftists used to hold up Venezuela as the best example of Socialism. They actually wrote that the USA needs to learn how to run a country from Venezuela. 

Now if you really want to know about the results of Socialism take  look at this:

The Neo Kantian

The Neo Kantian schools of thought  were either about justifying science or culture which clearly were the last things on Kant's mind. Rather the question of Kant and of Metaphysics in general is "What is it all about?"

I might offer here a suggestion--that had he known about Leonard Nelson,[friesian.com] he might have seen the exact kind of development of Kant that he was seeking. [With Leonard Nelson the answer to How is synthetic a priori possible? The answer is by means of immediate non intuitive knowledge--i.e.  faith.]

I certainly did. For faith needs a certain amount of justification. Those that think they are supporting faith by divorcing it from reason, are undermining real faith and fall and bring others into lying faiths. 

[As Brand Blanshard wrote in a similar vein: "Now the result of this line of defense [of faith and morality by means of divorcing faith from reason] is not really to save morality, but to throw all morality into confusion." 

So as all Rishonim [sought for a synthesis of faith and reason] I see in Leonard Nelson a way forward. 

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On my way back from Uman by Grayhound bus I traveled through South Dakota. I am happy to see they have a great governor

 

 I had a lot of benefit from the advice of Rav Nahman of Breslov. Even though I had wanted very much to go into Physics when I was young, still I had no method of learning whereby I could do well until I discovered the way of learning of Rav Nahman. [Conversation of Rav Nahman 76.]

That helped me at first to do a considerable amount of Gemara. Then later I applied it to Physics.

[It is mainly just saying the words in order and going on. But it only works if you believe. For after all, the learning does not go in right away. Rather by saying the words, the learning gets absorbed into one subconscious and there is processed until much later it bears fruit. ]

[Rav Nahman only said this method in reference with Torah learning, but since I saw some rishonim the importance of Physics and Math I decided to try that method in an expanded way. I am not saying to be "Breslov". In fact, some kind of combination seems to be needed for me. A sort of balance. Torah with Derech Eretz.  [Torah with the way of the Earth. That is balance. It seems to me that the major way to gain learning Torah is only with the path of the Gra. In spite of the amazing advice of Rav Nahman about learning Torah, still the major benefit seems to be only within the context of the path of the Gra. and Rav Shach.  On the other hand I can see that the path of the Lithuanian yeshivot can be lacking some of the major benefits of the path of Rav Nahman. So  And even both of them have some areas where they are lacking. You can see this spelled out clearly in the 13 stories of Rav Nahman where each the king's ministers were all dispersed at the time of the great hurricane. So where you find one kind perfection you do not find another. So the thing to do is to bring teh different aspects of God's light together. See that story in detail and you will see what I mean.]

"Bitul Torah" [Wasting time which could be used for learning Torah.]

 Rav Natan the student of Rav Nahman of Breslov told over an event that happened a little before his time about "Bitul Torah". [Wasting time which could be used for learning Torah.]]

This came about because Rav Natan was on his way to Israel and dealing with dishonest agents in the Ukraine trying to pay for a ticket on a ship to Israel. He was aware of cheating agents and within telling this over he told a story about a person he had heard about who was a tremendous matmid [diligent] in Torah. That person [Leib Ashkenazi] also wanted to go to Israel and pay for a ticket from some agent and went into the boat and waited there until it was to start the trip. He waited there a day. Then another day. Then a week. Then a month. Then 6 months. Then decided to leave the ship and ask what was going on? He found out the ship had been out of service already for a few years. So he went and told the agent, "For the money I lost I forgive you. But I do not forgive you for the bitul Torah [casuing me to lose time from learning Torah]." That agent had two daughters. One died. Then the other. And then the agent himself. 

I can definitely relate to this. But it is hard to explain to someone who has not felt the awesome power and beauty of Torah. 

I know it sounds like bitul Torah when I suggest learning Physics and Mathematics. However I am depending on Saadia Gaon and a couple of Rishonim that hold they are part of learning Torah. [Not all rishonim.]

[I can also relate to the story of Rav Natan because I felt also that there were forces pulling me away from learning Torah that I regret.]

