Some have brought up the subject of Zionism as a form of nationalism. Also "Self determination."
But self determination does not seem like nationalism. Nationalism is defensible with Hegel. But self determination is incoherent. What is the group? This was noticed right away when Wilson proposed self determination as a principle. It automatically leads to conflict. However nationalism is  perfectly legitimate and can be defended by Hegel.  [But then you would have to defend Hegel, which I think is possible and even desirable. ]


I believe the point was raised right away after Wilson stated this principle. Self Determination has not lower limit, and no upper limit. It is a simply a principle that gives a way for people to make trouble when they don't like the way things are going. Serbia is one good example. Nationalism however is something that is defended by Hegel. So one would have to see exactly what kind of nationalism he is defending and why. Certainly he is not saying self determination for everyone. He means a kind of nationalism that has associated with it an upward vector. It is not stationary.

Reb Aaron Kotler and Zionism

 I was in Israel and at the time identified with the Ultra Religious.  And then I saw a book of Aaron Kotler and saw  that he said דינא דמלכותא דינא "the law of the country is the law." So I realized then that my anti Zionist stance was mistaken. Reb Moshe Feinstein also said the same thing. Since then I have been supportive of the State of Israel.

ADL Anti defamation League  I have seen them defend things I thought were not very good. I forget exactly but I seem to recall they wanted to ban celebrations of Christmas and the Ten Commandments and such things. I would assume they might have something to do with the banning of the Confederate Battle Flag in the South. That suggests to me they must be Democrats. They seem to be on some kind of crusade to wipe out morality and values.

Notes

Reb Aaron Kotler was a very great Torah sage who had learned I think in Kletzk and wrote a very good book on Shas and a book of Ethics. The book on Ethics is where I saw this opinion of his.

I really can't tell who was greater, but Reb Aaron is considered to have been as great as Reb Moshe Feinstein or perhaps greater. My own experience with Litvish gedolim was confined to Shar Yashuv and the Mir in NY. That is Reb Naphtali Yeager and Reb Shmuel Brudny, Reb Shmuel Berenbaum, the author of the Sukat David and Reb Shraga Moshe Kalmanovitch. My impression of all of them is very high. I think Reb Shmuel Berenabum was the deepest thinker and I think Naftapli Yaeger is the most rigorous.

The person that probably was the greatest of that generation was Rav Shach in Ponovitch.[He wrote the Avi Ezri which is an amazing book.]

Nowadays there is not much left. For guidance, the best people around are probably the descendants of Reb Yaakov Abuchazteira and Bava Sali. [Though I admit I am not  aware of who is who. I know Shimon Buso -a grandson of Bava Sali, but that is about all.]

s20 A major    s-20 in midi format

vindictive ex-wives

Here is an amazing comment I saw on blog called judgybitch.com in answer to a feminist.



" I've thought long and hard on your remarks before composing this reply. Unfortunately you are right that a growing number of children are growing up fatherless here in the US and in the UK, innocent casualties of the divorces imposed on them by their mothers and fathers.
I will only speak as a divorced father and no one else. During the divorce process (in the mid 1980s, not recently) I was told by my attorney that in 98% of the cases, the mother was automatically awarded primary custody; my wanting to fight her in court over custody for my kids was an almost sure loss for me. He was right.

Being the stubborn bastard that I can be sometimes, I STILL wanted to fight for my children regardless of what the lawyer said. Ah, then during a very brief meeting with one of my soon to be ex-brother-in-laws it was told to me that if I persisted in contesting for custody of my children, I would be accused to sexually abusing them to ensure I would remain in the justice system until bankrupted. This was not a veiled threat, but plainly spoken to let me know the cost. So to answer part of your remarks; I would have dearly LOVED and cherished the opportunity to raise my own children.


" Why not make a father raise the child if the mother is financially unable to." I only wish to god that I could have had the chance to raise them myself, no one would have had to twist my arm to provide for my own little ones.

Please, before thinking that men can easily walk away from their kids, consider that they might be forcibly driven away by the vindictive ex-wives, and not of their own choice."

abuse of authority under the guise of holiness

I think that in fact people got fed up with abuse of authority. They said it is better for people to be open sinners than sinners under the guise of holiness.

women lie about rape

I had an amazing childhood

I had an amazing childhood and teen age years with my parents. The only real pain I had was being dumped by my girlfriend, Wendy, for another friend. Sex was  unheard of in those days, though in high school one girl was thought to be in that regard. But  she was the only one. And she was limited to her own boyfriend. For that reason I wonder why I felt the need to rebel against my parents except for the fact that that was the social thing to do in those days. I suppose it still is. I was vaguely aware of American culture going downhill in that way. Still I am shocked by some of the stories of people I read about.

I can see why people thought being part of the religious world would provide insulation against the secular trends. The truth though is the opposite. [People should learn Torah, but not assume that those that claim to teach it are holy. The opposite is  the case. There seems to be an overflow in the religious world of vicious, cruel, and stupid people that you would generally not except to find there.
The religious world provides an illusion of being  immune. In fact, I believe it is more corrupt--though more hidden.

[I also had a great deal of pain and frustration that I was not very good in math, though later I developed  a taste for it. I did not get smarter, I just developed  a taste for it.] Now that I think of it  my frustration at my lack of abilities was probably more painful than being dumped by Wendy. But both things were the most painful things I had ever gone through.

Don't think that I wrote some decent books on the Talmud,  that makes me smart. I had amazing teachers and a really great learning partner that showed me the way.