bezmenov had a YouTube video about how the KGB used most of its resources on infiltrating the USA and turning it to communism by means of infiltration subversion, Not the usual kind of activity associated with the KGB and Thrush in Man from Uncle. He was a high ranking officer in the KGB but defected. It could be similar activity might have been going on to subvert the Vatican also.


bezmenov U tube


[On the other hand it would have taken a lot more resources than the KGB actually had in order to do that. Probably it was like a chain. Socialism had a lot of professors  that were teaching it.]

If you have ever been part of even the most healthy and straightest and best of religious groups like the Litvak Yeshiva world you might know that even in the best of groups there is an aspect of cultism. And that leaves you wondered were you part of a decent group or part of a cult.

But I say that these categories can overlap.

Just to give an example. Take Adi Da. Clearly a cult. And yet there probably some aspects of legitimate teachings also. Or Scientology. Same thing.
These are clearly cults and yet probably had some aspects of benefit.
So the question is not whether the group is a cult or legitimate. Nor how much of a percent is each one. Rather the question is that of cyanide. You do not care how much cyanide is in your chocolate pudding. If there is any at all --that is already too much.

So even if you are part of a good group there still can be plenty of things to be wary of.  The Dark Side can get into everything. Especially in the religious world.

The way I see marriage nowadays is in this way. If you would know that after ten years she will take everything from you and poison your children against you would you still go into it?
For some people the answer is yes. It is that important to have children. But many others would say no.
That is why I just do not see marriage as the best idea. It makes no difference how determined you are to make it work since there is another person involved who learned the right words to convince you.

And what about the simple option of פילגש? If it is good enough for Jacob our forefather why should it not be good enough for me? In any case, it is a argument among the rishonim but I see it nowadays as the best approach. To the Ramban [Nachmanides], Raavad and most other rishonim it is perfectly allowed.

I noticed the idea of divorce has come up. I wanted to mention to women that feel they can not get out of marriages that seem to be too problematic to them. The cure to this situation is to cure the fact that they never just want out of marriage. They want out of the marriage along with all the children and all husband's assets, and make him work for them.

Even if this does not apply to any particular wife, still the approach is so widespread that many men feel the only thing left to them is to refuse the divorce. [Which they can do by law. A forced divorce is not valid.]

Leonard Nelson

History has a way of by passing some philosophers which are only discovered long after they are gone. Leonard Nelson [influenced by Kant and Fries] has just begun to be noticed. [Except Kelley Ross was trying for  along time to bring his teachings to the public on his web site on the Friesian School].

One reason is I think that he was in bitter conflict with the Neo Kant school in Marburg.
There are probably other reasons like the fact that WWI made philosophy based in Germany unpopular--to say the least. WWII did nothing to add to the popularity of German philosophy.

I wanted to mention that though he was based to some degree on Fries, he corrected some mistakes in that approach. [Though I forgot what they were off hand.] 


[However I have to add that that I think that Leonard Nelson and Hegel are simply addressing different issues.  After all both hold we have access to the "thing in itself" and Hegel is  building a kind of Metaphysics that is built on Reason. It is not as incompatible with Nelson.]

path of balance

I am mainly looking for the path of balance and being a "mensch" a decent human being that was the path of my parents. So the way I think of this is שואף לאמצע [desire the middle] like you say in calculus that epsilon is שואף לאפס [epsilon goes to zero. But in Hebrew you say "epsilon desires to go to zero"].

However I realize that there are times one needs to concentrate on one thing alone. But while doing so I think it is important not to lose the big picture.

But one thing I think is is good to be a fanatic about. To be fanatic about being balanced and having good traits [Midot tovot] as you see well defined in books of Musar [Mediaeval books of ethics and also later the books of the disciples of Rav Israel Salanter.

w55    w55 in midi format    w55 in nwc format [in which it was written].