1.6.16
anchoring-bias
I think the ideas in this essay ought to be expanded on in detail in several directions. Some important points like daily schedule [what one does every day without fail is an anchor]., the person one most admires and tries to emulate,[making a conscious decision whom to emulate], with what kind of group to hang out with. And the effects of all this on one's inner self.
() Reb Shmuel Berenabum was thinking along these lines almost certainly when he would consistently point out the importance of learning the oral and written Law. [This is called learning Torah and it means Torah in a slightly expanded form. It does not mean strictly the Five Books of Moses. It includes the Oral Law also which means the books of the sages of the Talmud. I have not counted them. There must be at least ten in all. The two Talmuds, Tosephta, Midrash Raba, Midrash Tanchuma, Eliyahu Raba and Zuta, Avot DeRabbi Natan, tractates not included in Talmud like mesechet Gerim, Sifra Sifrei, Torah kohanim.
Reb Shmuel was the Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir in NY.
[]I should mention that in some ways I have tried to retain certain anchors in my life without using that exact terminology. My model of human perfection is my father, Philip Rosten. That means for people that did not know him balance and valence [connection] between different areas of value. That is take certain areas of value, Math, Physics, Mozart, Torah (the Oral and Written Law), Family, Survival Skills, etc and you create a valence between them. This hard to describe but I am pretty sure that people that grew up in older times remember this kind of thing in their own parents. It is just that my father and mother embodied this kind of balance and valence better than anyone I have ever seen or heard of among the living or those gone.
I think the ideas in this essay ought to be expanded on in detail in several directions. Some important points like daily schedule [what one does every day without fail is an anchor]., the person one most admires and tries to emulate,[making a conscious decision whom to emulate], with what kind of group to hang out with. And the effects of all this on one's inner self.
() Reb Shmuel Berenabum was thinking along these lines almost certainly when he would consistently point out the importance of learning the oral and written Law. [This is called learning Torah and it means Torah in a slightly expanded form. It does not mean strictly the Five Books of Moses. It includes the Oral Law also which means the books of the sages of the Talmud. I have not counted them. There must be at least ten in all. The two Talmuds, Tosephta, Midrash Raba, Midrash Tanchuma, Eliyahu Raba and Zuta, Avot DeRabbi Natan, tractates not included in Talmud like mesechet Gerim, Sifra Sifrei, Torah kohanim.
Reb Shmuel was the Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir in NY.
[]I should mention that in some ways I have tried to retain certain anchors in my life without using that exact terminology. My model of human perfection is my father, Philip Rosten. That means for people that did not know him balance and valence [connection] between different areas of value. That is take certain areas of value, Math, Physics, Mozart, Torah (the Oral and Written Law), Family, Survival Skills, etc and you create a valence between them. This hard to describe but I am pretty sure that people that grew up in older times remember this kind of thing in their own parents. It is just that my father and mother embodied this kind of balance and valence better than anyone I have ever seen or heard of among the living or those gone.
chapter 6 in Pirkei Avot.
chapter 6 in Pirkei Avot. I do not have a lot to say about it except in the Mir Yeshiva I heard from that the Mashgiach of the Ponovicth Yeshiva in Bnei Brak considered נושא עול עם חבירו to bear the yoke with one's friend to be the most essential of all the traits.
I also think that I misunderstood that chapter (which is about the importance of learning Torah). For when I was in Safed, I understood that chapter to mean I should be doing more learning Torah than I was doing. And since everything in this world has a limit, I probably over extended myself in that direction.
The reason I say this is that I had a kind of attachment to God in Safed, something that is hard to describe. And I thought at the time this attachment was interfering with Torah study. What I did not realize at the time was that attachment to God is one of the goals of the mitzvot. This you can see in the anonymous commentary at the being of the Mishna Torah of the Rambam. He asked a question. One verse says, "Do the commandments in order to love and fear God." The other verse says "Love and fear God in order to do his commandments." He answers there are two kinds of fear of God. The lower fear of punishment, and the higher awe of God's greatness. The lower fear is to bring to doing all the commandments, and the commandments are to bring to the higher fear and awe of God. So learning Torah according to this view is not the goal but it is to bring to the goal of attachment with God.