I would say the words or every page of my Physics texts forwards and backwards. This helped a lot in the short term for me to pass tests. But it was too slow for an over all understanding.

The basic approach of Rav Nahman of Uman and Breslov was the learn fast and this was not just for himself, but told all his students to do so. You can see this in the end of the Conversations of Rav Nahman 76 where he goes into all the things one must finish every year. (I.e. the two Talmuds and all the midrashei agada and midrashei halacha). Still review is a part of his system also. The doubt is where does review fit in? A little, or  a lot? And when? It is hard to know.

But I wanted to mention that I found a kind of balance to be the best approach, and this helped me also when I was majoring in Physics. 

I think you can understand this in this way. The fast kind of learning("just say the words in order and go on with no review until you finish the book, and then go back to the beginning and start again") seems to work over a long period of time. It helps to get the overall outline of the subject. The detailed kind of learning with lots of review and in depth analysis seems to work best for having to past tests and get a degree. It does not take the place of the other.''

AT Polytechnic of NYU, I used to do my old forward and backwards method of learning in depth. That is, I would say the words or every page of my Physics texts forwards and backwards. But that is the in-depth class. The fast learning sessions was done also but not when I actually had to take tests. During that time, I had little time for the fast learning.  

Kant-Fries school

https://www.friesian.com/ross/#curse

The curse of the Friesian school: "Nevertheless, I have not met a single contemporary academic colleague whop was the least interested in the Friesian School, or my work, or who, upon acquaintance, barely took the trouble to give me the time of day. If that."

I am on board with Leonard Nelson of the Kant-Fries school. Faith there is contained in an area of knowledge which is known, but not by sensory perception nor by reason.

So this seems to strike the right balance between Enlightenment Reason and Faith. Kant had tried the same balance but his solution seems a bit lacking.

So reason applies to experience.. Beyond that there is a kind of non intuitive immediate knowledge. [Hegel also tried to find this same kind of balance, but the Leonard Nelson Kelley Ross seems a bit better to me.] 

Someone asked me then how do we know natural law? 

I answered: "I guess you must mean Natural law known by reason. But reason might have limits. That was the point of Hume. The point was weak in one way in that he never showed the limits of reason. [And so you get G.E Moore and Dr Huemer because of that.] But still it does seem clear  that knowing things true by definition is different [analytic a priori ] than knowing things you have to put together [synthetic a priori] . And even in that area of things you need to put together it seems there is a kind of limit about things that you can sense, [conditions of possible experience]. Once you get into moral law it does look that a different kind of knowledge is used to understand things.[un-condioned realities]" 

[The well known proponent of Kant-Fries is Kelley Ross, but Robert Hanna goes into more detail in showing the attacks against Kant in the "Analytic school" are wrong. Dr. Ross does bring Jerold Katz, but Robert Hanna goes into much more detail.]

Georg Hamann was I think the best of those pointing out flaws in the Enlightenment, Still I think a balance is the best. Kind of like the mediaeval synthesis of faith and reason.

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 God knows that not all Litvish yeshivot [based on the Gra] are all of the same caliber. Especially the places that are shiduch yeshivot.  [That is people are there for the name of the place in order to get a good shiduch,] This becomes apparent in the approach of people that come from there to use Torah to make money. Often this is not limited to Shiduch yeshivot but places that people and out there just for the name.

But you have to ask yourself what the alternative is? No other kinds of places have authentic Torah.

And there issue is not just authentic Torah which one could learn on one's own. I mean one could learn Tosphot, R Akiva Eiger , the Ketzot etc in order to see and understand a drop of the depths of authentic Torah on one's own. But the way I see it that this is very difficult to do without an environment of Torah learning.

 And almost no one stands against the Sitra Achra [the Dark Side] that has penetrated into the Torah world except for Litvak yeshivas. Most of the religious world is highly highly compromised by the Dark Side. At least the Litvak yeshiva based on the Gra provide a kind of shield.

The two places I was at were both great: Shar Yashuv and the Mir in NY. But from what I can tell most Litvak yeshivas are great. Probably the best is Ponovitch in Bnei Brak. [Or off-shoots of Ponovitch.]

