Jesus did not claim to be God.

To me it makes sense to see that Jesus did not claim to be God. Most of the time he referred to himself as the son of man. But the one time he agreed that he was the son of God, that still is not God. But tht doe not mean he was just some average guy. Nor does it mean he was a regular sort of saint. If you look at Rav Isaac Luria in Shar HaGilgulim you will find tzadikim whose roots were in Emanation. [And Emanation we know is pure Godliness. That is different from souls whose roots are in Creation Formation or the Physical Universe,] 

ketuba worth [marriage contract for a virgin= 200 zuz. For a woman who is not a virgin, it is 100 zuz.]

the ketubah is what is paid to a wife if the husband divorces her or dies.

 I am unclear about what went wrong with a previous result. But today I noticed in a Demai 2 Mishna 5 in the tosfot yom tov and the tiferet israel] that one zuz is the weight 16 grains of barley. One grain of barley is 0.065 grams. 16 grains then 1.04 grams. So two hundred zuz then is about two hundred grams, and since a gram of silver is about $0,8 that make the ketuba $166.4. [Or look at it like this: 16 barley grains of weight of silver is about one gram of silver and one gram of silver is about $0.8. So a zuz is a little less than a dollar. two hundred zuz is the ketubah for a virgin, In another blog entry I tried to find the value of the Ketubah based on the shekel of the Torah that was three hundred and twenty barley grains in weight and  this came out to be  larger. I have no idea why the amount come out differently. [What I had thought before was based on the Ritva in Bechorot who brings the Gemara there: Rav Ashi sent seventeen zuz to Rav Acha ben Ravina for Pidion Haben. He sent back to him,  ''Add three more for the amount that the sages added to the shekel.] Because of that Gemara, I thought seventeen zuz is five shekel. One shekel is three hundred and twenty barley grains to the Rambam in Laws of Shekalim chapter 1 halacha 2. What Rav Acha said to Rav Ashi was based on the fact that the sages added to the three hundred and twenty to make it three hundred eighty four barley grains like the common sela. So twenty zuz equals five sela. And one sela equals four zuz. And one zuz equals sixteen barley grains. So one sela is sixty four barley grains, not three hundred eighty four. [based on that the ketuba is about $1000.]

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 I am unclear about what went wrong with a previous result. But today I noticed in a דמאי ב' משנה ה'   in the תוספות  יום טוב] that one זוז is the weight שש עשרה grains of barley. One grain of barley is 0.065 grams. 16 grains then 1.04 grams. so two hundred zuz then is about two hundred grams, and since a gram of silver is about $0,8 that make the כתובה $166.4. [Or look at it like this: 16 barley grains of weight of silver is about one gram of silver and one gram of silver is about $0.8. So a זוז is a little less than a dollar. two hundred זוז is the כתובה for a virgin,  I tried to find the value of the כתובה based on the shekel of the Torah that was three hundred and twenty barley grains in weight and  this came out to be  larger. I have no idea why the amount come out differently. [What I had thought before was based on the ריטב''א in בכורות who brings the גמרא there: רב אשי sent seventeen זוז to רב אחא בן רבינה  for פידיון הבן. He sent back to him,  ''Add three more for the amount that the חכמים added to the shekel.] Because of that גמרא, I thought seventeen זוז is five shekel. One shekel is three hundred and twenty barley grains to the Rambam in Laws of שקלים פרק א' חלכה ב' . What אב אחא said to רב אשי was based on the fact that the sages added to the three hundred and twenty to make it three hundred eighty four barley grains like the common סלע . So twenty זוז equals five סלע. And one סלע equals four זוז. And one זוז equals sixteen barley grains. So one סלע is sixty four barley grains, not three hundred eighty four. 

לא ברור לי מה השתבש בתוצאה קודמת. אבל היום הבחנתי בדמאי ב' משנה ה' בתוספות  יום טוב שזוז אחת היא המשקל שש עשר גרגירי שעורה. גרגר שעורה אחד הוא 0.065 גרם. 16 גרגירים הם בערך 1.04 גרם. אז מאתיים זוז זה בערך מאתיים גרם, ומכיוון שגרם כסף הוא בערך 0.8$, מה שהופך את הכתובה ל-$166.4. [או תסתכל על זה כך: 16 גרגירי שעורה במשקל של כסף זה בערך גרם אחד של כסף וגרם אחד של כסף זה בערך $0.8. אז זוז הוא קצת פחות מדולר. מאתיים זוז היא הכתובה לבתולה,] ניסיתי למצוא את ערך הכתובה לפי שקל התורה שהיה במשקל שלוש מאות ועשרים גרגרי שעור= וזה יצא גדול יותר. אין לי מושג למה הסכום יוצא אחרת. [מה שחשבתי קודם לכן היה על הריטב''א בכורות שמביא שם את הגמרא: רב אשי שלח שבעה עשר זוז לרב אחא בן רבינה לפידיון הבן. הוא חזר אליו, ''הוסף עוד שלושה עבור הסכום שהחכמים הוסיפו לשקל.] בגלל אותה גמרא חשבתי שבע עשרה זוז זה חמישה שקלים. שקל אחד הוא שלוש מאות ועשרים גרגרי שעורה לרמב"ם בהלכות שקלים פרק א' חלכה ב' . מה שאמר רב אחא לרב אשי התבסס על כך שחכמים הוסיפו לשלוש מאות ועשרים לעשות ממנו שלוש מאות שמונים וארבע גרגירי שעורה כמו סלע מצוי. אז עשרים זוז שווה חמש סלע. וסלע אחד שווה ארבע זוז. וזוז אחד שווה ששה עשר גרגירי שעורה. אז סלע אחד הוא שישים וארבע גרגירי שעורה, לא שלוש מאות שמונים וארבע

