The Rambam (Maimonides) has a V shaped approach to history.

The Rambam (Maimonides) has a V shaped approach to history. That is Adam Harishon [אדם הראשון] starts out on top and then falls with his descendants. Then starts the slow climb. The first step in the climb is נימוסי היוונים the laws of Ancient Greece, [Sparta and Athens]. The Rambam says these were revealed to Avraham Avinu (אברהם אבינו Abraham the patriarch).  Natural Law. This step he says is necessary for the next step -Matan Torah.
Maimonides in part III chapter 34 of the Guide: concerning the Natural Law discovered by Avraham: "Indeed all things proceed from one deity and one agent and "have been given from one shepherd" (Prov. 30:12-13) ...In view of this consideration, it also will not be possible that the laws be dependent on changes in the circumstances of the individuals and of the times, as is the case with regard to medical treatment, which is particularized for every individual in conformity with his present temperament. On the contrary governance of the Law ought to be absolute and universal, including everyone..." 

The Rambam also gives reasons for the commandments. To him many of the commandments are to bring to natural law.

This seems like a contradiction. I noticed this before but the way I approach this is thus: There are two levels objective morality [that exists separately from the observer], and numinous value (luminous, holy value).
Both exist in each command of the Torah. Not one kind of value in one command and another in a different command.

So in doing a command like learning Torah there is one aspect of value ones gains, but the higher level of value only comes with proper attitude. To learn "Torah Lishma," for its own sake and not for money. 

So when we have the argument between rabbi shimon ben yochai and the sages about דורשין טעמא דקרא that means to r. shimon we go by the known reason for the command and when that does not apply then the command does not apply and nor is there any higher reason of numinous value in such a case. But the sages say we are not דורשין טעמא דקרא meaning that though the reason for the command based on natural law does not apply still the numinous value still applies

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The רמב''ם has a ט shaped approach to history. That is אדם הראשון starts out on top and then falls with his descendants. Then starts the slow climb. The first step in the climb is נימוסי היוונים  that is the laws of Ancient Greece, Sparta and Athens. The רמב''ם says these were revealed to אברהם אבינו .  Natural Law. This step he says is necessary for the next step מתן תורה.
The רמב''ם also gives reasons for the commandments. To him many of the commandments are to bring to natural law.

This seems like a contradiction. The way I approach this is thus. There are two levels objective morality , that exists separately from the observer, and   luminous, holy value.
Both exist in each command of the Torah. Not one kind of value in one command and another in a different command.

So in doing a command like learning Torah there is one aspect of value ones gains, but the higher level of value only comes with proper attitude. To learn "Torah Lishma," for its own sake and not for money. 

So when we have the argument between ר. שמעון בן יוחאי and the sages about דורשין טעמא דקרא that means to ר.  שמעון בן יוחאי we go by the known reason for the command and when that does not apply then the command does not apply and nor is there any higher reason of numinous value in such a case. But the sages say we are not דורשין טעמא דקרא meaning that though the reason for the command based on natural law does not apply still the numinous value still applies

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 לרמב''ם יש גישה  להיסטוריה בצורת ט. כלומר אדם הראשון מתחיל על גבי ההר ואז נופל עם צאצאיו לגבעה. ואז מתחיל בטיפוס האיטי. הצעד הראשון בטיפוס הוא נימוסי היוונים היינו  חוקי יוון העתיקה, ספרטה ואתונה. רמב''ם אומר אלה נגלו לאברהם אבינו. חוק הטבע. הרמב''ם אומר יש צורך לצעד הזה  לשלב הבא של מתן תורה. הרמב''ם גם נותן טעמי המצוות. לו רבים מן המצוות הם להביא את לחוקי טבע. זה נראה כמו סתירה. הדרך שאני מתקרב לזה כך. ישנן שתי רמות. מטרה מוסרית, שקיים בנפרד מן הצופה, וערך זורח, ערך קדוש. שניהם קיימות בכל פקודה של התורה. לא שיש סוג אחד של ערך בפקודה אחת, ואחת בפקודה שונה. אז לעשות פקודה כמו ללמוד תורה יש עליות מוסרית, אבל הרמה הגבוהה יותר של הערך מגיעה רק עם גישה נכונה היינו ללמוד "תורה לשמה" לשמה ולא עבור כסף.  עכשיו יש לנו את הויכוח בין ר. שמעון בן יוחאי והחכמים על דורשין טעמא דקרא. זה אומר  ר. שמעון בן יוחאי  אומר  הולכים לפי הסיבה הידועה עבור הפקודה, וכשזה אינו חל אז הפקודה אינה חלה.  והסיבה הגבוהה של המצווה אינה שייכת במצב כזה. אך החז"ל אומרים שאנחנו לא דורשין טעמא דקרא, כלומר אם הסיבה הפקודה המבוססת על חוקי טבע אינה חלה, עדיין הערך הגבוה עדיין חל.

There is kind of Achilles heel in yeshivas. Some trip wire that people fall for. I am not sure what it is exactly but it perhaps is  a kind of superiority complex.