If only there would be a straight Gra type of Litvak yeshiva in my area I would rejoice.

But there is not. So all I can do is to try to learn the one single volume of Rav Shach's Avi Ezri that I do have. [It is the only Torah book that I have.]

 The unpatriotic academia has been putting down anything that even slightly has a hint of American patriotism. Robert E Lee was a patriot to the USA but also of his state of Virginia. When there was a conflict he choose Virginia--so as not to be fighting against his own flesh and blood. Nowadays the ties that once bound Americans together are gone as a result of this constant attack against the USA within Academia.

See the paper by Robert Hanna that shows an example of sheer pure hatred of the USA has been a part of academia for about 70 years. [https://againstprofphil.org/2020/10/05/how-not-to-live-a-double-life-the-ballad-of-donald-kalish-and-angela-davis/]

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I ought to mention that I see he has great points which are worthy of bringing up but my approach is simply that in the Torah there is private property as we see in Bava Kama, Bava Mezia and Bava Batra and so for me that is the end of the conversation.

 Rav Shach noticed an argument between Old Tosphot ([תוספות ישנים] )and the regular Tosphot plus Rambam that most people have not noticed. [Old Tosphot is the version of Tosphot before the final editing.]

In a  case of מוציא שם רע (slander) a נערה מאורסה [engaged girl from 12-12.5 ] that has had sex with someone other than her husband gets stoned at the entrance of her father's home. [That is engagement makes her married. "Kidushin" what makes her engaged, and the Hupa is when she comes into her husband's domain;--but she is still married at the engagement. Nowadays, engagement is just an official agreement to get married. That is different from "kidushin".]

But there is also a case of a engaged girl that gets stoned regularly, not at the door of her father's home.

That is when she did not fool him. That is she might let's say have committed adultery when engaged, but after that told her husband and still witnesses come. So there is regular stoning, not at her father's home.

The difference we know from Tosphot [תוספות ישנים] is if she fooled him. [Based on Rav Shila in Ketuboth pages 45 to 46.] That is,--lets says she had sex before the Chupa and then goes through with the Chupa without telling him. Or there was Chupa and she had sex and then sleeps with her husband after that. In these cases to Tosphot she fooled him so she gets stoned at her father's home.

But in Mishna Torah [Laws of forbidden relations chapter 3. Halacha 8 and halacha 10] there are the exact same situations except the difference between regular stoning and stoning at her father's house is if the later case is מוציא שם רע [slander]. That is her husband calls to witnesses and askes them to testify for him.

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Rav Yaakov Emden and the Zohar.

 Rav Yaakov Emden was the beginning of looking at the Zohar in a way that would precede academia.

He decided that some parts were probably authentic documents from ancient sources like ספרא דצניעותא.

Besides that, it is mostly midrashim translated into Aramaic, and has a basic idea that is taking one word to mean the shechina and another word to mean tiferet. It also takes plenty of previous mystics of the Middle Ages [like the Ramban himself]  and translates them into Aramaic,

I did not find all that terribly inspiring. I have to add that the mystic tradition never started with the Zohar, but rather with Sefer Yezira, and there were plenty of mystics around in the Middle Ages way before the Zohar. [e.g the Ramban.]

But I would not think to spend time on it because of the phrase עם כל דא a medieval innovation of how to say "although" instead of the regular אף על פי. [How can an invention of the Middle Ages be in a book by R. Shimon ben Yochai? Answer: It is not. The book was written during the Middle Ages. The "Im kol da" is the smoking gun that shows when it was written.

So it is not from R. Shimon Ben Yochai.

[In short, the original events were thus.-- Isaac from Acco was in Spain, and met up with Moshe De'Leon and asked him about the Zohar. Moshe had been selling it page by page claiming it was from an ancient manuscript. So Isaac asked him about this, and said that people were claiming that there is no original. Moshe swore, "May G-d strike me down if I do not have an original manuscript, and I will show you when you come to my home." They had met up in a different city. On the way to his city Moshe de'Leon, in fact, was struck down, but Isaac continued and got to his home where his widow was. He offered to her a large sum of money just to see the original manuscript. She said, "There is no such thing. Rather he (Moshe DeLeon) was writing it from his head."]

