9.3.16
Just for the record I am pro Constitution of the USA for a few reasons. Mainly because I see its principles being in accord with the Torah. The Sanctity of Life. Freedom with Responsibility within the limits set by law. There is a command in the Torah "Thou shalt not steal." And the idea behind that command is there is such a thing as private property that no one has the right to touch besides the owner and to whom the owner gives permission. That is even if some group can get the government to do its stealing for them it is still stealing. That is Socialism is ruled out by the Torah. Abortion is ruled out by the Torah. People taking authority at all is ruled out by the Torah. Not just government. The only authority anyone can have by the Torah is what the laws of the Torah already say or by means of contract. And the Constitution is a contract.
This might be a good idea to defend this thesis in more detail. But in short I am against the Democrats and also the Republicans because I do not think either goes by the Constitution. I would rather see someone like Trump that would clean out the Aegean stables of government.
That is from my Jewish point of view. But there is also philosophical justification for this based on Kant and the autonomy of the individual. I have hid myself in the sand in terms of politics the last eight year because was stunned at what was occupying the White House. But it seems like I am not the last American to remember there is a Constitution and a lot of us are angry at the government for taking what does not belong to them.
[In High School we went through USA History and principles very well. . We had to go through the original documents of many parts of USA history. It was probably the most challenging class I ever took. In any case, I gained a great appreciation of the the USA is, and what made it what it is. Seeing it crumble and its founding principles stomped on by the government has been traumatizing.]
This might be a good idea to defend this thesis in more detail. But in short I am against the Democrats and also the Republicans because I do not think either goes by the Constitution. I would rather see someone like Trump that would clean out the Aegean stables of government.
That is from my Jewish point of view. But there is also philosophical justification for this based on Kant and the autonomy of the individual. I have hid myself in the sand in terms of politics the last eight year because was stunned at what was occupying the White House. But it seems like I am not the last American to remember there is a Constitution and a lot of us are angry at the government for taking what does not belong to them.
[In High School we went through USA History and principles very well. . We had to go through the original documents of many parts of USA history. It was probably the most challenging class I ever took. In any case, I gained a great appreciation of the the USA is, and what made it what it is. Seeing it crumble and its founding principles stomped on by the government has been traumatizing.]
8.3.16
I was trying to figure out a good argument for Lithuanian yeshivas. And it occurred to me that that best argument is not a rational argument at all but something that goes much deeper. There is this idea that the soul before it is born into a physical body sees the glory of heaven. It sees Truth, Beauty and Love. Or it sees the virtues. Then it falls and comes into this world. Then it longs to get back to this wondrous vision. But it can't find anything that reminds it of its blessed state before the fall. So it goes around empty. It is just going through the motions. Then one day it walks into a Lithuanian yeshiva and feels what it has been missing. Truth, Beauty and Love. It can not rationalize what it feels but it knows that this place reminds him of some blessed place before it fell.
But that is not every soul. There are souls that are attracted to ugliness, evil and hate. And there are plenty of yeshivas that are full of ugliness, hate and gossip. But those places are not Lithuanian. They are counterfeit yeshivas. But there are still many souls attracted to these counterfeit places because their souls are drawn towards the ugliness and gossip
But that is not every soul. There are souls that are attracted to ugliness, evil and hate. And there are plenty of yeshivas that are full of ugliness, hate and gossip. But those places are not Lithuanian. They are counterfeit yeshivas. But there are still many souls attracted to these counterfeit places because their souls are drawn towards the ugliness and gossip
It is a mitzvah to warn people about evil groups. Furthermore even if they do not listen it is still a mitzvah based on the Gra.
The prohibition about slander does not prevent one from warning his children or anyone that will listen about bad groups. The Chafetz Chaim goes into detail about this. In fact the major thing to warn your children about is destructive groups. This is because of the fact that the group one is involved with has the most influence on how one acts and even how one thinks.
The most common defense on any evil group is, "You can't generalize." But that is a false defense. You must generalize. Group behavior and group tendencies are real things. We tend to think about Nazis that they acted in certain specific ways. We do not say "You can't generalize."
You could go further to say there is such a thing a group merit or group guilt. That is just by being part of a meritorious group one gains something, and that being part of an evil group, one loses.
