Rav Israel Salanter about learning Musar.

 On Shabat I noticed  the chapter in Job [circa 25 or around there] that discusses the question "Where is  wisdom to be found.?" Then it goes through a long list of all the places and approaches that do not work. The depths say it is not in them. Not the sea or land or heavens. It seems clear that even all the efforts that one might expend on finding wisdom, nothing works--until finally at the very end of that chapter one (and only one) way is found. That is Fear of God.  "Fear of God is Wisdom."

So you see the idea of Rav Israel Salanter about learning Musar. I.e., the books that show how to come to authentic fear of God.   

The benefit of this is according to Job is that it brings one to true wisdom.

[If only I would merit to this!! I spent a good deal of time while at the Mir in New York (outside of the regular sedarim (sessions of learning which were five hours in the morning and four hours in the afternoon.). But still I found time to go through a lot of the basic group of Musar books. [The classical mediaeval  five or six plus some  of the achronim[authorities after Rav Joseph Karo]]. I can say that this definitely helped me in many ways. 

[So what makes sense to me is to have yeshivot that walk in the path of Musar and the Gra.]

[I might mention that Musar sessions in yeshivot are short. In my opinion it would be better to have the original time period of forty minutes after the morning session of gemara until mincha. [i.e. Gemara until 130 P.M., then musar for 40 minutes. ] Then 30 minutes before maariv [i.e. Gemara fast learning from 4 P.M. until 8P.M. the 30 minutes of Musar.]

[Job clearly hold taking Diversity Studies does not help to come to wisdom. But further than that, he is saying all the other ideas that one might think help are delusions.]

 z60 midi file

 Sandra Lehmann (a Ph.D student at Hebrew U ) once told me that, "There is something odd about the study of philosophy in that it seems to take common sense away from people." That must be the reason even brilliant people after doing philosophy come up with really odd stuff. 

However I realize that philosophy is important in terms of using reason to examine ones' beliefs. It is important to have an over view of everything.. One must have some sort of answer to the question: What is it all about? You do not get tht from the natural sciences. But in this exact area that is where philosophy and the social sciences have failed measurably. So what I think is that Kant and Hegel are important. But I would also like to mention some modern people that have some clear vision in an age when vision is gone.

Kelley Ross I think is the best , but also there is Michael Huemer.

Lieutenant Simon

Lieutenant Simon was the person that organized the rescue of the people working in Iran [for Ross Perot] at the time of the revolution. And he was successful. [While the attempt of the US government to rescue its people there failed.] What was the secret of Lieutenant Simon? Reconnaissance. Always check it out before you jump in. 

One of the advantages that I gained in Shar Yashuv and later the Mir in NY was listening from people that knew Torah very well. [Naftali Yeager, Shmuel Berenbaum]. I have suspected that it is impossible to come to understand "how to learn " without receiving it from someone that knows.

And even after all that I still never really got the idea until years later I began to learn with David Bronson and then seeing this same sort of deep learning and then it finally started to sink unto me what it is all about.

I mean to say that there have been self taught people like Abraham Lincoln, but I wonder how far that can go? 

Maybe if Abraham Lincoln had gone to university, and did not have to rely only on self taught learning, maybe he would have realized that it was the North that was the rebel. In the Constitution and in the Federalist Papers there can not be anything more clear than the fact that the Federal Government has only enumerated powers things stated openly that the Constitution grants to the Federal Government. In any case, I sometimes think that anyone could get the iea just by learning a lot of Tosphot, Rav Chaim of Brisk, the Avi Ezri of Rav Shach. Other times it seems that one needs to listen to a teacher that knows all this.

Torah is not a cult of personality.

 Torah is not a cult of personality. It is all about devotion to God. Not to any person. This aspect is very clear in secular Jews where there is no emphasis on any person at all. Even if you might complain that they are less strict in some rituals, still in this major, essential aspect of Torah they excel. 

The other point is that Torah is about good midot [good character]. In this area  you also see secular Jews excel. However this aspect was in fact rightfully emphasized by Rav Israel Salanter.

Rav Shach's explanation of the Gemara in Avoda Zara 23b and Rosh Hashanah 13a.

 I was at the sea again and pondering Rav Shach's explanation of the Gemara in Avoda Zara 23b and Rosh Hashanah 13a. In short: the land of Israel belongs to Abraham the Patriarch but trees that the Canaanites plant belong to them. So the Gemara asks why burn the asherot (trees that were worshipped)?[If they would have been idols of a gentile, the gentile could simply verbally nullify them and knock some piece off.] Tosphot says because of the trees from previous generations. [Rav Shach explains that means that were planted before Abraham.] 

What I was thinking was this. Rav Shach explains the trees that had to be burned were not worshipped at first. So when the land was given to Abraham the trees came along. Then Israel [the nation of Israel] worshipped the Golden Calf and so we see idolatry was okay to the and the trees became idols of Israel that needed to be burned.

