Belief in God is rational. Everything has a cause. So unless there is a first cause, then you would have an infinite regress. And then nothing could exist. Therefore there must be a first cause. Therefore God, the first cause, exists. QED.
7.5.22
I am surprised whenever I talk with someone and in the conversation we are discussing the importance of the Gra as defining authentic Torah --the backbone. And Rav Nahman I see as filling out the flesh. But aswe talk it turns out they have never heard of the herem of the Gra. So I have to explain the background of that and its details and make note that it did not include Rav Nahman.
6.5.22
There is a sort of suicidal tendency in the USA that is hard to understand. A lot of white people are simply intent on the destruction of the white race. I can not see why this should be the case. I could see this a long time ago with the slogan that "Black is beautiful." I guess that convinced lot of people to the degree of creating people that want to destroy whites, and the feminists that hate men, and a general lack of common sense.
The main source of ambiguity the straight and holy Path of the Gra, come from the fact that after Yeshiva years, things tend to go haywire This led me to consider the vey important fact that according to the Rishonim, Torah is not Divine Decree Theory but rather that Divine decree is based on Reason.{And of course Reason was created by God. In fact in the Middle Ages there was no Divine Decree Theories even among Muslims and Christians. Things were not thought to be right or wrong because they were decreed by God but rather they were decreed by God because they were good.
Thus I noted that Torah is meant to bring to objective morality.
5.5.22
Bava Metzia page 75A and 67.
In Interest do you go by the beginning or the end? Most Rishonim hold you go by the beginning. So even if the 100 that one borrows goes up to be worth 120, one still gives back 100. [In Torah law --deUraita] [If you would go by the end that would be interest.] Rav Shach says something here that I do not understand. He asks from a different law, "a guarantee without reduction." That is one borrows money, and as a guarantee gives a field without reduction of the payment due. This to me sounds the exact same thing. We go by the beginning so that also is not interest. But Rav Shach sees this as a difficulty in this way: If one would borrow 100 and say he is going to pay back 100 [and then the 100 at time of payment goes up to be worth 120] this would be considered interest if not for the fact that we go by the beginning. [I must be missing something here because to me both laws sound the same. We go by the beginning so neither is interest from the Torah.] To see my point imagine when the lender lends 100 and he knows that at the time of payment it will be worth 120. Can there be any doubt that that is interest [ribit]? The reason it is not ribit when he does not know the future us because the future is in doubt. And we know the reason a guarantee without reduction also is because he does not know that he will profit by plowing and seeding. The two Gemaras where this all comes up are Bava Metzia page 75A and 67.
In נשך do you go by the beginning or the end? Most ראשונים hold you go by the beginning. So even if the מאה that one borrows goes up to be worth מאה ועשרים, one still gives back מאה. [If you would go by the end that would be נשך.] רב שך says something here that I do not understand. He asks from a different law a משכנתא בלי נכייתא. That is one borrows money and as a guarantee gives a field without reduction of the payment due. This is not forbidden from the תורה. This to me sounds the exact same thing. We go by the beginning so that also is not נשך. But רב שך sees this as a difficulty in this way: If one would borrow מאה and ואומר he is going to pay back מאה [and then the מאה at time of payment goes up to be worth מאה ועשרים] this would be considered נשך if not for the fact that we go by the beginning. [I must be missing something here because to me both laws sound the same. We go by the beginning so neither is נשך from the Torah.] To see my point imagine when the מלווה מלווה מאה and he knows that at the time of payment it will be worth מאה ועשרים. Can there be any doubt that that is interest [ריבית]? The reason it is not ריבית when he does not know the future us because the future is in doubt. And we know the reason a משכנתא בלא ניכייתא also is because he does not know that he will profit by plowing and seeding.
בבא מציעא ס''ז וע''ה ע''א
בנשך הולכים לפי ההתחלה או הסוף? רוב ראשונים מחזיקים בהתחלה. אז גם אם המאה שאדם לווה עולה להיות שווה מאה ועשרים, עדיין מחזירים מאה. [אם היית הולך על סוף זה יהיה נשך.] רב שך אומר כאן משהו שאני לא מבין. הוא שואל מדין אחר: משכנתא בלא נכייתא. כלומר לווים כסף וכערבות נותן שדה ללא הפחתת התשלום המגיע. זה לא אסור מהתורה. זה נשמע לי בדיוק אותו הדבר. אנחנו הולכים לפי ההתחלה כך שגם זה לא נשך. אבל רב שך רואה בזה קושי באופן זה: אם היה לווה מאה ואומר הוא הולך להחזיר מאה [ואז המאה בשעת התשלום עולה לשווה מאה ועשרים] זה ייחשב נשך אם לאו על העובדה שאנחנו הולכים בהתחלה. [בטח חסר לי כאן משהו כי לי שני החוקים נשמעים אותו הדבר. אנחנו הולכים לפי ההתחלה אז אינם נשך מהתורה.]
לראות את הנקודה שלי דמיינו מתי המלווה מלווה מאה והוא יודע שבזמן התשלום זה יהיה שווה מאה ועשרים. האם יש ספק שזה ריבית ? הסיבה שזה לא ריבית כשהוא לא יודע את העתיד כי העתיד בספק. ואנחנו יודעים שהסיבה שמכנתא בלא ניכייתא היא גם משום שאינו יודע שירוויח בחרישה ובזריעה.