I discovered that it is hard to swim in rough surf and at the same time to be helping another person get to safety. Much harder than I could have imagined. It is  trying to swim with one hand, and in the other holding a 130 pound person. So even though  I have been doing a little bit of exercise, I now realize  that that little bit is no where near enough.

 I am often in a slightly hidden place at the beach  and today there was a young Arab  walking by about to grab a woman's purse and then he right before he took it he saw I was watching. So he went on some steps. Then came back to me to ask for a cigarette. I had none, and then he walked further back again and asked some girls the same question. [Normally I try to give to whom so ever asks from me something, but in fact I had no cigarette. ] Then after that it occurred to me that that guy was looking for people's stuff to steal. That is why he was about to grab that purse.. So I went over to the police to let them know there was someone around looking for trouble.

I am also still pondering that answer of Rav Shach for the Rambam in Sota [chapter 1 halacha 3] that is related to the gemara in nida page 2 and i am about to give up. i just can not see  how the Rambam can decide like two teachings that the gemara itself says contradict  each other. 

I was at the beach today and thinking about how Rav Shach explains the Gemara in Nida page 2. [The Gemara says the teaching (of the Braita) about the barrel and the teaching (of the Mishna) about the mikve disagree so that it is forced to say the teaching about the barrel is R. Shimon. And it says R Shimon is learning from Sota. Then it says maybe R Shimon is learning from the regular case of doubt about purity. At that point Rav Shach says the difference between the first answer of the Gemara and the second is in the second answer the case of the mikve is considered a doubt. The first answer of the Gemara is thinking that the sages consider the case of the mikve is be a sure thing. So that is how the Rambam can say that the law is both like the Mishna and the braita. So the mishna in saying in the case of the mikve that both in a public domain and private that the person that went in remains in doubt. Still it is hard to see why this answers for the Rambam. If we learn from Sota then even the case of the Mikve ought to be pure in a public domain, and if we do not learn from Sota then the case of the barrel ought to be impure in a public domain. [recently i saw a book by Isar Meltzer who was a teacher of rav shach and he has a very elegant answer fo the Rambam here but I have not really thought about it long enough to be able to comment ]\ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I was at the beach today and thinking about how רב שך[ explains the גמרא in נידה ב' ע''ב. [The גמרא says the teaching (of the ברייתא) about the חבית and the teaching (of the משנה) about the מקוה disagree so that it is forced to say the teaching about the חבית is ר' שמעון. And it says ר' שמעון is learning from סוטה. Then it says maybe ר' שמעון is learning from the regular case of doubt about טומאה וטהרה. At that point רב שך says the difference between the first answer of the גמרא and the second is in the second answer the case of the מקוה is considered a doubt. The first answer of the גמרא is thinking that the חכמים consider the case of the מקוה is be a sure thing. So that is how the רמב''ם can say that the law is both like the משנה and the ברייתא. So the משנה in saying in the case of the מקוה that both in a רשות הרבים and רשות היחיד that the person that went in remains in doubt. Still it is hard to see why this answers for the רמב''ם. If we learn from סוטה then even the case of the מקוה ought to be pure in a רשות הרבים, and if we do not learn from סוטה, then the case of the חבית ought to be impure in a רשות הרבים____-----------------------------------------------חשבתי איך רב שך מסביר את הגמרא בנידה ב' ע''ב. [הגמרא אומרת הברייתא על החבית והמשנה על מקוה חולקים כך שר' חנינא מסורא נאלץ לומר ההוראה על החבית היא ר' שמעון. וכתוב ר' שמעון לומד מסוטה. ואז כתוב שאולי ר' שמעון לומד מהמקרה של ספק לגבי טומאה וטהרה. באותה נקודה רב שך אומר שההבדל בין התשובה הראשונה של הגמרא לשניה הוא בתשובה השנייה המקרה של מקוה נחשב בספק. התשובה הראשונה של הגמרא היא לחשוב שהחכמים מחשיבים את המקרה של מקוה הוא דבר בטוח. אז כך יכול הרמב''ם לומר שהדין הוא גם כמו המשנה וגם הברייתא. אז המשנה באומרו במקרה של מקוה שגם ברשות הרבים וגם ברשות היחיד שהאדם שנכנס נשאר בספק. ובכל זאת קשה להבין מדוע זה עונה על הרמב''ם. אם נלמד מסוטה, אז אפילו המקרה של מקוה צריך להיות טהור ברשות הרבים, ואם לא נלמד מסוטה אז המקרה של החבית צריך להיות טמא ברשות הרבים

 I have been going to the beach and exerting my arm muscles at the out door gym over there. --though it occurs to me to wonder "Why I bother? After all it is not as if I am lifting weights," Then today I heard some mother yelling at someone in the water that I could barely see. Somehow it sounded different than other people screaming for fun at the beach.  It occurred to me that that fellow in the water might be in trouble. I ran over and the mother called to me in English "It's my son! It's my son!" I got the idea that he needed help. So I ran out there battling the waves until in fact I got to an area where there was no ground anymore. I needed to swim. I finally got to that guy and yelled at him, "Give me your arm" [in Hebrew תן לי את היד!] and grabbed his arm and dragged him back to shore. But I was barely managing on my own. After all I have not been keeping  my muscle strength up. At any rate, I realize now why it is important to keep up one's muscle strength in one's arms===to be prepared for the day that someone might need your help.