if the shekel is 380 barley grains of silver in weight, that means that is four zuz. 

200 zuz=380*50=19000 barley grain. 16 grain=1.04 gram. 19000/16=1187.5. that times 1.04 =1234.48

16 grains of silver is 1.04 gram. 380 *50=19000, 

so the ketubah is $987.58 

 i do not really hold with the idea of kollel,= that is when people in yeshiva in their collage years go and get married and then get paid to sit and learn even after marriage. But nor do I hold from  with the idea of religious teacher getting paid to learn or teach Torah. For when Torah get mixed up with money, it loses its flavor. Even though this fact that one is not allowed to use Torah to make a living is well known, my objection to this practice come from observation of the disaster  that results when people use Torah to make money.

 One thing you see in the repentance of Henry II--that he identified in what he had sinned. And in a somewhat similar way I decided to look at what went wrong in my own life and try to identify in what areas I had sinned. I decided not to look at books to tell me where I went wrong but rather at personal  experience. I thought back and was able to identify exactly after what decisions that I made did things go wrong drastically. And this process was easy. I was simple to see.oI decided that it was in those areas that I needed to repent

 I have been convinced of the power and importance of repentance ever since i learned the book gates of repentance by R. Yona of Gerondi at the Mir yeshiva in N.Y. In the local breslov place on this side of the pond I once told a story of repentance that I think brings out the point more powerfully than anything else I can think of. It regards Henry II. In short, he had a great friend, Thomas Becket whom he had made archbishop of Canterbury [assuming he would do his bidding]. But something unexpected happened after that. In the Middle Ages there was one authority above the king. Thomas Becket  found God. There after he was going to do God's bidding. This infuriated the king. So one day in a fit of rage he yelled at some of his knights. ''Who will rid me of this priest? They misunderstood him and thought he really meant to kill Becket. So they went to Canterbury and killed becket. after that thing started going terribly wrong. his wife Elenore went to her ex husband the king of France and began plotting to put her on John on the throne of England. And his son John also got the king of Scotland to invade England from the north and the invasion from France and the north had begun. everything wa going a wrong a thing could go for the king of England personally and politically. His own sons and wife were out to get him and had engaged two powerful kings to do so. So what did Henry do. Collect troops and engage in battle? No. He realized his problems were not from kings or princes. It was the hand of Thomas Becket reaching from beyond. So he was going to repent in the most astounding manner that he could. He sailed from France where he was at that time and went straight to Canterbury. Outside the city he removed his boots and began walking toward the cathedral through the streets which were filled with sharp rocks and broken pottery. as he walked he left a bloody trail of his own bleeding feet behind him. When he got to the cathedral he went below  where the shrine of Becket was. There he ordered the monks --each one to whip him with all his might five times each. For the hundred monks that were there that meant he received 500 lashes, He fainted many time before it was over. But by a miracle, the next day  he got the news that the king of Scotland had been captured and the whole rebellion was squashed.

 Even though there is great advice and deep ideas in the book of Rav Nachman of Breslov, there is to be a lack of appreciation of the importance of the Gra. For after all where do you find people really sitting and learning Torah day and night for its own sake except in a Litvak yeshiva that is connected with the path of the GraThis is so obvious that it barely needs mentioning. But still since  not everyone is in the vicinity f a authentic Litvak Yeshiva, for those who have not seen or felt the power and light found in the authentic world of Torah of the Litvak yehivot, for them this is worth mentioning.

 I think Rav Nahman was right about the problem with religious leaders. See the LeM I ch30 where he talks about to be wary off the "Torah of the Dark Side".These religious leaders pretend to be teaching straight legitimate Torah but in fact are teaching the Torah of the Sitra Achra [Realm of Darkness]

I would not have been aware of this even after being in great Litvak yeshivot and even learning the teaching of Rav Nahman, until this problem was brought painfully to my attention --for which reason i avoid the religious world like I would avoid the black plague [except for the nearby na nach place on the name of rav nahman or if there would be a Litvak yeshiva nearby like a branch of Ponovitch.]. After all I say to myself about the religious world ''Fool me once--shame on you. Fool me twice? Shame on me."