Learning Medieval Ethics [Musar] is what Israel Salanter thought would improve people's character. But clearly he was not thinking it is automatic. His goal was for people to come to fear of God and good character traits. He would have been the last person to claim that these result automatically from learning Musar. To me it seems it depends on intention. Why is one learning Musar. The motivation will determine the results. What works best is to learn Musar in the context of a Litvak yeshiva. This is the kind of group activity which brings it into one's self in a permanent way
8.7.16
Black Violence
Alton Sterling
From Unz :
The author of that comment is anonymous but he clearly has a background in law because of his use of "dispositive." [Maybe the fellow is a lawyer in the US]
Alton Sterling was a trouble maker. He has been arrested many times. The cops know him and now they get radio traffic that he has pulled a gun on someone. The arrive at the scene and talk to "al" and he will not give up his gun. He will not let them pat him down. He begins to struggle and get loud (usual negro behavior). A wrestling match ensues and they try to Taser him but for some reason that does not work. They pull him to the ground to try to restrain him. He begins writhing and fighting and his hand seems to be around the pocket with the gun. One officer yells "GUN" and they fear he is getting a hand on it. The other cop shoots Alton. He should have been shot. It was a 'good' shooting. You cannot let this angry black get to his gun and shoot you. Blacks get shot because they do not follow orders. They do not have any common sense. They think laws are not for them. They are always angry or sullen at the police and start fighting for nothing. Suddenly,...they are shot and the rest of them go ape. They never learn.
Update:
A second video of the incident has been uncovered, and journalist Phillippe Berry has uncovered a version of this film in 720 that strongly suggests that Alton Sterling’s right hand was not tied up in any way at all.
This unsecured right arm, potentially able to reach the weapon in his right front pocket, dramatically raises the threat to officers. This is looking more and more like a clean “good shoot” as more details emerge.
Gwoobus Harmon said...
From Unz :
The author of that comment is anonymous but he clearly has a background in law because of his use of "dispositive." [Maybe the fellow is a lawyer in the US]
Alton Sterling was a trouble maker. He has been arrested many times. The cops know him and now they get radio traffic that he has pulled a gun on someone. The arrive at the scene and talk to "al" and he will not give up his gun. He will not let them pat him down. He begins to struggle and get loud (usual negro behavior). A wrestling match ensues and they try to Taser him but for some reason that does not work. They pull him to the ground to try to restrain him. He begins writhing and fighting and his hand seems to be around the pocket with the gun. One officer yells "GUN" and they fear he is getting a hand on it. The other cop shoots Alton. He should have been shot. It was a 'good' shooting. You cannot let this angry black get to his gun and shoot you. Blacks get shot because they do not follow orders. They do not have any common sense. They think laws are not for them. They are always angry or sullen at the police and start fighting for nothing. Suddenly,...they are shot and the rest of them go ape. They never learn.
Update:
A second video of the incident has been uncovered, and journalist Phillippe Berry has uncovered a version of this film in 720 that strongly suggests that Alton Sterling’s right hand was not tied up in any way at all.
This unsecured right arm, potentially able to reach the weapon in his right front pocket, dramatically raises the threat to officers. This is looking more and more like a clean “good shoot” as more details emerge.
So many things to say about this incident. I will start with a funny sidebar first.
I had to drive from New Orleans to the northern part of the state on Tuesday. I took a shortcut off of the interstate and hit a U.S. highway to skip the Lafayette leg of the trip and shave off about 45 minutes. While passing through the tiny town of West Baton Rouge on this stretch of highway, I came upon an intersection for local traffic. There was a negro hanging out on the side of the highway and I was stopped at the red light. I witnessed through my rear view mirror him attempt to carjack a vehicle three cars behind me. The snap of the door handle was loud enough that I could hear it even from that distance and with my windows up. The car quickly cut through the center lane and sped away. He then turned and jogged to the vehicles closer to the light, one of which was mine. I went for my weapon just in case. Then the light turned green before he could attempt to enter the other vehicles and everyone exited the intersection. This was around 3 in the afternoon!
I had to drive from New Orleans to the northern part of the state on Tuesday. I took a shortcut off of the interstate and hit a U.S. highway to skip the Lafayette leg of the trip and shave off about 45 minutes. While passing through the tiny town of West Baton Rouge on this stretch of highway, I came upon an intersection for local traffic. There was a negro hanging out on the side of the highway and I was stopped at the red light. I witnessed through my rear view mirror him attempt to carjack a vehicle three cars behind me. The snap of the door handle was loud enough that I could hear it even from that distance and with my windows up. The car quickly cut through the center lane and sped away. He then turned and jogged to the vehicles closer to the light, one of which was mine. I went for my weapon just in case. Then the light turned green before he could attempt to enter the other vehicles and everyone exited the intersection. This was around 3 in the afternoon!
I do not think there is any such thing as a person being male becoming female or visa versa. The reason is that the sex is written in every DNA molecule in the body.