The problem with Torah scholars that are demons as brought in the LeM of Rav Nahman is that once you know about the existence of these demons, it becomes hard to know where to find and learn true authentic Torah.

For that reason it occurs to me that it would be  a good idea to an authentic Litvak yeshiva in every city so that at least people could have an idea of what the Torah actual teaches- even if it is hard to keep everything.

The problem simply is that the Sitra achra has gotten mixed up with authentic Torah.  

However these so called "kollels" do not count. The problem with kollel is using Torah to make money simply is not legitimate. And the proof is in the pudding. But that is not teh only trouble. So some reason the entire religious world got to be so infiltrated by the Dark Side that there is almost no mitzvah one can do that counts. I mean to say for example an Etrog of the Sitra Achra or idolatry one does not fulfil the obligation of Etrog since  any object of idolatry has to be crushed up and destroyed. And since an Etrog requires a size, an etrog of the Sitra achra does not fulfill the mitzvah.

So even before you could have any yeshiva that is legitimate you would have to start listening to the Gra in the first place and his signature on teh letter of excommunication. 

[In the LeM vol I sec. 12 it seems the main thing about Torah scholars that are demons is the "shelo Lishma" aspect. [I.e., they learn Torah for money or honor. But I have avoided mentioning that because sometimes you can have a person in kollel who is learning Torah for its own sake but still just to survive has to accept money. He is not using Torah to make money but rather accepting charity as being the only way he can manage to continue learning Torah.  So the distinction between and authentic Torah scholar and a Torah scholar who is a demon is not at all that clear or easy to see. The best rule of thumb is to go by the Gra. Even though there might be exceptions even when people are following the path of the Gra, still that is the best indication of one learning Torah for its own sake.]

 There are certain values that are embedded in the holy Torah Private property is one. This is hard to miss in the  tractates that are learnt in Litvak yeshivot, Bava Kama, Bava Mezia, Bava Batra.

The idea of taking from rich people is mere theft. 

Theft is not a side or periphery issue in Torah but right in the Ten Commandments.

So there is not way a honest Jew can vote for the  Marxist agenda. 

You can not vote to steal money from people and then think you are a good Jew.

The nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court,

As long as she is a nominee of President Trump, the Left will stop at nothing to try to destroy her. I do not think the Catholic thing is the major issue. The real issue is she is not a Marxist. She believes in the Ten Commandments. And to the Left, that is damning evidence.

The Left ought to just come out with it and ask:

 "Judge  Barrett, have you at any time obeyed your husband. Yes or No?"

the main repentance is that when one hears his insult to be quite and not answer.

Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick  could have learned the LeM volume I section 6 and saved his life.

There is brought that the main repentance is that when one hears his insult to be quite and not answer. עיקר התשובה כשישמע בזיונו יידום וישתוק.

He had been insulted terribly by King Edward IV. He had been sent to France to arrange a marriage that would connect him to the royal family of France. When he returned Edward announced that he was already married. I.e. he made a joke out of Warwick. That kind of thing happened enough that finally Warwick took it to heart. [note 1] He was not in the category of hearing his insult and being quiet and accepting. One day after a few years Edward needed the help of Warwick. The reply was a deafening silence. Why? Because he was already making plans to overthrow Edward. That rebellion eventually failed and Warwick was killed. Can you imagine what would have happened if Warwick had been learning the LeM Torah lesson 6 about accepting one's insult?

But it is not just Warwick. Often people do not want to suffer a small hurt or insult and because of that end up suffering a much larger insult or hurt.

So the lesson to learn is to learn Torah lesson 6 in the LeM to remind oneself how important it is to not answer even though one has been insulted.

[note 1] The problem was it was not just an insult. Warwick felt that that was poor gratitude for helping Edward become king in the first place.