It is hard for me to recommend yeshivas.The reason is they purposely try to recruit people from university and say to come to the yeshiva to learn Torah all day. Then when one does this, and things are not working out for him as well as he expected, they treat him like dirt.
It is like the just want to recruit the beautiful people [college students with rich parents] because it gives them a good image, so as to be able to con and scam more people in giving them charity. Because after all is said and done, that is all it is about. They pretend it is a living, but all it really is is charity.


The idea of learning Torah is to come to two things objective morality and numinosity. But this does not happen if on learns for money. That is why the yeshivas are not effective any more in creating good character.

Torah is only effective in bringing to objective morality when it is learned for its own sake--not as a means to make money.

When people learn Torah for money that creates a kind of vicious personality. They have a need to show that somehow they are more deserving of people's charity than others. So if others are also learning Torah, the first groups has to show they are somehow superior. And if someone comes along that also wants to learn Torah that creates a situation where the first groups feels the need to put down and be rid of the second guy. It is rare to find much god in this system.

The only yeshivas I can truly recommend and think they are learning Torah for its own sake are the well known Litvak yeshivas Ponovitch, Mir, Brisk,Chaim Berlin, Torah VeDaat.

I also got the idea that there has been a great effort to bring people from 3rd world countries into the USA and to keep out white people. I also ran into a lot of people from first world countries that would have loved to come to the USA but getting any kind of visa was virtually impossible. Someone has been trying hard to change the racial makeup of the USA.

s25 D minor  s25 midi format   s25 nwc format

OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) has nothing to do with Fear of God, but to the religious world it is the same thing. The more one focuses on rituals, is the more holy they seem..

A lot of religious motivation has more to do with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder more than with any kind of holiness. But not all.

And the system of the Ultra Religious encourages and nourishes this kind of disorder.

This happens when nothing else seems to work. A time of anxiety brings this on.

The obsessions in the Ultra Religious world are the exact same things as classic OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) , [i.e. cleanliness, food preparation, obsession with sex, holy places. numerology and gematriot.

The leaders are people that have an exaggerated version of this OCD.

And this is the basic reason why the Ultra Religious world is insane.

OCD has nothing to do with Fear of God, but to the religious world it is the same thing. The more they focus on rituals,  the more  holy they think they are.

So, in spite of the great thing that Reb Israel Salanter did in emphasizing Musar and Fear of God, still there is this troubling side of things in which fear of God can't be discerned or told apart from a diseased imagination.


For this reason Reb Israel Salanter himself focused on the more rational books of Musar Ethics from the Middle Ages more than the later Musar books which were all fused with kabalah and probably were written by people with this disorder. The obsession with religion is not the sign of a healthy personality, even though being true to the word of God in the Oral and Written Law is important.

[After spending time with the religious, you will start noticing this just as I did. A lot the people there simply have diseased imaginations.]

You can see why in Lithuanian kinds of Yeshivas obsessive religious behavior was rigorously  excluded in order to prevent these kinds of crazy people from joining. Thus in the ultra Religious world you have people at the heads of the cults have different levels of OCD, but that is rare in the Litvak world which  excludes this kind of insanity.

However to avoid people with this kind of disorder it is safer to simply join a Reform Temple. I myself went to Temple Israel and also to a Conservative place in Southern California.

Math, Physics, Gemara Musar, Music, Survival Skills.

I mentioned a few times that my basic approach is Torah with Derech Eretz [manners and a vocation.]. That is Math, Physics, Gemara Musar, Music, Survival Skills. But also I wanted to add the learning these things does not depend on understanding. There is such a thing as a mitzvah to learn Torah even though you do not understand. This is not just because it is assumed that with lots of review one will eventually understand. There is also the idea that in the next world one will be reminded and understand everything he tried to understand in this world but was not able to do so.
This forms the basis of the type of fast learning that all authentic Litvak yeshivas do in the afternoon and I showed how this comes from the Talmud itself. לעולם לגרס איניש אע''ג דמשכח ואע''ג דלא ידע מאי קאמר

I mentioned this in reference to Tosphot --just to say it over day after day, even for months until you understand.[Unless you are learning with a learning partner. In that case you do this kind of learning on your own time.]

But also this applies to learning Gemara, and Tur, Beit Joseph. To put a place marker in the book and every day do one whole page in order, and the next day to go on from where you left off.

I wanted to add the idea of learning standing. This is also a great help to understanding. I remember that this was how I did a lot of the writings of the Ari(zal),  Isaac Luria. I did not have "Stender" at home so I pulled out the shelf of one cabinet and stood up learning the Ari. [Not during "seder" or regular yeshiva hours 10:00-2:00 4:00-8:00]

This should not be taken as a kind of agreement with the Ultra Religious who are insane. This should only be taken as agreement with Lithuanian yeshivas  where Torah is learned for its own sake. Nothing else in the religious world do I consider kosher at all. [In fact the Gra knew exactly what he was doing when he signed the Cherem and it is wrong for people to ignore it, because it relates to objective reality.] This affected the entire frum world including the yeshivas. Even the yeshivas have gotten a share of the kelipot that penetrated into them. They will make a song and dance around secular Jews that have money but treat other people like dirt.

s24 A major

ditto in midi ditto in nwc