What I asked was the obvious question that a tree that was planted regularly, not in order to be worshipped does not become an ashera [idol worshipped tree] since it is attached to the ground.

Today I was wondering if there could be  away this question might be answered. Perhaps I thought the trees were  in fact planted to be worshipped, and then the land was given to Abraham along with those trees and then the Golden Calf was worshipped and then they become idols of a Israeli. But I can not see how this could make sense. If the land was given to Abraham along with those trees then they already belonged to him before the Golden Calf. Then they needed burning. If Abraham would have refused to acquire idolatrous trees then what changed when the Golden Calf was worshipped? Suddenly an act of acquisition occurred? Obviously not.

So I am still stuck in trying to figure this subject out.

[Just for a reminder to people, I bring here the subject in short. Gemara Avoda Zara23b: why was Israel commanded to burn the Asherot idol trees? Did not the land belong to them? And אין אדם אוסר דבר שאינו שלו no one an cause to be forbidden that which does not belong to him. Answer: Israel served the Golden Calf so idolatry was okay to them. 

Gemara Rosh Hashana 13a. How could Israel bring the Omer first stalk of grain when they came into the Land Of Canaan? That grain belonged to the Canaanites! Tosphot says by way of explanation: the land was of Israel and the grain was of the Canaanites. Then Tosphot asks then what were they asking in Avoda Zara 23b? Answer: Because of the trees from the previous generations.]

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 I was pondering של רב שך explanation of the גמרא עבודה זרה כ''ג ע''ב וראש השנה י''ג ע''א.  In short: the land of Israel belongs to Abraham the Patriarch but trees that the Canaanites plant belong to them. So the גמרא עבודה זרה  asks why burn the אשירות  (trees that were worshipped)? [If they would have been idols of a עכו''ם, the עכו''ם could simply verbally nullify them and knock some piece off.] תוספות says because of the trees from previous generations. רב שך explains that means that were planted before Abraham. What I was thinking was this. רב שך explains the trees that had to be burned were not worshipped at first. So when the land was given to Abraham the trees came along. Then Israel [the nation of Israel] worshipped the Golden Calf and so we see idolatry was okay to the and the trees became idols of Israel that needed to be burned. What I asked was the obvious question that a tree that was planted regularly, not in order to be worshipped does not become an אשירה [idol worshipped tree] since it is attached to the ground. Today I was wondering if there could be a way this question might be answered. Perhaps I thought the trees were  in fact planted to be worshipped, and then the land was given to Abraham along with those trees and then the Golden Calf was worshipped and then they become idols of a Israeli. But I can not see how this could make sense. If the land was given to Abraham along with those trees then they already belonged to him before the Golden Calf. Then they needed burning. If Abraham would have refused to acquire idolatrous trees then what changed when the Golden Calf was worshipped? Suddenly an act of acquisition occurred? Obviously not.

הייתי מהרהר בהסבר של רב שך בגמרא עבודה זרה כ''ג ע''ב וראש השנה י''ג ע''א. בקיצור: ארץ ישראל שייכת לאברהם  אבל עצים שהכנענים שתלו שייכים להם. אז הגמרא עבודה זרה שואלת למה לשרוף את האשירות (עצים שסגדו להם)? [אם הם היו אלילים של עכו''ם, יכלו העכו''ם פשוט לבטל אותם.] תוספות אומר בגלל העצים מהדורות הקודמים. רב שך מסביר שפירושו שנטעו לפני אברהם. מה שחשבתי זה זה. רב שך מסביר את העצים שהיה צריך לשרוף לא עבדו בהתחלה. אז כשהארץ ניתנה לאברהם, נרכשו גם העצים. ואז ישראל סגדו לעגל הזהב ולכן אנו רואים שעבודת האלילים הייתה בסדר אצלם והעצים הפכו לאלילים של ישראל שהיו צריכים להישרף. מה ששאלתי היא השאלה המתבקשת שעץ שנשתל סתם, שלא על מנת לעבוד לא הופך לאשרה מאחר שהוא מחובר לאדמה. היום תהיתי אם יש דרך לענות על השאלה הזו. אולי חשבתי שהעצים בעצם נטועים כדי לעבוד, ואז הארץ ניתנה לאברהם יחד עם העצים האלה ואז סגדו לעגל הזהב ואז הם הופכים לאלילים של ישראלי. אבל אני לא יכול לראות איך זה יכול להיות הגיוני. אם הארץ ניתנה לאברהם יחד עם העצים האלה אז הם כבר היו שייכים לו לפני עגל הזהב. ואז הם היו צריכים שריפה. אם אברהם היה מסרב לרכוש עצי אלילים, אז מה השתנה כאשר סגדו לעגל הזהב? פתאום התרחש מעשה רכישה? ברור שלא