Is there any authority to make extra decrees not in the Torah?

The big issue I have not addressed in general is if there is in fact any authority to make extra decrees not in the Torah and from the Commentary on Pirkei Avot from the amoraim it seems there is no such authority. This book is called אבות דר' נתן and it is included in every edition of the Vilna Shas. The basic idea there is on the Mishna "Make a fence around the Torah" and the general approach there is to say that Adam HaRishon added to the command of God [don't eat and do not touch] and that  caused him to fall. R.Yose said there "Better ten hand-breaths high that stand rather than 100 yards high that fall." There the Gra makes a few corrections to the text. I showed this to Rav Eliyahu Silverman the Rosh Yeshiva of the Aderet  Eliyahu the Yeshiva that goes by the path of the Gra in the Old City of Jerusalem and he agreed with me that that is the meaning of that commentary on the Mishna.

I brought this issue up with my learning partner and he opened up the Rambam on this issue. In any case it does look like most of the sages held there is authority to make laws that are outside of Torah Law.

And the reason I usually am lenient in those laws is because in most cases the reason for the law no longer exists--so I basically depend on the Raavad and pretty much all the Tosphot in Shas that when the reason for the law is gone, so is the law.

[For the public let me make this clear: Pirkei Avot is part of the Mishna. And in general commentary on the Mishna from the sages of the Talmud  is part of the Talmud. But for some reason this book is not included in the actual Talmud and rather comes under the category of Midrash. Another thing is that general Litvak yeshivas  are the gold standard by which everything else is measured. An example would be the Mir in NY. But the Aderet Eliyahu is unique in that it goes by the Gra in all details. That makes it the Gold Standard by which other Litvak yeshivas are measured.]

To say to yourself some lesson in Ethics every morning right when you wake up.

You can see this idea of starting the day right also in the Nefesh HaChaim of Reb Chaim fromVoloshin who says that when one accepts on himself the yoke of Torah when he wakes up in the morning-- then all distractions are removed from him.

The problem is obviously it is hard in the first place to accept the "yoke of Torah," to sit and learn Talmud many hours each day.




[The truth is the whole concept of the yoke of Torah is hard to get to in the first place or even understand what it means and even then the biggest enemies of it are the pseudo Torah scholars that just want other people's money by their pretending to learn Talmud.
The astounding amount of fraud in the religious world is  a challenge to anyone's faith.
When people advertise how religious they are by their dress, you know something is rotten there. They are up to something fraudulent. They are trying to get people's trust so that afterwards they can impose their own agenda. It is important to stay away from false friends. And also people that are rude and abrasive. Because when it comes down to time of need it will turn out that they are in fact your enemies. The religious world is generally into the entitlement mentality which makes them especially dangerous. The pretense of keeping Torah is a cloak and disguise. The little bit of Torah learning they do have makes them able to fool. The main principle is if they are not working at a real job then they are using the holy Torah to make money and therefore they are just con artists in disguise.]
In any case, what I try to do is to find the basic little paragraphs on Musar [Ethics] of the Gra or any Musar books and try to say it over to myself every morning right when I wake up. That is, I try to find the lessons in Ethics that I think I am most in need of. A good example is, in fact, that whole paragraph of Reb Chaim from Voloshin about accepting the yoke of Torah. Also there is a statement about trust in God from the Gra I tried to say to myself when I woke up. After that I would try to learn some Gemara, Tosphot and some Physics. in order to start the day right.  If  would have a Avi Ezri of Rav Shach I would probably try to just plow through one whole chapter in the morning also.


I admit  this guess work. I am just trying to figure out as best I can what character traits I need to work on.

In one book of Musar that was at the Mir in NY it was recommended to have a child right when he reaches the age of 13 also to start out learning Torah  more than usual -for the same reason of staring out right.


[The statement of the Gra about trust in God is brought in the "Levels of Man" by Yoseph Horvitz the disciple of Reb Israel Salanter. It is argued by Ibn Pakuda in the Obligations of the Heart whether one needs effort with trust or not. The Gra argues no and Ibn Pakuda argues yes.]

The Gra also brings this idea. He says that "One who is lacking knowledge in any one of the seven Wisdoms will be lacking in knowledge of Torah a hundred time more."