I do not think there is any such thing as a person being male becoming female or visa versa. The reason is that the sex is written in every DNA molecule in the body.
In any case this is in the Mishna. One that has intercourse with a person born with both organs is a ספק חטאת. A case of a doubtful sin offering.
In any case this is in the Mishna. One that has intercourse with a person born with both organs is a ספק חטאת. A case of a doubtful sin offering.
women
Divorce:
Women tend to imagine they have not changed but remain the same attractive 17 year old girls.
A comment on that idea:
Women tend to imagine they have not changed but remain the same attractive 17 year old girls.
A comment on that idea:
Avraham rosenblum says:
“Women tend to imagine they have not changed but remain the same attractive 17 year old girls.”
“Women tend to imagine they have not changed but remain the same attractive 17 year old girls.”
That is the truth.
Of course, women who marry young and stay devoted to their husband, they always will be the same attractive young woman in their husbands memory.
Single women who put off marriage are not so fortunate, if they ever do marry, their husbands will never have memory of those women’s peak attractiveness, as they’ve never seen it.
6.7.16
Torah and Musar
My impression is that prayers do not do a lot of good unless they come along with Torah. If you want help from heaven what I recommend is Musar and a vocation
[] note-musar means books on ethics from the middle ages like the obligations of the hearts by joseph ibn pakuda חןבות הלבבות
true tzadikm
I have become thoroughly disgusted with anything to do with the cult that the Gra signed the excommunication on, but I guess I did not express that clearly enough. No offense intended towards the true tzadikm like Reb Nachman. Still plenty of highly questionable doctrines got mixed up with them.
Personal experience to me says a lot more than book reading. I could go into the theoretical reasons but all you need to do is to open your eyes to see this. The drawback of personal experience is that it is personal. It is not something you can communicate. It is like the problem that by its very nature perception is individual.
All one can do to support the point is point out the excommunication that the Gra signed but that does not seem to provide enough evidence for most people. One could also point out problems that got mixed up with it like the propensity towards bad character traits, but unless one has experienced this first hand he can always think the shiny public image they try to present is accurate,
Personal experience to me says a lot more than book reading. I could go into the theoretical reasons but all you need to do is to open your eyes to see this. The drawback of personal experience is that it is personal. It is not something you can communicate. It is like the problem that by its very nature perception is individual.
All one can do to support the point is point out the excommunication that the Gra signed but that does not seem to provide enough evidence for most people. One could also point out problems that got mixed up with it like the propensity towards bad character traits, but unless one has experienced this first hand he can always think the shiny public image they try to present is accurate,
MDS (Musar deficiency syndrome).
Musar [Ethics] was toned down by the Litvak yeshivas. [Litvak means from Litva or Lithuanian yeshivas].
Even those that accepted it did so in a restrained manner. The Mir in Europe had a 40 min and a 45 min session each day. The Mir in NY had 20 min and 15 min. Nothing like what Reb Israel Salanter was contemplating.
Reb Chaim Soloveitchik did not allow Musar in his Beit Midrash. And in my first yeshiva of Reb Shelomo Freifeld it was absent. Many Litvak's considered it a distraction from Gemara.
My own learning partner said to me he is "allergic to Musar."
This is a difficult subject because my own experiences with Musar have been varied. At one point I was all 工合 gung ho about it.
My impression is that it is like vitamins. One can overdose. But one can underdone also and have MDS (Musar deficiency syndrome).
I have seen plenty of people with MDS. And it is chronic. It can get so bad that even a small amount of healthy Musar can cause an allergic reaction. Yet there are plenty of people who have over dosed also. It is hard to find the middle of the road. What tends to put off people I think is the "mashgichim" that make Musar into a business. They are not smart enough to be Rosh Yeshivas yet they are somehow connected by family relations, so they are made into a "Mashgiach." It is hard to find a better group to give Musar a bad name. They are the terror of every yeshiva bachur- student.
Even those that accepted it did so in a restrained manner. The Mir in Europe had a 40 min and a 45 min session each day. The Mir in NY had 20 min and 15 min. Nothing like what Reb Israel Salanter was contemplating.
Reb Chaim Soloveitchik did not allow Musar in his Beit Midrash. And in my first yeshiva of Reb Shelomo Freifeld it was absent. Many Litvak's considered it a distraction from Gemara.
My own learning partner said to me he is "allergic to Musar."
This is a difficult subject because my own experiences with Musar have been varied. At one point I was all 工合 gung ho about it.
My impression is that it is like vitamins. One can overdose. But one can underdone also and have MDS (Musar deficiency syndrome).
I have seen plenty of people with MDS. And it is chronic. It can get so bad that even a small amount of healthy Musar can cause an allergic reaction. Yet there are plenty of people who have over dosed also. It is hard to find the middle of the road. What tends to put off people I think is the "mashgichim" that make Musar into a business. They are not smart enough to be Rosh Yeshivas yet they are somehow connected by family relations, so they are made into a "Mashgiach." It is hard to find a better group to give Musar a bad name. They are the terror of every yeshiva bachur- student.
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