I was going to Uman for every Rosh Hashanah since 1992. The first time was only for for two days of Rosh Hashanah and the next day was Shabat. But later times, I would go and stay for longer and longer periods--mainly because I was treated so well. And that was the rule for a long time. Only in the last year that I was there things started to change--and I had to escape just to save my life. But I must say I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the many, many people of Uman and Kiev that helped me in my times of great need. [Especially the doctors and nurses and people that opened their homes for me and many other great kindnesses that people did for me there.

Uman was where I started learning with David Bronson. From that learning resulted in the two short book on Shas and on Bava Metzia. I should add that David is genius in Torah and I was just picking up the scraps.

 I was at the beach and thinking about Comte, the founding father of the science of Sociology. That is where all the major principles  and idea of Sociology come from. {However this debt is never acknowledged because he was insane.]

The lesson to learn from this is that Rav Israel Salanter was right. Midot Tovot [good character traits] is first and foremost. Not how smart someone is,

I am being short here because by the time I get back from the beach I am tired. But if you have time and energy you can see how the six volumes of Comte established the science of Sociology. [It is easy to look up this stuff if you are interested.] However to be fair, I do not think that most people in the social departments of universities are aware of this because he name has been systematically erased, because he was insane. Who would want to admit the founder of the entire subject he or she is teaching was a madman? How right Allan Bloom was to shut the door on the social studies and humanities departments.

z57 music file   [all z files are in midi because i could not access a midi to mp3 converter.]

 I will make your faith known with my mouth.אודיע אמונתך בפי האמונה תולה בפיו של אדם ועל-ידי  דבורי פיו יכול לבוא לאמונה Rav Nahman in the LeM II: 44 brings this verse and then says that "Faith depends on one's words and by means of one's words he can come to faith." He put a lot of emphasis on what one says. And also על ידי אמצעות הדיבור יכולים לבוא לתבונות התורה לעומקה By means of the word one can come to understandings of theTorah-to its very depth.

So not just faith, but understanding also come from one's words. I think this can be applied to the natural sciences, as well. 

I am being short. But my basic point is the talented people in the natural sciences do not need to be told  how to do their learning. But what about the rest of us? Should we be ignorant of  Physics, Math, Chemistry Biology? But the "Division of labor" costs us this. We think we do not need it because others can do it. And even if we want, the idea of just saying the words and going on sounds ridiculous. So people end up not knowing anything about the natural sciences at all. 

So I suggest that all the above is a mistake. We see in some  Rishonim that knowledge of the natural sciences is a part of the commandment "to learn Torah," [but not all Rishonim]. Plus I hold that this way of learning by saying the words and going on does work. 

You see in the Gra there is an obligation to know all the Seven Wisdoms, and the lack of knowledge in any one of them results in alack of understanding on Torah--a hundred times more.

[However, I combine it with review by going up to a certain point and then going back page by page to the beginning. And then at that point go back to the place I stopped and going a few more pages forward. And then review again back to the beginning.

[Also I should add that I heard in Shar Yashuv the importance of taking some chapter and doing review on it ten times. This might have originated with Rav Hutner. Why do I say this? Because in the Mir I had heard the same thing about the local store owner that had finished chapter 3 in Shabat ten  times.

I might add that while at Polytechnic Institute of NYU, I used to say the words of my lessons forwards and backwards and used that method for a few years. That is in the Physics or Mathematics text, I would say the whole forward and backwards and that included the exercises. 

Tosphot is always right.

  You can see the point of תוספות in his argument against ר' חננאל [בבא בתרא דף כ''ו] תוספות holds that when one buys three trees, he owns ט''ז אמות around them. And as forבבא בתרא פ''א where R.Yochanan said he owns the ground under and around them up until the length of  a  plowing,תוספות holds that is if the trees extend beyond ט''ז אמות. [That is an average arms length. It is not anyone's arm length, but the average value. You can see the point of תוספות, not just to show what he is trying to prove about the statement of עולא , but also as for the actual law of ownership around the trees. To see my point here is the גמרא brings this: עולא said if one has a tree within ט''ז אמות of the border, he can not bring the first fruit because of theft. The גמרא asks this: If one has one tree and its ground, he brings first fruits. Is that not even for a כל שהוא of ground? No. For ט''ז אמות. But if one has two trees, he מביא ואינו קורא פרשת ביכורים   . Is that not for כל שהוא? No. For ט''ז אמות. You can see from the first question of the גמרא that the גמרא itself is holding that when one buys a tree and its ground, he owns ט''ז אמות around it.

