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30.6.20

I am very fond of the Middle Ages.

I am very fond of the Middle Ages. In fact, in high school I used to carry around with me Dante. And I recall even trying to go through Bewolf in Ancient English.
So in Shar Yashuv and seeing the greatness of the Rishonim was right up my alley. [That is the general rule in Litvak yeshivas is after you have gotten the Tosphot down, you go to the three major rishonim, Rashba, Ramban [Nahmanides], and the Ritva. 

This idea that the middle ages had grains of truth and intensity that are entirely lacking nowadays.

And so my first gut reaction when I see Christians I think to myself, "These people need Thomas Aquinas." Same with Muslims. I think to myself, "If only they would be studying Ibn Rushd, Al Kindi and Al Farabi how much better the world would be."


But not to deny the importance of Physics and Math and advances in natural sciences. Nor to deny the greatness of Kant, and Leonard Nelson. But I just wonder why people nowadays seem to always look on the Middle Ages as some kind of quaint period that has nothing to teach us.

Though I admit the Rishonim  for me were hard to get into. I spent most of my time with the Maharsha and even commentaries on the Maharsha. I saw some of the amazing depth of Rishonim with Naphtali Yegeer in Shar Yashuv, and Rav Shemuel Berenbaum at the Mir. But it was hard for me to get to see that depth on my own until I started looking at the Avi Ezri of Rav Shach.

A lot of effort is going into the destruction of Christianity.

A lot of effort is going into the destruction of Christianity. And that I see in a tragic sense since even if I do not agree with all principles of Christianity, still I see that is an essential component of Western Civilization.

So while I can see the tremendous importance of the great Litvak yeshivas, like Ponovitch or Brisk, I also can see that there is a need for a new direction.

The issue with Litvak yeshivas is that they can become kind of cult like. Or at least borderline. They can (and in some cases do) get the idea that they are the centre of the universe, and everyone was created merely to give them money.
So while I can see the tremendous importance of the great Litvak yeshivas, like Ponovitch or Brisk, I also can see that there is a need for a new direction. That is a study hall [beit midrash] on the name of the Gra. In that way there would not be any ambiguity about the fact that learning Torah is not a means to be making money. and that the rest of us plebeians were not created to serve the needs of the elite. Torah was given to all Israel  and all are required to learn it. There is no special elite class that everyone else is supposed to serve. 
As for the issue with taking down the USA and Western civilization, my impression is that a lot starts with school. The Frankfurt school of philosophy seems to have penetrated in the USA Schools. I mean teaching dumb half baked philosophy is not illegal. But like Ayn Rand says it world views trickle down in the modern world from the philosophers. So when philosophy gets everything wrong no wonder the USA is going haywire.
Of all the schools of thought of the twentieth century it is hard to find anything of worth. Or as John Seale says: "Most of twentieth century philosophy is obviously false."
But to get a detailed critique refuting at least the side of the Analytic philosophy the best is Robert Hanna. [Thankfully thrown out of the University of Colorado just to show the state of universities nowadays!]
   

about the virus

My idea of what to do about the virus is that one ought to go to the ocean or nearby sea or river every day. Dip in and then do some exercise and the dip in again. [And by going to the sea I mean to walk.]]
The reason is that in the blood there are little things that seek out viruses. But for them to be active one needs to boost one's system by fresh air, exercise, and a dip in fresh water.

Beit Midrash HaGra

The beginning of yeshivas was unpaid. But they were not simply the local prayer hall. So the two words "yeshiva" and "beit midrash" are somewhat close to each other. But even before a yeshiva was a money making institution as they are today, still it was not simply unorganized. You could go through the history of these kinds of places. Still the modern history starts with Rav Chaim of Voloshin. Before him, they were under the control of the local rav who himself was hired by the home owners.
But after that, they became independent institutions. Students were still not paid. They paid the teachers. Now in Israel, the students get paid by the State of Israel.

The idea of Rav Haim was a kind of needs of the hour עת לעשות להשם time (to do something improper because of the needs of the hour.)
And the great Litvak yeshivas in fact came to represent Torah in its purist authentic form and essence.  And they were all based more or less on the path of the Gra. [The ideas and approach of the Gra became the official world view.]

Nowadays, what I suggest is to also have a place that would be a Beit Midrash HaGra. A place which would be more along the lines of how yeshiva used to be. That is: open to anyone who wants to study Torah.  But the idea would be that it would be directed openly along the path of the Gra.
The advantage of this is that it would take into account the signature of the Gra on the letter of excommunication. Ignoring that has let the Dark Side [Sitra Achra] into the religious world. So with the name of the Gra on the building makes that less of possibility.

the evils of pride.

The religious world has a kind of problem of pride. [See all the books of Musar about the evils of pride.][The opposite of secular ideology.] That is a sort of collective pride. That is a sort of belief of moral and intellectual superiority. Neither of these accurate. But the only possible justification would be if  fact they would be more honest or smarter than anyone else. Clearly these claims are false.  If anything just the opposite.