I also think that I misunderstood that chapter (which is about the importance of learning Torah). For when I was in Safed, I understood that chapter to mean I should be doing more learning Torah than I was doing. And since everything in this world has a limit, I probably over extended myself in that direction.
The reason I say this is that I had a kind of attachment to God in Safed, something that is hard to describe. And I thought at the time this attachment was interfering with Torah study. What I did not realize at the time was that attachment to God is one of the goals of the mitzvot. This you can see in the anonymous commentary at the being of the Mishna Torah of the Rambam. He asked a question. One verse says, "Do the commandments in order to love and fear God." The other verse says "Love and fear God in order to do his commandments." He answers there are two kinds of fear of God. The lower fear of punishment, and the higher awe of God's greatness. The lower fear is to bring to doing all the commandments, and the commandments are to bring to the higher fear and awe of God. So learning Torah according to this view is not the goal but it is to bring to the goal of attachment with God.
Bava Metzia page 14. The argument between Rav and Shmuel
Ideas in Shas updated I had some idea that I wanted to add about the argument between Rav and Shmuel in Bava Metzia page 14. Mainly it is the thought about what Shmuel must have asked Rav, "Why would thief pay for the improvements to the buyer when it is the owner who is getting the benefits?" And I think it must be that Rav answered to him, "The owner gives the money for the improvements or the expenditure to the thief and the thief to the buyer." That is I am thinking that Rav must have said that the owner has to do only with the thief and the thief with the buyer. At last that is how I think Rashi and Tosphot both must have looked at this sugia.[That the owner can tell the person that bought the field from the thief דין ודברים אין לי אתך. I have nothing to do with you.]
It is important to see how the Rambam and Rav Shach deal with this sugia, but I do not have their books available at this time.
Later it occurred to me that this is not necessarily so. I was doing some sit-ups and it occurred to me that if the thief made the improvements then when the buyer bought the field he paid for the field and the improvements, [like if a fence was built on the property.] Therefore it does make sense for the thief to pay the buyer for the field and the improvements. So maybe my original scheme was right.
[See the original scheme in the link up above on ideas in Shas or at this link on ideas in Bava Metzia itself on page 101 of Bava Metzia.]
זה עלה בדעתי שאם הגנב עשה שיפורים אז כאשר הקונה רכש את השדה ששילם עבור השדה ואת השיפורים, כמו אם גדר נבנתה על הנכס. לכן זה הגיוני עבור הגנב לשלם הקונה עבור השדה ואת השיפורים. אז אולי התכנית המקורית שלי צדק.
________________________________________________________________________
It is important to see how the Rambam and Rav Shach deal with this sugia, but I do not have their books available at this time.
Later it occurred to me that this is not necessarily so. I was doing some sit-ups and it occurred to me that if the thief made the improvements then when the buyer bought the field he paid for the field and the improvements, [like if a fence was built on the property.] Therefore it does make sense for the thief to pay the buyer for the field and the improvements. So maybe my original scheme was right.
[See the original scheme in the link up above on ideas in Shas or at this link on ideas in Bava Metzia itself on page 101 of Bava Metzia.]
זה עלה בדעתי שאם הגנב עשה שיפורים אז כאשר הקונה רכש את השדה ששילם עבור השדה ואת השיפורים, כמו אם גדר נבנתה על הנכס. לכן זה הגיוני עבור הגנב לשלם הקונה עבור השדה ואת השיפורים. אז אולי התכנית המקורית שלי צדק.
The Closing of the American Mind
In the book The Closing of the American Mind, Allen Bloom made a point that the project of the enlightenment [classical liberalism ] was at a stage of crisis. He did not offer much in the way of resolution.
