The original idea of the Litvak yeshiva was to be  a four year program which would go through the three bava's [Bava Metzia, Bava Kama, Bava Batra] and four nashim [Gitin, Kidushin, Ketuboth, Yevamot]. This I see as very important even though it is not really the same thing as the commandment of learning Torah itself which applies all through life and is required of every man.
So the main greatness of the idea of the Litvak Yeshiva is that those are the ages 18-22 that a world view is formed. One generally accepts at that point the social meme of his environment at those crucial ages,- and this meme becomes hard wired. [So the idea in short is that you learn good morals at those few first years and that sticks.]

[This was the original idea of Rav Haim of Voloshin. Before that there was no such thing as a yeshiva in modern sense, but rather it was the local hall where people would pray in the morning, and then go off to their work. The younger people  stayed there and learned. Then Rav Haim came to his teacher the Gra and suggested creating a yeshiva as an independent institution. It is not clear what the answer of the Gra was. There are different versions of the events. At any rate, I must add that I had a great time at the Mir in N.Y.  And besides the my learning during the regular hours I also was privileged to spend time with Rav Shmuel Berenbaum (the rosh yeshiva that gave the highest class). He was  a very deep and creative thinker along the lines of Rav Shach. But for some reason, he never wrote a word, and so most of his ideas were lost with time. Still you can get the basic approach from Rav Shach's Avi Ezri or Rav Haim of Brisk's books.]

w98   [w98 in midi format] [these were written in a format called nwc but i assume most people do not have that so i post the midi format so that people have access to the notes--which they would not have with only the mp3 version.][I want to add that I do not know why some music files were posted while others not. I just can't recall,  --nor did I think it mattered at the time. [w98 nwc]

socialist takeover of the USA

The issue of a socialist takeover of the USA is on one hand upsetting, but on the other it might very well be a cause for people to take up arms and defend American values? I mean, until now there no one has stepped on the brakes of a socialist revolution. Maybe now people might begin to see the ugly face of socialism?


Also I am wondering about the fact that Allan Bloom suggested that universities are the centre of the issues. So what I suggest is to learn the Federalist Papers, John Locke, and Daniel Defoe's  political writings of the 1700's.

But since it might be a bit late for this, the best idea would be for Republicans to protect their homes and business's at all cost. Not to give in an inch.

"There is something about philosophy that deprives people of common sense."

There is some aspect of Philosophy that is odd as Sandra Lehman [a student of philosophy from Germany] once told me: "There is something about philosophy that deprives people of common sense."[However, I doubt if she would include Thomas Reid-the philosopher of common sense

That in fact goes along with Rav Nahman of Breslov who also has a particular warning even about "hashkafa" books even written by the great sages of Israel.
There might be something to this. He in particular was not very thrilled with the Guide for the Perplexed.

Steven Weinberg [once of the discovers of the connection between the weak force and electro-magnetism] had a really insightful comment about philosophy. He said it like nation states before the advent of the post office. The main purpose of nation states was simply to save one from other nation states. Same with philosophy, it only purpose is to save one from other philosophies.

Rav Nahman [of Uman and Breslov] emphasized saying the words and going on.  But his approach was towards the Oral and Written Law. In fact he gave  a list of what one ought to finish every years in such a fashion, the two Talmuds, Rif, Rosh, all the Midrashim etc.
But based on some Rishonim [medieval authorities] I expand that to include Physics and Mathematics.[Not all Rishonim agree].
Now one one hand R. Natan the disciple of Rav Nahman held one ought not to learn these subjects at all. To him they were all in the category of "outside wisdoms". In Sanhedrin   there is a list of things for which one loses his or her portion in the next world. One of them is he who reads "outside books".

The way I usually deal with this was to apply what Rav Nahman had said about doctors to the issue. Rav Nahman strongly turned people to avoid doctors. However when a true vaccine came out in those days he said one must take it. So avoiding doctors did not refer to true medicine. In those days oxygen had not even been discovered. Doctors were still going with the four humors of the ancient Greeks and blood letting.[ the four humors—blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm].

So my feeling about this is his objection against outside wisdoms was pseudo man made wisdoms. Not true Physics in which the Glory of God is revealed.

In the laws concerning a "Herem" excommunication there a very relevant point that one who ignore the excommunication is also comes automatically under the terms of the excommunication.

This would show why the religious world is so corrupt. Because they universally ignore the signature of the Gra on the letter of excommunication.

That unfortunately includes the Litvak yeshivas.

[What I mean here is that Herem is different from Nidui. In Nidui one can learn Torah and teach. But in Herem no one can learn nor from the one under herem and nor can he learn himself. One of the major halacha books of the litvak yeshiva world brings constantly sources that were under the herem so that sort of excludes the entire Litvak world
Sp the proper approach is to start to be alert to the fact that one must have nothing to do with the Sitra Achra. [Dark Side.]

However I must add that the actual language of the herem was not on the Baal Shem Tov himself nor most of his disciples. So Rav Nahman would clearly be in the clear, See the actual language and you will see what  mean.

So yeshivas might learn Halacha in the morning, and that makes sense; but the not the way they are doing it. Rather the Shulchan Aruch with the Beer Hetaiv or the Tur with the Beit Yoseph.

In short, the Gra must be taken seriously. The facy of his being ignored is what has caused the most of religious world to be absorbed into the Sitra Achra Dark Side, as anyone who has tasted of it can already testify without my help.
And there is an added degree of responsibility of the Litvak yeshivas because all Israel looks to them to set the standard of what is really kosher and what is not. Even of many people do not follow this their example strictly still they look towards the Litvak would to tell the rest of us what really is ok and what is not. So when they ignore the Gra about this most essential issue they are really messing up.

The next world war I can imagine could start between India and China, and only from there spread to everyone else. [or Japan and Taiwan].