In fact, generalizing is very beneficial and is used quite successfully in many areas of society - such as when the insurance industry analyzes the average frequency of an event (i.e. a house-fire) in order to offer protection to the individual homeowner while still reliably turning a profit. The government generalizes as well when they pass such laws as speed limits with fines for punishment. It is fully understood that not all of the people will reduce their speed, but most of them will and therefore, it works to keep most people driving at a reasonable speed and makes the roads safer - which is the positive result that is being sought.
The religious world is evil. This is generalization based on many years of experience. Not one or two examples. And knowing this I am obligated to warn others.
[I can not go into details in writing about particular incidents. The reason mainly is based on two things. One is it involves saying bad things. And I would rather not dwell on negative things. I am sensitive to that. I can not function at all when my mood is down. I cant learn, I cant write music. I need to run to a mikveh or a stream or river and sometimes that is not convenient. It takes me hours to relax and get into a kind of decent frame of mind. And thinking about hurtful incidents in the past does terrible damage to my psyche.
The most common defense on any evil group is, "You can't generalize." But that is a false defense. You must generalize. Group behavior and group tendencies are real things. We tend to think about Nazis that they acted in certain specific ways. We do not say "You can't generalize."
You could go further to say there is such a thing a group merit or group guilt. That is just by being part of a meritorious group one gains something, and that being part of an evil group, one loses.
In fact, generalizing is very beneficial and is used quite successfully in many areas of society - such as when the insurance industry analyzes the average frequency of an event (i.e. a house-fire) in order to offer protection to the individual homeowner while still reliably turning a profit. The government generalizes as well when they pass such laws as speed limits with fines for punishment. It is fully understood that not all of the people will reduce their speed, but most of them will and therefore, it works to keep most people driving at a reasonable speed and makes the roads safer - which is the positive result that is being sought.
The religious world is evil. This is generalization based on many years of experience. Not one or two examples. And knowing this I am obligated to warn others.
[I can not go into details in writing about particular incidents. The reason mainly is based on two things. One is it involves saying bad things. And I would rather not dwell on negative things. I am sensitive to that. I can not function at all when my mood is down. I cant learn, I cant write music. I need to run to a mikveh or a stream or river and sometimes that is not convenient. It takes me hours to relax and get into a kind of decent frame of mind. And thinking about hurtful incidents in the past does terrible damage to my psyche.
[The other reason is even if I need to say something to warn others, I would rather keep it to a minimum because the idea of Lashon Hara became very ingrained in me.]
]
7.3.16
religious world
The prohibition to speak slander is popular by people that speak slander. They feel it gives them a pass for all the evil and damage they cause, but shields them from anyone that would dare speak about them.
However that still does not except one from knowing the laws and knowing when and where one must speak up and when he must not.
The basic conditions are different for בין אדם לחברו and בין אדם למקום. [Between man and his fellow man and between man and God.]
The seven famous conditions of the Hafetz Haim are for the first category. [To see it oneself. To give rebuke, etc.] In any case, it is precisely because of this that I speak up about the religious world seeing their collective guilt and complicity in great evils.
I have mentioned the excommunication that the Gra signed -but the reason is not because I depend on it, but rather that I have seen in real life how everything he said was correct.
Yet still evil people think they can be shielded by means of the Hafetz Haim.
[Like the chicken in the horse stall that yelled at the horses, "We should all stop moving around so we do not trample on each other.]"]
To understand the Hafetz Haim it is necessary to know his sources.This is because seeing from where he gets the Halacha from sheds light on its application.
One thing you do not see in the Hafetz Haim itself is the difference between the Rambam and Rabainu Yonah. Rabbainu Yona does in fact prohibit Lashon Hara even for true things because he needs certain conditions to be meet. These conditions are the sources for the famous seven conditions of the Hafetz Haim. He does not want damage to be caused to the object more than what would be caused if he was judged in Beit Din according to Din Torah. Reb Elhanan Wassermann noticed that to Rabbainu Yonah, Lashon Hara on truth is not forbidden for itself, but because of collateral damage.
The Rambam wrote about the “hidden law.” He wrote that the Torah forbids actions across the board that which should be forbidden in almost all situations, even though the Torah knows if a dire emergency did arise, good people would act outside the law, do what had to be done. See for example Eliyahu the Prophet on Mount Carmel.
However that still does not except one from knowing the laws and knowing when and where one must speak up and when he must not.
The basic conditions are different for בין אדם לחברו and בין אדם למקום. [Between man and his fellow man and between man and God.]
