[1] I hold that learning Physics is a kind of service towards God even if you do not understand what you are reading. [I mean this in connection with learning Torah. That is I recommend daily sessions, Some part in Torah, and some part in Physics.]
The idea I borrow from the regular idea that we already know that learning Torah is a mitzvah even if you do not know what you are reading. But I would like to expand this idea to the natural sciences also based on the Rambam.
The places that say learning Torah is a mitzvah even when you do not know the meaning of the words is from the Gemara itself and also the Ari. [The Gemara says לעלם לגרס אדם אע''ג דמשכח ואע''ג דלא ידע מאי קאמר. The Ari says what one learns in this world but was not able to understand, when he gets to the next world he will understand.
The source for the idea that learning Physics is a mitzvah is from the Rambam, the Duties of the Heart and all the many rishonim who brings the words of the Rambam word for word in their Musar books. [The only two original sources are actually the Rambam and the חובות ללבות. After that people just quote the Rambam's first chapter in Mishna Torah about the way to come to love and fear of God is by learning and contemplating his great works. My reasoning is however based on what we know that the Rambam meant by how he explained himself in the Guide. The later Musar books do not actually quote the Guide itself on this issue. And in fact all later Musar is against all kind of secular learning. It is only the original Musar that goes along with the Rambam. Personally I was not clear on this issue until at some point I started noticing things that caused me to think the Rambam was right.]
For example super hyper religiosity does not seem to result in human decency. What brings about human decency seems to be the balanced approach of the Rambam.
[2] But I don't have a large array of promises to make for this. Many times we find charismatic leader of idolatry make promises of what one will gain by surrender to the all holy leader or by some kind of holy practice that he said to do. I don't have any of these kinds of promises. And I think it is not good to make such promises. I.e. I think the promises of "tzadikim" to do such and such a thing and thereby gain this world and the next are not possible to back up with facts.
I think it is best just to keep the Torah like it says and not to look further than that.
[3] Also I think the first step to keeping Torah is to avoid all the cults that pretend to keep Torah. Mainly Hasidim.
[4] I see promises being made for different kinds of things. mediation. certain mantras, certain prayers, etc. I am not impressed with the results I see in people following these practices. Mainly chasidim I have found to be amazingly despicable, though the original founder may have been admirable.
[5] There should be sessions of learning that are more in depth. For this reason for some years I would say every paragraph forwards and backwards in order to get the ideas more clearly. This method did help me very much when I was at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU.
The idea I borrow from the regular idea that we already know that learning Torah is a mitzvah even if you do not know what you are reading. But I would like to expand this idea to the natural sciences also based on the Rambam.
The places that say learning Torah is a mitzvah even when you do not know the meaning of the words is from the Gemara itself and also the Ari. [The Gemara says לעלם לגרס אדם אע''ג דמשכח ואע''ג דלא ידע מאי קאמר. The Ari says what one learns in this world but was not able to understand, when he gets to the next world he will understand.
The source for the idea that learning Physics is a mitzvah is from the Rambam, the Duties of the Heart and all the many rishonim who brings the words of the Rambam word for word in their Musar books. [The only two original sources are actually the Rambam and the חובות ללבות. After that people just quote the Rambam's first chapter in Mishna Torah about the way to come to love and fear of God is by learning and contemplating his great works. My reasoning is however based on what we know that the Rambam meant by how he explained himself in the Guide. The later Musar books do not actually quote the Guide itself on this issue. And in fact all later Musar is against all kind of secular learning. It is only the original Musar that goes along with the Rambam. Personally I was not clear on this issue until at some point I started noticing things that caused me to think the Rambam was right.]
For example super hyper religiosity does not seem to result in human decency. What brings about human decency seems to be the balanced approach of the Rambam.
[2] But I don't have a large array of promises to make for this. Many times we find charismatic leader of idolatry make promises of what one will gain by surrender to the all holy leader or by some kind of holy practice that he said to do. I don't have any of these kinds of promises. And I think it is not good to make such promises. I.e. I think the promises of "tzadikim" to do such and such a thing and thereby gain this world and the next are not possible to back up with facts.
I think it is best just to keep the Torah like it says and not to look further than that.
[3] Also I think the first step to keeping Torah is to avoid all the cults that pretend to keep Torah. Mainly Hasidim.
[4] I see promises being made for different kinds of things. mediation. certain mantras, certain prayers, etc. I am not impressed with the results I see in people following these practices. Mainly chasidim I have found to be amazingly despicable, though the original founder may have been admirable.
[5] There should be sessions of learning that are more in depth. For this reason for some years I would say every paragraph forwards and backwards in order to get the ideas more clearly. This method did help me very much when I was at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU.