The idea of the Rambam (Maimonides) of including Physics and Metaphysics in the Oral Law (note 1) can be supported by the Tikunei HaZohar which brings  the idea of the hidden statement of Creation that is hidden in the works of Creation. There is a mystical element anyway of the Guide for the Perplexed as noted before by some people. In particular Rav Avraham Abulafia, the Mediaeval Mystic, wrote that in the first 40 chapters of the Guide for the Perplexed is contained the secret of the redemption.

(note 1) Where the Rambam says this in the Law of Learning Torah. There he refers to the first four ch.s of Mishne Torah as being called "Pardes" and he says what is called Pardes is  part of learning Gemara.

The thing about this is that even in Torah there is an aspect of סם חיים סם מוות medicine of life or poison of death as the Gemara says "סם חיים למימינים  בה וסם מוות למשמאילים בה"  The Torah is the medicine of life for those that learn it for its own sake and poison of death for those that learn it for money.[ישרים דרכי ה' צדיקים ילכו בם ורשעים יכשלו בם. הושע י'ד פסוק ט] One can learn Torah and become worse. Thus sometimes it is better to receive Torah in  the way that is hidden in the work of Creation.

The Gra also brings this idea. He says that "One who is lacking knowledge in any one of the seven Wisdoms will be lacking in knowledge of Torah a hundred time more."

[The path of  Gra is however not well known or accepted. Even the top Litvak yeshivas take him only in an approximate way. The only place that I know of that tries to follow the Gra in every detail is the Silverman Yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusalem.]

[The way to do Physics is by faith--to believe in what the Gemara says לעולם לגרס איניש אף על גב דמשכח ואף על גב דלא ידע מאי קאמר] "One should always learn in the way of 'Girsa' which is to just say the words in order and to go on, even though he forgets what he is learning, and even if he does not  even know what he is saying." Saying the words is important. The Gemara says one that learns wthout saying the words will forget. But even more so--the saying of the words  helps to come to understand.

בבא בתרא י''ח ע''ב A question on and an answer for R. Tam.

בבא בתרא י''ח ע''ב  The גמרא first brings the משנה that that the חכמים say to keep the mustard away from the bees and that is  a question on רבא that says something that causes damage must be kept away from the boundary even if there is nothing on the other side that could be damaged.  Then it answers the question telling us that the משנה is just saying mustard can cause damage, but the law of רבא still stands that even when there are no bees still one can not put mustard next to the border.
Then the גמרא asks from ר' יוסי. The גמרא says that ר' יוסי says it is permitted because the owner of the mustard can tell the owner of the bees why tell me to keep my mustard away? You should keep your bees away because they cause damage to my mustard. To ר' תם and ר' חננאל, the גמרא answers this thus "רבינא said the חכמים hold the one that causes damage must keep the object that cases damage away from the boundary." I mean to say that this answer is a different answer than that of רב פפא. The way ר' תם  explains it is thus. At first we thought the חכמים held the one that causes damage must keep his object away. and now after the answer we think he must keep his object away only when there s something on the other side of the boundary that could be damaged. That is, that רבא retracted his statement.  My question is then what does this have to do with the question they were asking from ר' יוסי? In the גמרא we apparently took care of the first part of the משנה. It was from ר' יוסי that we were asking.




בבא בתרא י''ח ע''ב הגמרא מביאה את המשנה כי  החכמים אומרים להרחיק את החרדל מן הדבורים וזו שאלה על רבא שאומר משהו שגורם נזק חייב להיתרחק מן הגבול אפילו אם אין שום דבר בצד השני שיכול להינזק. אז היא עונה על השאלה שהמשנה אומרת לנו  שחרדל יכול לגרום נזק, אבל החוק של רבא עדיין עומד שגם כאשר אין דבורים עדיין אי אפשר לשים חרדל ליד הגבול. ואז הגמרא שואלת מר' יוסי. הגמרא אומרת כי ר' יוסי אומר שזה מותר, כי הבעלים של החרדל יכולים להגיד לבעלים של הדבורים למה להגיד לי להרחיק את החרדל שלי משם? אתה צריך להרחיק את הדבורים שלך משום שהם גורמים נזק לחרדל שלי.  לדעת ר' תם ור' חננאל,  התשובת גמרא היא בכך "רבינא אומר חכמים מחזיקים שאחד שגורם נזק חייב להרחיק את האובייקט שגורם נזק מן הגבול." תשובה זו היא תשובה שונה מזו של רב פפא. הדרך שר' תם מסביר את זה היא בכך. בהתחלה חשבנו שחכמים מחזיקים  מה שגורם נזק חייב להתרחק משם. ועכשיו אחרי התשובה שאנחנו חושבים שהוא חייב לשמור האובייקט שלו משם רק כשיש משהו בצד השני של הגבול שיכול להינזק. כלומר, כי רבא חזר בו מדעתו. השאלה שלי היא אז מה זה שייך לשאלה שהם שאלו מן ר' יוסי? בגמרא  טיפלו כבר בחלק הראשון של משנה. עכשיו  מן ר' יוסי אנחנו שואלים.

