Tractate rosh hashana

Rosh Hashanah 15a.

Raba said the fruit called estrog going from year 6 to 7 is not obligated in anything. But from year 7 to 8 it is obligated in ביעור.
Abyee asked Raba It is OK the end of your statement where you are being strict but what about the beginning?
What I suggest Abyee means is this, Raba is being strict in reference to the next Braita where both going from 6 to 7 and from 7 to 8 is not obligated in anything. In comparison to that in fact Raba is being strict to go by חנטה ripening. So the natural question is then why then in the beginning  from 6 to 7 is Raba not being also going by חנטה?

What I am saying is it is not that Abyee is saying Rabah is in doubt whether we go by חנטה or picking and therefore is being strict. Rather he is saying Rabah is being strict in reference to the next Braita where neither 6 to 7 nor 7 to 8 is obligated in anything.

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ראש השנה טו ע''א

רבה said the אתרוג going from ששית to שביעית is not obligated in anything. But from שביעית to שמינית it is obligated in ביעור.
אביי asked רבה It is OK the סיפא where you are being מחמיר but what about the רישא?
What I suggest אביי means is this, רבה is being strict in reference to the next ברייתא where both going from ששית to שביעית and from שביעית to שמינית is not obligated in anything. In comparison to that in fact רבה is being מחמיר to go by חנטה. So the natural question is then why then in the רישא  from ששית to שביעית is רבה not being also going by חנטה?
What I am saying is it is not that אביי is saying רבה is in doubt whether we go by חנטה or picking and therefore is being strict. Rather he is saying רבה is being מחמיר in reference to the next ברייתא where neither ששית to שביעית nor שביעית to שמינית is obligated in anything.


ראש השנה טו ע''א רבה אמר אתרוג שנכנס משישית לשביעית אינו מחויבת בכל דבר . אבל מהשביעי לשמינית היא מחויב בביעור. אביי שאל רבה זה בסדר בסיפא שבו אתה מחמיר אבל מה לגבי הרישה? מה שאני מציע אביי כיוון  את זה, רבה הוא  מחמיר בהתייחסות לברייתא הבאה שבו שניהם  שישית לשביעית ומהשביעית לשמינית אינו מחויב בשום דבר. בהשוואה לזה רבה הוא מחמיר ללכת לפי חנטה. אז השאלה המתבקשת היא מדוע אז ברישה מהשישית לשביעית רבה לא  הולך לפי חנטה? מה שאני אומר הוא שאביי לא אמר לרבה הוא בספק אם נלך לפי חנטה או קטיפה ולכן הוא מחמיר. במקום זאת הוא אומר רבה הוא מחמיר בהתייחסות לברייתא הבאה שבו לא שישית לשביעית ולא לשביעית לשמינית מחויב בכל דבר.

Christians have stood against the tidal wave of homosexual-ism

 Christians have stood against the tidal wave of homosexual-ism. For this they should be complemented. However many are unaware that this issue is not ambiguous. There is nothing in doubt about the Law of the Torah concerning this.  What is in doubt to many is the question if the law of the government supersedes the law of God.  In fact until recently many thought loyalty to the government of the USA and Christianity were compatible and in fact identical. Now it is clear that they are not.

Antigone in Sophocles. So the question for Christians is to whom are you going to listen? God or the Supreme Court? Or your lying pastors that claim the law of God is ambiguous?

Antigone asks the crucial question "which law is greater: the Divine Law or man's?."" 

In "Antigone" she is buried alive because of her refusal to obey the law of the State and instead obey the Divine Law which required her to give burial rights to a person who was perhaps unworthy. But still that minimum amount of respect was due.
Her brother Creon says the opposite. Creon demands obedience to the law above all else, right or wrong. He says that "there is nothing worse than disobedience to authority" (An. 671)

 Antigone responds that the  law of the government is not absolute, and that it can be broken in cases, such as honoring the gods whose rule and authority outweigh Creon's.



Most Christians have heard lot of sermons about how much they should love homosexuals. But the main idea is not so much love as they are being told to obey the State instead of the law of God.

So the question for Christians is to whom are you going to listen? God or the Supreme Court? Or your lying pastors that claim the law of God is ambiguous?
Just to add a drop of clarity let me say that in Hebrew there is no word for the sexual act. In Leviticus we have  in two places the laws of עריות--forbidden relationships. Take for example the law not to have sex with one's aunt? How does the Bible put it? Don't uncover her ערוה nakedness. That is the Torah way of saying not to have sex with her. It does not mean not to lift her skirt . And that is the way God puts it in most of the laws there. But when it comes to homosexuals the word ערוה  cant be applied because it refers to the female ערוה. So instead it uses a different expression a man that lies with another man gets the death penalty.