I am being a bit short here. The idea is this. R Chananel holds the reason for Ula is because of actual theft of the fruit. But he also holds the law is not like Ula. Tosphot holds the reason for Ula is that while he does own the fruit but getting sustenance from the ground of his neighbor. Furthermore Tosphot does hold the law is that when one buys three trees, he gets 16 amot around them.

So while Rav Shach argues for R. Chananel and shows why the Rambam and the Beit Yoseph do not hold that one gets 16 cubits with the trees, I was just showing why Tosphot hold he does get 16 cubits.

  אתה יכול לראות את הטעם בתוספות בטענתו נגד ר' חננאל. תוספות גורס שכאשר אדם קונה שלושה עצים, יש לו ט''ז אמות סביבם. בבא בתרא פ''א ששם אמר ר' יוחנן יש לו הקרקע מתחתם ומסביבם עד אורך חריש [כמלוא אורה וסלו], תוספות אוחז דהיינו אם האילנות מתרחבים מעבר לט''ז אמות. אתה יכול לראות את הטעם בתוספות, לא רק כדי להראות מה הוא מנסה להוכיח על האמירה של עולא, אלא גם לגבי חוק הבעלות בפועל סביב העצים. כדי לראות את דברי כאן מביאה הגמרא את זה: עולא אמר אם יש עץ בתוך ט''ז אמות מהגבול, אינו יכול להביא את הביכורים מחמת גניבה. שואלת הגמרא כך: אם יש לו עץ אחד וקרקעו מביא ביכורים וקורא. זה אפילו בשביל מעט אדמה? לא. בשביל ט''ז אמות. אבל אם לאחד יש שני עצים, הוא מביא ואינו קורא פרשת ביכורים. זה לא בשביל כל שהוא? לא. בשביל ט''ז אמות. אפשר לראות מהשאלה הראשונה של הגמרא שהגמרא עצמו אוחז שכאשר אדם קונה עץ וקרקע שלו, יש לו ט''ז אמות סביבו

Besides this I wanted to mention that Rav Shach himself retracts the original way he was explaining Rabbainu Channanel--[that Ula means the fruit is stolen even though the tree is owned.]. Rav Shach later explained Rabbainu Chananel to mean the theft part of Ula's statement means the getting the nourishment from the property of his neighbor. Well that answer can go just as well for Tosphot. So What I want to say is what my learning partner (David Bronson) was always telling me: "Tosphot is always right." Tosphot with the Maharsha is the hardest but the most important learning that there is.

 Constitutional Democracy is in a crisis. That is in the USA and thus by definition everywhere else. This was seen a long time ago by Allan Bloom in The Closing of the American Mind. I think if people in school would learn English history --the roots of the American system, they would have a much better understanding of the Constitution of the USA. Don't start "American History" courses with 1776, or Plymouth Colony. Start with Henry II and the Magna Carta and the Provisions of Oxford.

Eve when I was in high school I felt there was something superficial about the course American History. Even though I certainly had no idea of  English history. And even later learning John Locke did little or nothing to bridge the gap. Only with Daniel Defoe 's political pamphlets did I start to get an idea of what was going on. Then when learning English history did the force of the impact come home. The USA is an extension of England, not just externally but inwardly.

 You can see the point of Tosphot in his argument against Rabbainu Chananel [Bava Batra page 26] Tosphot holds that when one buys three trees he owns16 cubit [amot] around them. And as for Bava Batra 81 where R.Yochanan said he owns the ground under and around them up until the length of  a plower plowing,--Tosphot holds that is if the trees extend beyond 16 cubits. [That is an average arms length. It is anyone's arm length but the average value.

You can see the point of Tosphot, not just to show what he is trying to prove about the statement of Ula, but also as for the actual law of ownership around the trees.

To see my point here is the Gemara. Ula said if one has a tree within 16 yards of the border, he can not bring the first fruit because of theft. The Gemara asks this: If one has one tree and its ground, he brings first fruits. Is that not even for a bit of ground? No. For 16 amot.

But if one has two trees he brings, but does not say the required formula [the start of Parshat KI Tavo]. Is that not for just a bit? No. For 16 amot.   

You can see from the first question of the Gemara that the Gemara itself is holding that when one buys a tree and its ground, he owns 16 cubits round it.

I am being a bit short here. The idea is this. R Chananel holds the reason for Ula is because of actual theft of the fruit. But he also holds the law is not like Ula. Tosphot holds the reason for Ula is that he does own the fruit but gettiing sustenance from the ground of his neighbor. Furthermore Tosphot does hold the law is that when one buys three trees, he gets 16 amot around them.

So while Rav Shach argues for R Chananel and shows why the Rambam and the Beit Yoseph do not hold that one gets 16 cubits are the trees, I was just showing why Tosphot hold he does get 16 cubits.