 I have a question on the ראב''ד. In Laws of forbidden relations [chapter 1. law 22] the ראב''ד says the reason a כהן gets lashes in a case of קינוי וסתירה ועד אחד is because of והיא נטמאה שכתוב לגבי סוטה. Now רב שך explains it thus. Normally והיא נטמאה means it is like the ערווה של היחסיים האסורים of ויקרא י''ח  which we learn from יבמות דף י''א about a סוטה. But a כהן is different. If his wife has had sex with someone even by rape she still is forbidden to her husband and so it is an איסור כהונה not ערווה. and so one witness is enough to get her husband lashes since it is  a regular law and one witness is believed in regular prohibition that are not עריות. To the ראב''ד, she is not a זונה because we do not believe one witness in the case of  a married woman. The question I have here is that the גמרא in יבמות makes no distinction between a כהן and a ישראל when it comes to an איסור סוטה which is the איסור of "והיא נטמאה". I mean to say that it say a סוטה does not get ייבום because טומאה is written by her and by that there is a גזירה שווה to עריות. So we see openly the גמרא makes no distinction between whether she is the wife of a  כהן or not. It is all עריות and if it is all עריות you need two witness!

יש לי שאלה על הראב''ד. בהלכות איסורי ביאה פרק א’ הלכה כ’’ב הראב''ד אומר הסיבה שכהן מקבל מכות במקרה של קינוי וסתירה ועד אחד היא בגלל והיא נטמאה שכתוב לגבי סוטה. עכשיו רב שך מסביר זאת כך. בדרך כלל והיא נטמאה פירושו שזה כמו הערווה של היחסים האסורים של ויקרא י''ח אותה אנו למדים  מן יבמות דף י''א על סוטה. אבל כהן הוא שונה. אם אשתו קיימה יחסי מין עם מישהו אפילו על ידי אנוס, היא עדיין אסורה לבעלה הכהן ולכן זהו איסור כהונה ולא ערווה. ולכן די בעד אחד כדי לקבל מלקות מכיוון שזה חוק רגיל ועד אחד נאמן באיסורים קבוע שאינם עריות. [בעיני הראב''ד היא איננה זונה משום שאיננו מאמינים לעד אחד במקרה של אישה נשואה.] השאלה שיש לי כאן היא שהגמרא ביבמות לא מבחינה בין כהן לישראל כשמדובר באיסור סוטה שהוא האיסור של "והיא נטמאה". אני מתכוון לומר שזה אומר שסוטה לא מקבל ייבום כי טומאה נכתב על ידה ועל ידי כך יש גזירה שווה לעריות. אז אנו רואים בגלוי שבגמרא אין הבחנה בין אם היא אשתו של כהן או ישראל. הכל עריות ואם הכל עריות אתה צריך שני עדים

I just wanted to add here that the whole issue comes from the Gemara Yerushalmi that if you have a case of a husband warns his wife not to be alone with so and so and then she is alone with him and then there is one witness that saw her sleeping with him, then if her husband is a priest, then he gets lashes. The yerushalmi does not say why. The Rambam says because of Zona. The Raavad says because of "and she is unclean". Zona is only a prohibition for a priest. The issue of "and she is unclean" means that a sota is forbidden to her husband until she drinks water mixed with the ink of the parchment of the paragraph of Sota and some dust of the Temple. But if there is already one witness then even that solution is not possible. What makes our situation here worse is her husband is a priest.

A further question here is  that I am not sure I understand the answer of רב שך in explaining the ראב''ד at all. The idea that since והיא נטמאה is different for a כהן than for a ישראלי therefore it is an איסור כהונה. In what way is it different? If the יחסי מין  rape, then she is forbidden to her husband because of זונה. But that is the very thing the ראב''ד is holding no one would get lashes for since we do not believe one witness in the case of a married woman for the איסור of זונה. If the sex was willingly, then it is the same prohibition for a Israeli and a כהן.