here is a link to a old music file from around 1993 --mathematics

here is a link to a more recent file x86

David Bronson suggested to me many times ''Tosphot is always right'' [that is on the outside of the page of the Gemara], and I would have to agree. While on one hand you see a lot of effort to explain the Rambam starting from early Achronim [משנה למלך ]  and that gained a lot of steam from the time of Rav Chaim of Brisk until today, Still it seems this has caused a certain amount of lack of interest and neglect in digging into the depths of Tosphot. I experienced this first hand when I got to the Mir in NY. I had been used to trying to dig into Tosphot, but when I talked to other yeshiva bahurim [students] about  this, they would dismiss this --as irrelevant.  Eventually, I understood the reason for this. They were spending their morning hours  preparing for the classes of the roshei yeshiva [which were along the lines of Rav Chaim of  Brisk. While this is a great and important area of learning, still it leaves that whole area of Tosphot ignored

But even if I would want to recommend a movement of ''Back To Tosphot'', I still would not know how to go about this. The only way I could even begin to see the depths of Tosphot was because I had teachers [in Shar Yashuv] and my learning partner Bronson that showed the way. On my own I could barely manage this except after tremendous efforts. And in the meantime I also have tried to get into the path of Rav Chaim of Brisk as you see in the Avi Ezri of Rav Shach. 

[The basic reasoning here is two fold. One is that the deeper you dig into Tosphot. the more you see he was right all along even though at first glance it does not seem like that. But the Rambam is different, Very often he contradicts the Gemara openly, and it takes a lot of effort to try to fit him back in. And even then it is only a possibility, not a sure thing. For example Nida pg 2. The Gemara holds the teaching about the barrel and the mikve contradict each other. And for that reason it says the teaching about the barrel is R Shimon, not the sages. So for the Rambam to state the law is like both is more than a stretch. It is a direct contradiction. Can one answer this? Yes--but only if one is committed in the first place to say the Rambam must have had some reason for that. But why even start with that? Why not simply go like the Gemara in the first place? Why not be first committed to the idea that the Gemara must have had some reason to say these two teachings contradict?

[I think R. Shimon holds that  חקת השתא  is not a חזקה]=I mean to say this: The Gemara brings the mishna that says if a mikve is found to e lacking the proper amount then everyone who went into it is still not pure. The Gemara then asks from a teaching about a barrel that one put aside to e able to separate truma on it and it was found to be sour. in a public domain all טהרות separated are pure and in a private domain they are a doubt. The Gemara says  the teaching is R Shimon. Though this might be in Tosphot [I forget] I think R Shimon holds   חקת השתא  is not a חזקה so in both cases there is one חזקה against another. The cancel each other and so it is a doubt in case of doubt we learn from Sota. A doubt in a public domain is pure and in a private domain is a doubt. And the sages of the Mishna hold  חקת השתא  is a חזקה so in both cases we  have two חזקות against one and so there is no doubt.  

I think ר' שמעון holds that  חזקת השתא  is not a חזקה. I mean to say this: The גמרא brings the משנה that says if a מקוה is found  lacking the proper amount, then everyone who went into it is still not pure. The גמרא then asks from a teaching about a barrel that one put aside to be able to separate תרומה on it and it was found to be sour. In a רשות הרבים all טהרות separated are טהורות and in a רשות היחיד they are a doubt. The גמרא says  the teaching is ר' שמעון. Though this might be in תוספות  [I forget] I think  ר' שמעון holds   חזקת השתא  is not a חזקה so in both cases there is one חזקה against another. The cancel each other and so it is a doubt in case of doubt we learn from סוטה. A doubt in a רשות הרבים is טהור and in a רשות היחיד is a doubt. And the חכמי  the משנה hold  חקת השתא  is a חזקה so in both cases we  have two חזקות against one and so there is no doubt.  

אני חושב שר' שמעון סבור שחזקת השתא היא לא חזקה. אני מתכוון לומר כך: הגמרא מביא את המשנה שאומר שאם נמצא מקוה חסרה בכמות הראויה אז כל מי שנכנס אליו עדיין לא טהור. אחר כך שואלת הגמרא מהוראה על חבית שהניחו בצד כדי שיוכלו להפריד עליה תרומה ונמצא חמוץ. ברשות הרבים כל הטהרות שנעשו עליו הן טהורות וברשות היחיד הן בספק. הגמרא אומרת שההוראה היא ר' שמעון. למרות שזה יכול להיות בתוספות [אני שוכח] אני חושב שר' שמעון מחזיק חזקת השתא היא לא חזקה ולכן אז בשני המקרים יש חזקה אחת נגד אחרת.והן מבטלות זו את זו ולכן ספק במקרה של ספק אנו למדים מסוטה. ספק ברשות הרבים הוא טהור וברשות היחיד הוא ספק. וחכמי המשנה מחזיקים חזקת השתא היא חזקה ואז בשני המקרים יש לנו שתי חזקות נגד אחת ולכן אין ספק

There is  a strange dynamics in the religious world. That is  the hatred they have towards fry yidin (non religious). If this would be open that would be better. But they hide it because they need the money of secular Jews. They need to make pretend that we are all one family.

This affects baali teshuva [newly religious]. They are suspected of being flaky and ready on an instant's notice to return to their wayward ways. But I have not mentioned this in my blog before because I am not convinced that they are wrong. Baali teshuva are flaky. How else could it be? They, after all, threw out their parents. How loyal could they be to anyone else? 

The religious however make things worse because they despise fry yiden and that affects their attitude towards baali teshuva who are considered unter menschen [sub human]. After all the religious think that they themselves are uber menschen -super human.  This affects the area of shiduhim [marriage offers]. The baal teshuva thinks he is accepted as one of the family. And when a shiduch [a date with intent to see if marriage is possible] is offered, he thinks it is in good faith. But the religious only offer to baali teshuv baali mumim. [Girls with a hidden defect.]