It might seem a small consolation but Allen Bloom did have two ideas that he suggested. Learning the Republic of Plato seems to have been the top priority. "Great books" after that. He also did mention learning Torah in the beginning chapters as a kind of hint but nothing that he explicitly advocated.[I mean to say he mentioned his relatives that had in their background, basic learning of the Oral and Written Law and that that gave them a depth of understanding of the human condition that the NY Times and other modern writings could not compare to.
He also mentioned Hegel in a very positive way, suggesting he might have seen something important there. It is hard to know what though. Allen Bloom in fact had been taught by a Hegelian professor so you you count this as bias towards his teacher. Or it could be he saw something important there.
The truth be told , Thomas Jefferson in a similar vein held the only way the American Republic could survive was by education and for that purpose he founded the university of Virginia. He knew the system of the American Constitution was only workable for a certain kind of person. Not all people.
Only people with a Judaic-Christian orientation.
[My own opinion about this is similar to Allen Bloom and Thomas Jefferson. It is learning Gemara, Musar (Mediaeval Ethics), and Math.] That is to say I do not think all and any education is worthwhile. So in that sense I am disagreeing with Thomas Jefferson. Education yes but only a certain kind of education. Also I am not thinking of the Republic of Plato as being the best of his works but rather the middle dialogues. Also I am thinking Gemara [as shorthand for learning the whole Oral and written Law] Musar Ethics and Math as connecting one's inner self to the Platonic Forms.
[Not that I presume to be anywhere near the greatness of Allen Bloom of Thomas Jefferson. Rather it is my opinion that their ideas need to be modified a bit in because of hindsight.]
I mean to say here that if you look at Allen Bloom's middle chapters about the "self" he is is skimping on the Kantian approach. [He was quite aware of Kant but in his treatment of the Self he had a lot of material to cover before he could get to Kant.] So what I see is the self of Kant, the "ding an sich,"the thing in itself is something Schopenhauer put the Platonic forms into. Thus all one needs to do in theory is to awaken those Platonic Forms.
It might seem a small consolation but Allen Bloom did have two ideas that he suggested. Learning the Republic of Plato seems to have been the top priority. "Great books" after that. He also did mention learning Torah in the beginning chapters as a kind of hint but nothing that he explicitly advocated.[I mean to say he mentioned his relatives that had in their background, basic learning of the Oral and Written Law and that that gave them a depth of understanding of the human condition that the NY Times and other modern writings could not compare to.
He also mentioned Hegel in a very positive way, suggesting he might have seen something important there. It is hard to know what though. Allen Bloom in fact had been taught by a Hegelian professor so you you count this as bias towards his teacher. Or it could be he saw something important there.
The truth be told , Thomas Jefferson in a similar vein held the only way the American Republic could survive was by education and for that purpose he founded the university of Virginia. He knew the system of the American Constitution was only workable for a certain kind of person. Not all people.
Only people with a Judaic-Christian orientation.
[My own opinion about this is similar to Allen Bloom and Thomas Jefferson. It is learning Gemara, Musar (Mediaeval Ethics), and Math.] That is to say I do not think all and any education is worthwhile. So in that sense I am disagreeing with Thomas Jefferson. Education yes but only a certain kind of education. Also I am not thinking of the Republic of Plato as being the best of his works but rather the middle dialogues. Also I am thinking Gemara [as shorthand for learning the whole Oral and written Law] Musar Ethics and Math as connecting one's inner self to the Platonic Forms.
[Not that I presume to be anywhere near the greatness of Allen Bloom of Thomas Jefferson. Rather it is my opinion that their ideas need to be modified a bit in because of hindsight.]
I mean to say here that if you look at Allen Bloom's middle chapters about the "self" he is is skimping on the Kantian approach. [He was quite aware of Kant but in his treatment of the Self he had a lot of material to cover before he could get to Kant.] So what I see is the self of Kant, the "ding an sich,"the thing in itself is something Schopenhauer put the Platonic forms into. Thus all one needs to do in theory is to awaken those Platonic Forms.
