16.9.17
Socrates asked "What is virtue?",
Socrates asked "What is virtue?", and could not find anyone that could answer the question.[Meno]
Even with Musar/Medieval Books of Ethics the question still seems hard to answer.
Besides this, he asked, "Can virtue be taught?" If so, then why it is that the children of virtuous people are sometimes not virtuous? If by nature, then it does seem to be from free will.
The books of Musar do a great job in explaining the basic ethics of the Torah, but leave open the basic questions of "How to identify virtue, and to get it after one recognizes it?" Learning Musar would seem to help at least in terms of recognizing virtue. [the mediaeval books of musar show what virtue is and rav israel salanter held by the opinion that by learning these books daily, one comes to virtue. ]
Even with Musar/Medieval Books of Ethics the question still seems hard to answer.
Besides this, he asked, "Can virtue be taught?" If so, then why it is that the children of virtuous people are sometimes not virtuous? If by nature, then it does seem to be from free will.
The books of Musar do a great job in explaining the basic ethics of the Torah, but leave open the basic questions of "How to identify virtue, and to get it after one recognizes it?" Learning Musar would seem to help at least in terms of recognizing virtue. [the mediaeval books of musar show what virtue is and rav israel salanter held by the opinion that by learning these books daily, one comes to virtue. ]
Learning Torah is needed
I could vaguely see this, but someone coming into the city (of the former USSR) where I am right now pin pointed the problem: "Punk-keit". That is in this city there is a kind of idealization of the punk. The young criminal thug. This must account for the fact that the Russians always seem to look down on this area and think of it as second rate.
This reminds me that when a person has a "yetzer hara" (an evil inclination), he does not think of that thing that he desires as being wrong. In this city, theft is certainly not considered a bad thing. I think it shows how much learning Torah is needed for people to get an idea of the difference between right and wrong. In particular Musar (Mediaeval Ethics) is necessary because it deals with the areas of Torah that are most needed. One place you can see this is in the Reshash {Rav Shalom Sharabi} where he brings this idea that the actual soul is one's character traits, while Torah and mitzvot are the clothing and food of the soul.
That is to say: if one lacks good character, he does not even have a holy soul. Then all the Torah and mitzvot do nothing. This is a reason most Jews in Europe were aware that the most essential lesson of Torah is "to be a mench" (decent human being .)
This reminds me that when a person has a "yetzer hara" (an evil inclination), he does not think of that thing that he desires as being wrong. In this city, theft is certainly not considered a bad thing. I think it shows how much learning Torah is needed for people to get an idea of the difference between right and wrong. In particular Musar (Mediaeval Ethics) is necessary because it deals with the areas of Torah that are most needed. One place you can see this is in the Reshash {Rav Shalom Sharabi} where he brings this idea that the actual soul is one's character traits, while Torah and mitzvot are the clothing and food of the soul.
That is to say: if one lacks good character, he does not even have a holy soul. Then all the Torah and mitzvot do nothing. This is a reason most Jews in Europe were aware that the most essential lesson of Torah is "to be a mench" (decent human being .)
15.9.17
a unity between physicality and spirituality. Not just a connection but a kind of ground of being in which they are one and identical.
There is such a thing as a unity between physicality and spirituality. Not just a connection but a kind of ground of being in which they are one and identical. That was the kind of thing I saw and felt between my parents and also it existed between me and my wife. That is not the same thing as two different things being connected but a place in which they are one and the same. [ Like the aspect of wave or particle of an electron before you measure it. ] This is also similar to the way Hegel is looking for a ground of unity between Notion and Being.
When I faced very difficult times
When I faced very difficult times, I made up my mind to tell the truth at all cost. telling the truth I feel has created a kind of force field around me. It does not make me impervious to harm, but I do think it has helped.
[I might have chosen not to speak lashon hara /gossip and also to learn Torah, but at the time these were the things that made the most sense to me.]
Bava Sali had guarding his eyes as a prime principle, and I was aware of this at the time, but again I needed to find some principle I could hold onto that I thought would help. I was not looking for just any random religious principle, but rather something I thought if I would hold fast onto it, could help me through my troubles. The most promising things in that direction were these two ideas of faith and truth.
[Today I would add learning Gemara, Rashi, Tosphot and the Avi Ezri of Rav Shach, and Musar [Mediaeval Ethics] but then I was looking for something more basic.]