שאלה נוספת כאן היא שאני לא בטוח שאני מבין את התשובה של רב שך בהסבר על הראב''ד בכלל. הרעיון שמאז "והיא נטמאה" שונה עבור כהן מאשר עבור ישראלי ולכן הוא איסור כהונה. באיזה אופן זה שונה? אם היחסי מין היו באונס, אז אסור לבעלה בגלל זונה. אבל זה בדיוק הדבר שראב''ד מחזיק, שאף אחד לא יקבל מלקות מכיוון שאנחנו לא מאמינים לעד אחד במקרה של אישה נשואה לאיסור זונה. אם המין היה ברצון, אז זה אותו איסור עבור ישראלי וכהן.

I have a question on the Raavad. In Laws of forbidden relations [chapter 1. law 22] the Raavad says the reason a priest gets lashes in a case of warning and then her being alone with the other person (kinui and stira) and one witness is because of "and she is unclean".   

[Unclean is written  by a sota -a married woman who has been warned not to be alone with so and so and then in fact goes and is alone with so and so. ]

Rav Shach explain it thus. Normally "and she is unclean" means it is like the forbidden relations of Leviticus 18 [arayot] which we learn from Yevamot page 11 about a Sota. But a priest is different. If his wife has had sex with someone even by rape, she still is forbidden to her husband and so it is an isur [prohibition] priesthood (khuna) not arayot [forbidden relations which requires two witnesses]. And so one witness is enough to get her husband lashes since it is  a regular law and one witness is believed in regular prohibition that are not arayot.

[To the Raavad she is not a zona [a woman who is forbidden to a priest because she has sex with someone forbidden to her] because we do not believe one witness in teh case of  married woman.]

The question I have here is that the gemara in Yevmot makes no distinction between a kohen and a Israeli when it comes to an isur Sota which is the isur of "and she is unclean". I mean to say that it say a Sota does not get yibum because uncleanliness is written by her and by that there is a gezera Shava to arayot.. So we see openly the Gemara makes not distinction between whether she is the wife of a  kohen or mot. It is all Arayot and if it is all aryot you need two witness!

[I can not tell if my question is on the Raavad or Rav Shach or both.]

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A further question here is  that I am not sure I understand the answer of Rav Shach in explaining the Raavad at all. The idea that since והיא נטמאה is different for a kohen than for a Israeli therefore it is an isur kehuna. Well in what way is it different? If the sex was rape then she is forbidden to her husband because of Zona. But that is the very thing the Raavad is holding no one would get lashes for since we do not believe one witness in the case of a married woman for the isur of Zenut. If the sex was willingly, then it is the same prohibition for a Israeli and a kohen.

 Objective truth. Objective morality.

The Left denies these things.

For that reason I have thought to try to find some philosophical approach that would make sense to me. The best I could come up with was a draw between Leonard Nelson [Kant Fries], Michael Huemer [that is the intuitionists] and Hegel. All believe in objective morality, but after that point, I can not see who is right. I think Kelley Ross of the Kant-Friesian school is the best, but I can see some areas where the other schools of thought are a little better.

[I might try to do more work in this but I am not smart enough to enter into a debate among titans. Still the little I can grasp goes like this.

The problem in the Intuitionist school based on GE Moore was pointed out by Robert Hanna.

The difficulty I have with Kant goes back to his very basis in Hume. All reason can know is contradictions? Really? Who says?

The difficulties with Hegel are a little harder to define. Off hand it seems some English people solved many of the problems like McTaggart and Cunningham.

Still if I would have to choose, I would go with Kelley Ross of the Kant-Friesian School.

 Allan Bloom [Closing of the American Mind] pointed out the problem is the universities. After young people hear Marxist stuff for years it sinks in. It becomes hardwired as Howard Bloom pointed out. [Lucifer Principle]

To me it seems that if the founding fathers had known about this future Marxist threat to the USA, they might have come up with a solution.

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This might need editing but I am not sure. So I am presenting this as it is.

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 Rav Nahman of Breslov has in one section of the LeM vol II ch 8 that one ought to seek after a true tzadik. While I can see the point of this, but the problems are the straight forward frauds which are the vast majority. And the people that imagine to themselves that they a have "Ruach Hakodesh" so they are not willfully defrauding others, but are close to that. Then there is the most insidious category of people the Sitra achra (dark side) gives miracles to and reveals things in to to gain acceptance and to be able to trick people after gaining their trust.

