Saturday, December 22, 2012

נפש בני רחל

ח ואלה שמות בני ישראל הבאים מצרימה...: ט ובני ראובן חנוך... ויחלאל: טו אלה בני לאה...כל נפש בניו ובנותיו שלשים ושלש: טז ובני גד... : יח אלה בני זלפה...ותלד את אלה ליעקב שש עשרה נפש: יט בני רחל אשת יעקב יוסף ובנימן ....: כב אלה בני רחל אשר ילד ליעקב כל נפש ארבעה עשר: כג ובני דן חשים: כד ובני נפתלי ...: כה אלה בני בלהה...כל נפש שבעה: כו כל הנפש הבאה ליעקב מצרימה יצאי ירכו מלבד נשי בני יעקב כל נפש ששים ושש: כז ובני יוסף אשר ילד לו במצרים נפש שנים כל הנפש לבית יעקב הבאה מצרימה שבעים


Note that only by בני זלפה is the word נפש placed after the number of sons, thereby allowing it to be read as one with the words בני רחל -- a remez then to the kabbalistic reference of בני רחל being exclusively related to the דרגא of נפש.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Salt and Existentialism

See the Malbim on the Sifra (ויקרא נדבה פרק יד) where he explains the concept of מליחה on all קרבנות as:  despite our burning of the physical carcass of the קרבן, the existential component (i.e. salt) must never cease. Very nice then with the kabbalistic references of מלח equaling ג' פעמים הויה.

Why exactly 3x though needs further understanding.... further interesting to note that מלח is mentioned exactly 3 times in the pasuk ויקרא ב יג... making then a sum total of 9 הויות, possibly then a remez to ג' כלילן תוך ג' וט' ספירות של ז"א...

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Cheap


In recent times there's been astonishing supermarket price wars in various parts of the country here in israel. Chicken meat and vegetables being just about given away for free with any purchase above around 100 shekel. The latest is in Kfar Saba with chicken being sold at 1 shekel a kilo (about 40 cents for a whole chicken) and vegetables at 9 agurot a kilo.  Great, right? I don't think so. Not in the subtle long term. The country is literally being conditioned for cheapness, in all its forms and all its manifestations. There's no way a  society can transfer tons of slaughtered chickens (from the slaughterhouse, thru the supermarket, to the home) at 40 cents a chicken and not become jaded - jaded to life, to value, to meaning, to giving respect to things to whom some modicum of recognition is due. And from therein can come all the further maladies: apathy, indifference, neglect, and abandonment -- because everything is cheap, and so  it doesn't mean that much anyway.

I can't express the point as pointedly as I'd like (maybe i'm losing my writing skills or maybe I'm just off point) but i can't help feeling that everything's tied together. That the 40 cent chicken is  the indifference of society to assert "what is right" over that which is "profitable";**;   the grafitti sprayed on a beautifully new jerusalem stone building being that the kid has no conception of what efforts go into such a project or the value of money needed to buy the IPod that his daddy bought for him;  the malaise of a society to an existential perspective of "be or not to be"', the infinity of beauty in an act of true justice and goodness no matter the dollar value gained or lost; and the general resignation of people  to focus exclusively on themselves alone because the world is too f-ed up and too cruel to stand a chance of changing, so better to just "forget about it" -- these are the things that sadden me and this is part of what's at issue when i pass by supermarket chains  with names like: הכל בזול, זול בירושלים, רשת הקניה הזולה בישראל, etc etc. How did we get to the point where "cheap" is a good word in our societal vocabulary?


** I remember as a cashier, management focus was on finding the least path of resistance, not on right and wrong. If customer A unfairly cuts B in line say, but customer A knows "how to make a ruckus", "how to make a scene" -- and say customer B is  a softy (i.e. we can allow A to screw B and B won't make a scene about it). Many times I'm sad to say the management choices were one of pragmatism, not of upholding right and wrong...

Saturday, December 8, 2012

גמל משמש אחור באחור

חסר לי כל המראה מקומות אבל ראיתי לרשום בקיצור מה שכן ראיתי אחר כך בספרים אחרים. מה שאמרו חז"ל שגמל משמש אחור באחור -- זה מקורו של דברי ר' חיים ויטאל שכותב בספריו (איני זוכר איפה) שזיווג אחור באחור של זו"נ נעשה על ידי עליית שתיהם לתוך חופת שלום של אבא ואמא ושם ניתן להזדווג פנים בפנים ללא חשש לאחיזת הקליפות, רק שכיון שזיווג זו איננה ראויה מצד זו"נ עצמם (שהרי הם נמצאים בעצמם אחור באחור) אלא על ידי עזרת אבא ואמא לכן הדבר מכונה כ"זיווג אחור באחור".

ובכן רמוז במאמר חז"ל גמ"ל משמש אחור באחור, שמלת גמ"ל מרמז אל אבא ואמא. גימטריה של גמ"ל עולה ע"ג,  כמספר חכמ"ה, וכן  בבינה מצאנו ע"ג ניצוצין של רפ"ח שכולל הויה דס"ג ועשר אותיות המילוי שעולין ע"ג. ודו"ק.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

What's real can't die.