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I think the answer is this. רב פפא is not coming to answer the question היכי משכחת ליה. Instead he is coming to answer the original question on רבא from the משנה on משרה וירק

Talmud Bava Batra 18b  The Gemara first brings the Mishna that that the sages say to keep the mustard away from the bees and that is  a question on Rava that says something that causes damage must be kept away from the boundary even if there is nothing on the other side that could be damaged.  Then it answers the question telling us that the Mishna is just saying mustard can cause damage but the law of Rava still stands that even when there are no bees still one can not put mustard next to the border.
Then the Gemara asks from R. Yose. R. Yose says it is permitted because the owner of the mustard can tell the owner of the bees why tell me to keep my mustard away? You should keep your bees away because they cause damage to my mustard.

To R. Tam (and R. Kananel), the gemara answers this thus "Ravina said the sages hold the one that causes damage must keep the object that cases damage away from the boundary." (I mean to say that this answer is a different answer than that of Rav Papa.)

The way R Tam explains it is thus. At first we thought the sages held the one that causes damage must keep his object away. and now after the answer we think he must keep his object away only when there s something on the other side of the boundary that could be damaged. That is, that Rava retracted his statement.  My question is then what does this have to do with the question they were asking from R Yose? In the Gemara we apparently took care of the first part of the Mishna. It was from R Yose that we were asking

trust in God along with effort or without effort

The argument about whether  בטחון עם השתדלות or בטחון בלי השתדלו one should trust in God along with  effort or without effort is between the Gra and Rav Ibn Pakuda (The Obligations of the Heart) and centers on King Asa. [King Asa was the King of Judah]. That is the verse that says he was punished because he went to the doctors instead of to God for a cure. Ibn Pakuka says it was OK to go to doctors, but that he also should have trusted in God. The Gra's statement is not focused on King Asa, but rather the verse in Proverbs בטח אל ה' בכול לבך ואל בינתך אל תשען.["Trust in God with all your heart and do not depend on your intellect."]  But still it looks like the Gra is frowning doing effort to get one's needs met. Rather one should trust in God. To the Gra it looks like an either this or that, but not both. Rav Ibn Pakuda suggests that trust in God can go along with effort.
My question is why does no one mention the fact that King Asa sent for help from the king of Syria to fight against Basha, the king of Israel,-- and that the prophet specifically criticizes him for the same exact reason that later he was criticized about the doctors?

The general approach towards "rishonim" medieval authorities is that it is impossible to decide between them because both are אלו ואלו דברי אלהים חיים "These and these are the words of the Living God." Thus in this case also [which is a מחלוקת ראשונים and argument between First Authorities] it is not possible to say which one is right. [Authorities after the rishonim can be wrong,-- and are wrong quite often.]

I was in the hospital in Uman with my foot and leg broken  with multiple fractures. Two guys saw I was in trouble and called an ambulance, and brought me to the hospital.  I am extremely grateful to God that he granted to me help and  a great doctor  and I can walk again. [I still can not jog.] But to me this seems like one case where going to the doctor was of great importance. Still other times it seems to me that all my efforts in almost any direction backfire to make things even worse than if I had just left things alone. Thus clearly the approach of Ibn Pakuda is the best idea and other times that of the Gra.

[The reason this was a big issue in the Mir is that it relates to the fact that almost everyone in the Mir in NY was learning Torah for its own sake [לשמה] and had no plans on using it for money.]

U-33 A Minor 6-8 time  [U-33 in midi ]  u-33 nwc