Can you by these facts deny the validity of all faith healers? I do not think so. 

Rather what I think is this. That one ought not to go after tzadikim. If one merits to it, the tzadik will come to you. but if you go around searching for one, it is 99.9% guaranteed you will find (and be funding) a phony;--  or even worse, perhaps agent of the Dark Side.

I think there is one true tzadik or one true faith healer among thousands of frauds. The best thing is to seek to serve God by by Torah and prayer and good deeds. Then if one merits to be close to a true tzadik then that will  happen.

 Reasons for mitzvot is from the Gemara itself. Bava Metzia page 119 and all rishonim like the sefer haChinuch.

And the reasons are not thought to be mysterious. After all that is the whole point of the argument between R. Shimon ben Yochai against and the sages. he says when the reason does not apply the commandment itself does not apply. If the reason for any command was mysterious then there would be n place for the opinion of R Shimon ben Yochai.

[That is the characteristic of  all arguments in the Mishna. They disagree only about the specific point they are talking about. R Shimon holds we go by the reason for the verse. The sages say we go by the literal meaning. But there is no argument if we know the reasons.

So the commandments are to bring to these basic things: good character traits, peace of the country, to minimize the physical desires, to get rid of idolatry.

In short this could be called natural law of what Rav Saadia Gaon calls חוקי השכל. [Laws of Reason]

So no where in the rishonim do we find Divine command theory. [That is the theory that says: the mizvot are good because they are commanded. Rather they are commanded because they bring one to good.]

 In the Ten Commandments is the command "Honor your father and your mother." That on one hand should not apply when the parents are obviously "off".  They can not command one to sin or neglect a positive command. Yet there is a certain degree that this command sinks into irrelevance. People have almost no idea that they ought to listen to their parents unless they receive confirmation from some other source.

To me it seems that the Torah is saying one must listen to his or her parents unless there is some compelling reason otherwise.  

Yu can see this in most of the Rishonim also that deal with this command like the Rav of Bartenura right there is the Mishna in Kidushin which deals with this commandment.

But clearly the Torah does set limits. We see in the end of Deuteronomy that Moses praised the tribe of Levi for the incident of teh Golden Cal where the tribe of Levi actually killed their own parents when they discovered that they were among the idol worshipers.

 Jews in Yemen had to marry early. This situation arose under Islamic rule because an unmarried girl could be taken by the ruling Muslim prince. However it became the custom of all Sefardic Jews to marry young. [I mean ages 12 to 13.] [Not just in Yemen.]

I see this as a very positive thing. To me it seems best for people to marry young and as much as possible this ought to be encouraged.

To me it seems that fighting against nature is  a lost cause. Puberty is when nature says to procreate. To fight that can only lead to disasters and results in the state of marriage nowadays. When do flowers reproduce? Or any species?

A question of R. Akiva Eigger

קינוי וסתירה [Kinuy U'Stira] Warning a wife not to be alone with someone, and then her being alone. If in fact after the warning and she is alone with that person, then she needs to go to the Temple and drink the "bitter waters". That is water that is mixed with the ink on which the paragraph on this subject is written in the book of Numbers, and a bit of the dust on the Temple. That is to prove her innocence. She can refuse to drink. The only reason for this is to give her a chance to show she is innocent and can continue to live with her husband. 

R. Akiva Eigger  asks: קינוי וסתירה (warning a wife not to be alone with someone and then her being alone) is an argument between R. Eliezer and R. Yehoshua. To R Yehoshua to warn is before one witness and to be alone with the one she was warned about is in front of two witnesses. So if the husband sees her being alone with the one she was warned about she ought to be permitted.

Yet the Rambam says that if he sees her then he must divorce her and give her her Ketubah.

 Rav Shach answers this question in this way. He says the Rambam means the husband is forbidden to stay with her because שוויה עליו חתיכה דאיסורא

I am having trouble understanding Rav Shach here because his seeing her being alone is not the same thing as seeing her actually committing the crime. So while קינוי וסתירה would make her forbidden to him until she would drink the "bitter waters" in the Temple,  but here there was never fulfilled the conditions that would forbid keeping her.

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