"What's real can't die" -- New Radicals, You Get What You Give


What an absolutely amazing! quote in such a concise way. So simple yet so elegant.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

לםרבה המשרה -- בן איש חי

Someone please make sense for me out of this בן איש חי שנה ב פרשת וארא -- in the second half of the drush. The entire piece is assuming that the words in ישעיהו ט ו  are

  למרבה הםשרה 

when in fact in all of my texts on hand our mesorah is לםרבה המשרה..... what's pshat?

Thursday, October 18, 2012

אבל הלל הזקן מדה אחרת היתה לו שכל מעשיו לשם שמים


תניא אמרו עליו על שמאי הזקן כל ימיו היה אוכל לכבוד שבת מצא בהמה נאה אומר זו לשבת מצא אחרת נאה הימנה מניח את השניה ואוכל את הראשונה אבל הלל הזקן מדה אחרת היתה לו שכל מעשיו לשם שמים שנאמר (תהלים סח, כברוך אדני יום יום

The entire derivation of the pasuk is from the fact that אדנ"י, being equal to הל"ל is called שם שמים, which is the כלי/מדה of ספירת מלכות. (possibly also מרומז in the world אבל הלל...) The printers lost this when they quoted the pasuk in Shas Vilna as ברוך ה' יום יום which does not indicate if the pasuk is written with הויה or אדנות.


Thursday, September 6, 2012

Giving Waste It's Place


והתקדשתם והייתם קדושים...והייתם קדושים אלו מים אחרונים -- ברכות נג

The inevitable necessity for waste in life in all it's various forms: the wasting of the last remaining crumbs of food on your fingers, one's mental thoughts and focus, time, money, effort, talent, love, strength, sperm, etc., etc. מים אחרונים being then in essence the קידוש of that waste by being מייחד it it's own place in the larger scheme of Existence. It's part of the process.

The recognition that the only לחם that can be without waste is לחם מן השמים. Anything מן הארץ must have waste -- אין צדיק בארץ אשר יעשה טוב ולא יחטא

Possibly then the "waste" of a childless בן עזאי and his life's end that suits the יקר/קרי theme of the pasuk יקר בעיני ה' המותה לחסידיו as mentioned in חגיגה and צדקת הצדיק.
[נ"ל עפ"ז לדייק ה"א הנוספת, המותה, בבחינת צדיק נספה בלא משפט אלא בצדק, כמבואר בזוהר. ועיין באבות סוף פרק ה , מאמרי בן בג בג ובן הא הא שאולי גם כן מרמזים למידה של אות ה כאשר נכתבו בלשון ארמית. ובכן השם ב"ן בג בג וב"ן הא הא כמו ב"ן עזאי וב"ן זומא שמתו בלא בנים]

Consider then the etymology of the phrase "holy crap/ holy sh*t" .

[Quote the Zohar on מים אחרונים here]

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Etymology: Contra - קנטר

הלומד על מנת לקנטר is probably from that root of Contra -- arguing just for the sake of going against the other person. 'nuff said.

[very strange to me that ר' אליהו בחור doesn't cite the latin 'contra' in his entry on קנטר... wasn't he very close with a latin bishop or something?!... or maybe it was a greek orthodox priest.... have to look into that further].

Sunday, July 8, 2012

וקרקר כל בני שת

עיין בבעל הטורים שמרמז על דוד המלך כאשר קרק"ר באתב"ש הינה ד"ג ד"ג שעולה דו"ד

וקצת תמיהה שהשמיט רמז בוטה יותר לעין של וקרק"ר שעולה בדיוק כמספר רו"ת, כמו שהעיר בספר ליקוטי מהרי"ן  ריש מגילת רות, עיי"ש.

Friday, June 29, 2012

The Beauty of דין

Recently in the big corporate company that I work for (that I often snubbed as being a typical example of the voracious, cheap, careless approach of capitalistic consumerism and it's embedded micro-level corruption/irresponsibility which so often finds therein a home a.k.a the בהמה רביעי of דניאל which is אכלה ומדקה ושארא ברליה רפסה) fired a handful of employees (peons and mid level managers alike) for a corruption they were doing in the company. Some of those employees being people I thought nicely of, friends I'd even say, suddenly in one single day gone. I was really happy.

Not because I don't feel the plight of those workers tempted to dip their fingers in a little extra cash that they probably feel makes up for the many injustices in salary that come with the average minimum-wage job.  Not because I ignore the implications of their loss of income and support to their families, community, etc.   But truly because I was so happy to see in life some Order. Justice. Supervision. Accountability. Care. Not simply in this isolated situation per se, but as a part of Creation. There is Justice. There is Right and Wrong and someone/something in Creation will make sure to enforce it. יש דין ויש דיין.