31.5.16
religious teachers
The main power of religious teachers comes from their pretense of secret knowledge. Especially knowledge of Kabalah. So they are in particular jealous of the Kabalah Institute [founded on the approach to the Ari of Rav Ashlag] as being a threat to their supposed superiority about this secret knowledge. The only way one can really see through their deception is by experience. There is really very little in the way of checking up on them otherwise.
Only people that were believing in them and burnt are the ones openly saying that they are all frauds, and these people that have been burnt are usually not believable because of the fact that they are losers at this game of fraud. Losers tend to have little of no credibility because of the fact that they are losers even though they are the ones in position to have actually seen the truth.
Only people that were believing in them and burnt are the ones openly saying that they are all frauds, and these people that have been burnt are usually not believable because of the fact that they are losers at this game of fraud. Losers tend to have little of no credibility because of the fact that they are losers even though they are the ones in position to have actually seen the truth.
The truth is religious teachers do not have knowledge of the Ari at all. Most have not even read through the entire works of the Ari at all. And those that have learned the Ari in some depth are usually ignorant of Gemara and thus unqualified. The whole thing is a scam.
Even the so called Kabalah yeshivas in Jerusalem are frauds, and are just private county clubs for the macho man and his thugs to sit around all day and chat. Beware.
[In any case for actual knowledge of the Ari the Kabbalah institute seems very good. They have a great edition of all the Ari and without pretense of great knowledge of it they study it seriously. It is the best and most honest approach to this that I have seen.]
This should not be construed as a critique on the Holy Torah, not the written Law nor the oral Law. Rather this is a critique on the creeps that pretend to know it an keep it. in so doing the give the Torah and all Jews a bad name. The religious world are more like enemies of the Jewish people and of the Torah than the friends they claim to be.
In fact I think the Oral and Written Law are very important and I think Reb Israel Salanter found the best approach to make this simple and easy--to learn Musar [the Ethics of the Torah.]
[In any case for actual knowledge of the Ari the Kabbalah institute seems very good. They have a great edition of all the Ari and without pretense of great knowledge of it they study it seriously. It is the best and most honest approach to this that I have seen.]
This should not be construed as a critique on the Holy Torah, not the written Law nor the oral Law. Rather this is a critique on the creeps that pretend to know it an keep it. in so doing the give the Torah and all Jews a bad name. The religious world are more like enemies of the Jewish people and of the Torah than the friends they claim to be.
In fact I think the Oral and Written Law are very important and I think Reb Israel Salanter found the best approach to make this simple and easy--to learn Musar [the Ethics of the Torah.]
I know on a blog with the Gra in the title it is hard to understand why I would put being in the Armed Forces as good thing. While being in the Armed Forces could cramp your ability to keep all the Mitzvot with all the details.
Still getting married takes precedence. If a Litvak (Lithuanian) Rosh yeshiva's daughter is a possibility I figure then those people are not looking at this blog anyway, and that would have happened already. So obviously you were by-passed.
And the religious world is a disaster zone when it comes to shiduchim. [It is a cheat and a racket for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many baal teshuvas.]
The main thing there is the fraud and scams. This is besides the fact that the religious world outside the yeshivas is simply a fake religion. It pretends to keep Torah, but worships their human gurus.
Still getting married takes precedence. If a Litvak (Lithuanian) Rosh yeshiva's daughter is a possibility I figure then those people are not looking at this blog anyway, and that would have happened already. So obviously you were by-passed.
And the religious world is a disaster zone when it comes to shiduchim. [It is a cheat and a racket for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many baal teshuvas.]
The main thing there is the fraud and scams. This is besides the fact that the religious world outside the yeshivas is simply a fake religion. It pretends to keep Torah, but worships their human gurus.
So to be man, it seems to me there is little choice but to do the Armed Forces thing. [Unless something clicks in university.]
War is justifiable if it is to protect one's home.
War is justifiable if it is to protect one's home.
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