Laws of the Torah

Laws and the meaning of Torah don't change because of supreme court decisions
They don't change because of what the insane religious world  says. The attempts to change the meaning of Torah are as perennial as the seasons.


Just as the supreme court can't touch the meaning of the Laws of the Torah, neither can the insane religious world  It does not matter whether it they try to find some excuse for homosexuality or pantheism of whatever it is.

an authentic Lithuanian yeshiva

However for people of yeshiva ages it is best to be in an authentic Lithuanian yeshiva during the year. And it is my impression that it takes a special kind of human being to be a real Rosh Yeshiva. I knew a few of the authentic types--like Reb Shmuel Berenbaum and the other teachers at the Mir in NY. [Avraham Kalmonovitch, and the author of the Sukat David--I forgot his name, But I really liked his book on Ketubot. ]But these types are rare. If you have met, the real thing you can't be fooled anymore. 
It is like the storyabout a merchant that had a servant. He was on a trip and came to an inn and they served to him what they claimed was Hungarian wine--the rarest and best. The servant told the master, "This is not Hungarian wine." 
"How do you know?" he asked.
"Because I was in Hungary and tasted the real thing. Once you have tasted the real thing you can never forget it. And this is not the real thing." 
I say also one you have seen and sat in a class of an authentic Rosh yeshiva, you cant be fooled anymore.

The difference between the Gra and the Duties of the Heart in terms of trust in God is to the Duties of the Heart one is allowed to do effort, but not to the Gra. That is to say we have the verse in Mishlei [Proverbs 3] "Trust in God with all your heart and do not depend on your own intellect." The Gra learns from the end of that verse not to do effort. And in the commentary of Mishlei there is an  note from Menachem Mendel from Shkolov [a famous disciple of the Gra which adds an idea that he heard in the name of the Gra.]

The Duties of the Heart on the other hand says one should trust in God, but do effort. Just that one should trust in God concerning the results of his efforts.
But it can happen that if one accepts on himself the yoke of service of God, and removes from himself the pleasures of this world, then God might take away the need for him to do effort to reach his needs.


The Alter of Navardok brings this opinion of the Gra in the name of the Ramban. He got this from  Israel Salanter who printed a magazine in Vilnius called Tevuna. In that magazine he wrote an article where he brings this opinion of "no effort" in the name of the Ramban.
So your end result is to the Gra you are not supposed to do effort, and to the Duties of the Heart you  are allowed to but it is better not to.

To both of them it is best to sit and learn Torah.
Personally, I should admit I found it hard to learn Torah. And I also find it hard to learn. A lot depends on the kind of synagogue in your area. The insane religious world  are obstacles towards learning Torah. Generally they are dens of the sitra achra [dark side]. Lithuanian yeshivas are clearly going to be places where if you are accepted you can learn Torah. But in general they tend to be picky about whom they let in, [and they should be picky.]  So there is nothing simple about how to answer the question how to go about learning Torah. Learning at home I have also found almost impossible. So while I think learning is important, I have not found a good solution to the question of how to go about it.

The difference between the Gra and the Duties of the Heart in terms of trust in God is to the Duties of the Heart one is allowed to do effort, but not to the Gra. That is to say we have the verse in Mishlei [Proverbs 3] "Trust in God with all your heart and do not depend on your own intellect." The Gra learns from the end of that verse not to do effort. And in the commentary of Mishlei there is an  note from Menachem Mendel from Shkolov [a famous disciple of the Gra which adds an idea that he heard in the name of the Gra.]

The Duties of the Heart on the other hand says one should trust in God, but do effort. Just that one should trust in God concerning the results of his efforts.
But it can happen that if one accepts on himself the yoke of service of God, and removes from himself the pleasures of this world, then God might take away the need for him to do effort to reach his needs.


The Alter of Navardok brings this opinion of the Gra in the name of the Ramban. He got this from his Israel Salanter who printed a magazine in Vilnius called Tevuna. In that magazine he wrote an article where he brings this opinion of "no effort" in the name of the Ramban.
So your end result is to the Gra you are not supposed to do effort, and to the Duties of the Heart you  are allowed to but it is better not to.

To both of them it is best to sit and learn Torah.
Personally, I should admit I found it hard to learn Torah. And I also find it hard to learn. A lot depends on the kind of synagogue in your area. The insane religious world  are obstacles towards learning Torah. Generally they are dens of the sitra achra [dark side]. Lithuanian yeshivas are clearly going to be places where if you are accepted you can learn Torah. But in general they tend to be picky about whom they let in, [and they should be picky.]  So there is nothing simple about how to answer the question how to go about learning Torah. Learning at home I have also found almost impossible. So while I think learning is important, I have not found a good solution to the question of how to go about it.