So now that I feel I am also in a difficult period, my thoughts are still to look for the set of basic principles to hold onto that should work. The main ones still I think should the truth telling at all cost. I was trying to work on trust in God without effort but now I feel I overdid that. I might have stayed in a bad situation thinking that if God wanted me to leave He would make it happen. That I think now was a mistake in judgment. But the things that are still clear I think to continue to hold onto. That is to be careful about lashon hara [not to slander or say anything bad about anyone unless under extreme necessity.] To try to spend as much time as possible learning the Avi Ezri of Rav Shach, the Vilna Shas, and Physics.
What I hope is that if I can hold onto these important things, maybe I will awaken to further things I need to do.
[You might note that I have not included metaphysics as a prime obligation for myself. ]
[I might have chosen not to speak lashon hara /gossip and also to learn Torah, but at the time these were the things that made the most sense to me.]
Bava Sali had guarding his eyes as a prime principle, and I was aware of this at the time, but again I needed to find some principle I could hold onto that I thought would help. I was not looking for just any random religious principle, but rather something I thought if I would hold fast onto it, could help me through my troubles. The most promising things in that direction were these two ideas of faith and truth.
[Today I would add learning Gemara, Rashi, Tosphot and the Avi Ezri of Rav Shach, and Musar [Mediaeval Ethics] but then I was looking for something more basic.]
So now that I feel I am also in a difficult period, my thoughts are still to look for the set of basic principles to hold onto that should work. The main ones still I think should the truth telling at all cost. I was trying to work on trust in God without effort but now I feel I overdid that. I might have stayed in a bad situation thinking that if God wanted me to leave He would make it happen. That I think now was a mistake in judgment. But the things that are still clear I think to continue to hold onto. That is to be careful about lashon hara [not to slander or say anything bad about anyone unless under extreme necessity.] To try to spend as much time as possible learning the Avi Ezri of Rav Shach, the Vilna Shas, and Physics.
What I hope is that if I can hold onto these important things, maybe I will awaken to further things I need to do.
[You might note that I have not included metaphysics as a prime obligation for myself. ]
"What is the good life?"
The most important question one can ask is, "What is the good life?" A life of self indulgence and worldly power or a life of Divine service? To me it seems not everyone has the opportunity to ask this question but I felt in high school that this was the most important question facing me
The answer to this question for me was to go to two authentic Lithuanian kinds of yeshiva in NY. That is: my answer was to devote my life to learning and keeping Torah.
Later, I discovered that there are many people that in external appearance do exactly this, but in fact are not living the good life, but rather lives of self indulgence and lust for worldly power. So the answer to this question is more subtle than I had thought at the time. Especially when I got a chance to see the religious world in its totality, it became clear to me that none of them are living the good life -none are wise or compassionate or brave or have any kind of valor. Religious fanaticism does not equal the good life. In fact, just the opposite.
The truth is I had a good view of the good life when I was living with my parents. Philip and Leila Rosenblum (Rosten). More or less that means a life of being "a mensch" that is to act "right" in every situation.
[The Litvak (Lithuanian) kinds of yeshivas to me seem to approach this ideal closely. That is at least they seem to see this idea of balance as a goal. They learn and keep Torah and serve in the IDF and also work and tend to not use Torah as a means to make money. To me it seems they are on the right path as closely as possible though individual people there still have free will.]
The answer to this question for me was to go to two authentic Lithuanian kinds of yeshiva in NY. That is: my answer was to devote my life to learning and keeping Torah.
Later, I discovered that there are many people that in external appearance do exactly this, but in fact are not living the good life, but rather lives of self indulgence and lust for worldly power. So the answer to this question is more subtle than I had thought at the time. Especially when I got a chance to see the religious world in its totality, it became clear to me that none of them are living the good life -none are wise or compassionate or brave or have any kind of valor. Religious fanaticism does not equal the good life. In fact, just the opposite.
The truth is I had a good view of the good life when I was living with my parents. Philip and Leila Rosenblum (Rosten). More or less that means a life of being "a mensch" that is to act "right" in every situation.
[The Litvak (Lithuanian) kinds of yeshivas to me seem to approach this ideal closely. That is at least they seem to see this idea of balance as a goal. They learn and keep Torah and serve in the IDF and also work and tend to not use Torah as a means to make money. To me it seems they are on the right path as closely as possible though individual people there still have free will.]
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