So the fact that someone is religious --in the sense that the religious world takes it to mean--has nothing to do with the question if they are a decent human being-.

Morality and one's belief system are two separate areas of value. Even if they are related they are still dealing with different subject matter.  So the fact that someone is religious --in the sense that the religious world takes it to mean--has nothing to do with the question if they are a decent human being-. In fact it was this revelation that caused me to be less enchanted with the religious world.

Furthermore it seems to me that the amount of mental energy that people put into religious observance seems to take away how much energy they can put into being decent people.

You can see in the writings of Rav Israel Salanter and also the events of his life that he wanted to solve this problem. It could be that he had succeeded to some degree in the Litvak yeshiva world--where his teachings were more or less accepted. 

too many pictures in the religious world

There are too many pictures in the religious world. This seems to have seeped in slowly. But it is common now. It probably has something to do with the natural human need for some idol. Everyone in the religious world worships some idol-but it is however called a "tzadik" (saint). [The problem would be even if the saint was actually saintly. But in fact the reverse seems to be the case most often.]

Isaac Blazer in the end of his book of Rav Israel Salanter brings the idea of learning Gemara and trust in God. His basic idea there is that one ought to care only for the needs of that day and sit and learn Torah and not worry about the needs of tomorrow.

This is on the Mishna about the "path of Torah" to eat bread and water and to labor in Torah and to live a life of pain. So he asks what is the life of pain is the mishna talking about since it already stipulated that you eat bread and water and sleep on the ground. He answers that that is not a life of pain in the sense that one feels the pain. rather it is a life of pain for one who has no trust in God. But one who trusts in God it is  a life of joy.

In a practical sense however we see the basic approach of Rav Isaac Blazer was the same as that of Navardok about sitting and learning Torah and not worrying about tomorrow.

This is clearly the ideal of Torah. The only thing that I would modify now would be what is included in the category of learning Torah. In my view this would include Physics and Mathematics as you see in the obligations of the Heart and most other rishonim from Spain.  [Those from Germany did not hold this way.]

path of balance in Torah and wisdom of God as revealed in Physics and Mathematics and the natural sciences.

It seems to me to be hard to know why the rishonim [medieval authorities] from Spain were going with the learning of Aristotle to the degree that they did.

It does not at first glance seem to be based on the Gemara.
 Still because of my peculiar situation when I could not and still can not learn Torah, at least the opinion of the rishonim gives me an opening in which I feel I can learn the wisdom of God [Physics and Mathematics and the natural sciences. Not pseudo science like psychology.]
So I have at least a few opinions in the rishonim to depend on. Still it seems hard to know why the rishonim themselves took such a radical approach.

The basic approach I think comes from Saadia Gaon but is most clearly enunciated in the Musar Book the Hovot Levavot/Obligations of the Heart. [By Ibn Pakuda].

In Bava Kama at around page 82 there is a discussion of the "wisdom of the Greeks". Raban Shimon Ben Gamliel was part of  large household and he said that 500 students learned Torah and another 500 learned Greek wisdom and only two were left, him and another student. So the Gemara brings this as a question on the idea that Greek wisdom is forbidden. The Gemara answers since the household of R Gamliel was close to the government they needed to know Greek wisdom. In one rishon in the back of the printed edition I saw yesterday I noticed that he says thus it is permitted in case of need.



In any case it seem to me that a path of balance is the best idea.

Sanhedrin page 14. No ordination nowadays. Rambam about the Tribe of Levi.

The idea that there is no ordination nowadays is well known in the Gemara. But I admit that I forget the exact source. The fact that there is no ordination outside of Israel is however in Sanhedrin page 14.

This is brought in Bava Kama around page 84 where the issue of things that can be judged outside of Israel comes up. חבלות והודעות.

Why it seems necessary to mention this is that this is one area that is rarely touched upon by religious authorities that want to pull the wool over people's eyes to make them think that they have actual ordination. In that way they monetize Torah. [I.e., they use Torah as a means to make money and gain prestige and power.]

 A different issue is that in any case, it is  forbidden to use Torah to make money. And that Rambam about the Tribe of Levi has nothing to do with this issue because there the Rambam says for one that accepts on himself the yoke of serving God, God will provide. He say nothing there in relation to the question of one can use Torah to make money. [And the question of using Torah to make money  is dealt with by the Rambam in a different place, i.e., laws of learning Torah.]

laws about marriage.

I wanted to bring up a few issues in laws about marriage. The library here is closing soon so I only have a few minutes.
Property of the wife is explained in Yevamot but the major subjects are gone into in Ketuboth. [It is brought also  in the Code of Laws by Rav Joseph Karo, the Shulhan Aruch, Vol. Even HaEzer ch 85. paragraph 3]

In short there are three major areas. One is נכסי צאן ברזל "iron sheep." That is property that the bride brings into the marriage that the husband takes responsibility for in case they are lost. This kind of property he has to pay for if there is a divorce.  He can use the property. [Property that is mentioned in the Ketuba is a sub set of this. That is to say the iron sheep does not have to be at the time of getting married. It simply is any property that he takes responsibility for.
There is another type called נכסי מלוג "sheared property" [as when you shear the wool of a sheep and the sheep is left but you take the wool]. In this he also can use it and also if it is rented property he gets the rent. But if it is lost, he does not pay for it.

But there is no concept that the wife owns the property of the husband just by getting married.

The idea of serving God with balance--not to be a fanatic is brought in the book of Rav Nahman, The Le'M in vol I chapter 49.

The idea of serving God with balance--not to be a fanatic is brought in the book of Rav Nahman, The Le'M in vol I chapter 49.
There he brings the basic idea of Rav Isaac Luria in the start of the Eitz Haim about the condensation.[Zimzum]. The idea there is is that in the beginning everything was filled with the light of God so there was no place to create any world. So God condensed his light to the sides to create an empty space that was a sphere, and also left a point of light in the middle. Then He sent down a beam of light that went down a drop and then turned to the sides to become a sphere. Then the light went down a drop more and became a smaller sphere.  And thus the light went down more until ten times and these are the ten spherot in the shape of spheres.

Rav Nahman brings that this happens in every person. That when one wants to serve God the light fills him with such excitement that he or she can not contain themselves. --and can do things wrong because of over excitement. So one must contain ones own excitement to serve God with good character that neither goes off to one direction or the other.

This is well known among newly religious people --that they get overly excited and do things wrong because of it. or sometimes imagine that they already understand everything. They become know it alls.

But there is usually a great amount of trouble in figuring out exactly how to apply this lesson.