The seven famous conditions of the Hafetz Haim are for the first category. [To see it oneself. To give rebuke, etc.] In any case, it is precisely because of this that I speak up about the religious world seeing their collective guilt and complicity in great evils.
I have mentioned the excommunication that the Gra signed -but the reason is not because I depend on it, but rather that I have seen in real life how everything he said was correct.
Yet still evil people think they can be shielded by means of the Hafetz Haim.
[Like the chicken in the horse stall that yelled at the horses, "We should all stop moving around so we do not trample on each other.]"]
To understand the Hafetz Haim it is necessary to know his sources.This is because seeing from where he gets the Halacha from sheds light on its application.
One thing you do not see in the Hafetz Haim itself is the difference between the Rambam and Rabainu Yonah. Rabbainu Yona does in fact prohibit Lashon Hara even for true things because he needs certain conditions to be meet. These conditions are the sources for the famous seven conditions of the Hafetz Haim. He does not want damage to be caused to the object more than what would be caused if he was judged in Beit Din according to Din Torah. Reb Elhanan Wassermann noticed that to Rabbainu Yonah, Lashon Hara on truth is not forbidden for itself, but because of collateral damage.
The Rambam wrote about the “hidden law.” He wrote that the Torah forbids actions across the board that which should be forbidden in almost all situations, even though the Torah knows if a dire emergency did arise, good people would act outside the law, do what had to be done. See for example Eliyahu the Prophet on Mount Carmel.
r3 a music file in mp3 and midi. Lashon Hara/Slander לא תלך רכיל העמיך "Thou shalt not go around as a slanderer among your people." Leviticus
Lashon Hara is a very important subject. I was introduced to this at the Mir Yeshiva in NY. And it was a major area of emphasis for the Rosh yeshiva, Reb Shmuel Berenbaum. In fact, there was a time the secular Russian cooks in the kitchen had made some mistake regarding meat and milk, and people went to him to complain. And he was furious about the people that had complained. And the next day at the normal Musar Shmuz (talk) [Thursday] he made a very big deal about incident. [It was not the normal subject of his Musar. The normal subject was to learn Torah. But he was very strict personally about Lashon Hara. And I always noticed that people that were strict about Lashon Hara always were notably more successful in their learning Torah than people who were not. I tried to work hard on the book the Chafetz Chaim (Laws of Lashon Hara). I think I might have gone through it with the commentary at the bottom at least once, word for word. [I think so, but I am not sure]. [I spent a good deal of time on the other Musar books of the Chafetz Chaim. I think I might have gone through most of them. But at the time I was also trying to do the Musar of the Rishonim [Mediaeval Musar] and the disciples of Reb Israel Salanter so I do not think I finished every single book of the Chafetz Chaim. I was trying to get through all the schools of Musar/Navardok, Kelm, Slobodka, Naphtali Amshterndam, Isaac Blasser. That was besides regular Gemara things I needed to be doing.
[If I would have to explain this it would be thus: If a group is known to be good, and yet because of personal experience you know they are evil, then it is very hard to be careful in Lashon Hara. You can't agree with people and yet you can't disagree. Even if you would want to go into the sordid details no one will believe you so it ends up you transgress the prohibition anyway. If teh general public was more aware of the laws of Lashon Hara I might be able to explain this better. But in a nut shell that is about teh best I can do.
r3 is some music. [r3 in midi] r3 in nwc
When the whole world turned against me, I was aware I was not going to be able to be as strict as I wanted to be in Lashon Hara. This is hard to explain in writing this minute. I can explain this but maybe not this second.
[If I would have to explain this it would be thus: If a group is known to be good, and yet because of personal experience you know they are evil, then it is very hard to be careful in Lashon Hara. You can't agree with people and yet you can't disagree. Even if you would want to go into the sordid details no one will believe you so it ends up you transgress the prohibition anyway. If teh general public was more aware of the laws of Lashon Hara I might be able to explain this better. But in a nut shell that is about teh best I can do.
So at that point I decided the most important thing would be to speak the truth always at all cost.
Also, I think learning programming is very important. Though I would normally say that getting a full university education is important but nowadays universities are off the right path except for the major ones: Stanford, NYU, Cal Tech, MIT. For some reason some universities put pseudo science into their curriculum [e.g. social "sciences" and humanities. Now there in one oxymorn and one case of false advertizment.]
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