And so the insight that I realized is that what it takes to be someone who is מצדיק עליו את הדין, or a רבי עקיבא saying שמע ישראל as he's being torn apart, is not necessarily a function of a personality bending itself and submitting itself and subordinating itself to a higher power per se but maybe rather it's a function of someone who loves דין, who knows that the present world we live in is too screwed up through-and-through to not require sweeping radical action that will often affect and hurt villains and bystanders alike (in differing measures though, of course. Someone who's willing to pray for the destruction of an organizational מלכות הרשעה, as in  ומלכות הרשעה מהרה תעקר ותשבר וכולי, even while knowing at one and the same time that that may be an organizational structure that he himself is living and depending on!  The Goldman Sachs' Greg Smith's of our time wanting the fall of the systems and structures that provide them their very wealth and life, if but only to see Justice and דין and Goodness in the world, the way we all know deep down existentially it ought to be. THAT is really the beauty of דין and how beautiful and meaningful and lovely it makes our often screwed up, unfair, chaotic world.   ברוך דיין אמת.

נאום דניאל ברוך

Saturday, June 16, 2012

שם ומלכות

Recently was involved in an argument culminating in my being accused of wrongdoing in front of about 100 people, not my brightest moment. In any event, it's a funny thing really. At that moment, while you're being yelled at by someone with 100 onlookers bending their ears, you're really helpless. There's no way to defend yourself. There's no way to share the prior sequence of events and informational context with the onlookers, no way to coordinate or convey your set of information with theirs (the accuser himself knew he was distorting events but the onlookers have no way of knowing). In short there is no way to express your Truth. Your שם is completely vulnerable and exposed to manipulation and distortion with nothing that you can do about it.

My insight being this:  שם is the one part of a person that's not immediately within his existential control. You could be truly good, truly Just within yourself and someone can still distort your image and action as that of a monster. Similarly to what I discussed  here. Hence then the ספירה of מלכות, being true emergent expression of existential self, is directly an issue of שם and directly כנגד those sins which most endanger שם i.e. לשון הרע ומוציא שם רע.

Note then the common theme throughout תהלים of לשון הרע and שמירת הלשון.

Hence the לשון מדברת גדולות of תנא דבי ר' ישמעאל in ערכין being equivalent to the ג' חמורות since it's כנגד the רגל רביעי of מלכות.

Note then that חילול השם is unique in it's being a demand on the external resultant image that is produced, not a commandment of one's own inner existential integrity as are all other מצוות. Hence אחד שוגג ואחד מזיד בחילול השם. Hence a better understanding of ר' ישמעאל in the Sifra that while the ג' חמורות בצנעא are יעבור ואל יהרג [because all parties involved know that the act performed is not true to the person's inner רצון], it's דוקא חילול השם ברבים which is יהרג ואל יעבור -- because ultimately in the eyes of the onlookers, Creation's true nature is being betrayed, and that is something that cannot be allowed. See further here.

Hence it's easy to understand how שבועת שקר is more חמור than נדר despite the fact that נדר is of a greater  level (as is the seeming contradiction in the zohar)-- it's specifically the realm of שם שמים which can be so often distorted and betrayed, it then being that much more vulnerable, hence the greater response of עונש in return.

And so then it's in a world of asymmetric information among separate entities (עולם של פירוד) in which such horrific accusations, distortions, and manipulations can be made. Starting from that point of שם, expression, and reputation --- ומשם יפרד והיה לארבעה ראשים. Hence the evolution of שם with negative connotations in english-- Shame.

[ומתוך דברינו מובן "וענשו אותו מאה כסף" דמוציא שם רע בבחינת מ"ה ה' אלקיך שואל מעמך ובבחינת מאה אדניה של מלכות]

[ואולי ניתן לומר בתוך מתק לשונו של הרמב"ם ריש הל' יסודי התורה "יסוד היסודות ועמוד החכמות לידע שי"ש ש"ם מצוי ראשון" דהיינו ישות ההויה של יהו' ושם ומלכות של ה' אחרונה, שביחד מהווים יהו"ה]

Monday, April 9, 2012

Existential vs Empirical/Physical -- Examples

I see often people having a difficult time with the distinction I make between Existential vs Empirical/Physical perspectives of reality; how they can often give exact opposite descriptions of reality and yet at-one-and-the-same-time be completely in harmony and agreement,  so I thought to attempt a list of examples to shed more understanding on what I mean. A sort of summary compilation of what much of this blog has dealt with throughout.

First part, כדי לשבר את האזן, will be examples of everyday life being used as משל for the above mentioned distinction and second part will be actual Torah examples showing, hopefully persuasively, that the Torah (and particularly I would argue תורה שבכתב) talks in terms of existentialist perspectives of reality, not empirical/physical ones as we're accustomed.

I Common Comparisons as משל

  1. Every company in the stock market has a book value that can be determined based on the fundamentals of it's assets, liabilities, etc. Despite the fact that a company can go through an entire accounting period with absolutely no change in it's fundamental book value, that same stock price will fluctuate regularly and often wildly divergently from it's book value. From an "existentialist" perspective the stock value for quarter 'x' was maybe $2 throughout. From an "empirical" perspective the stock value will be a long list of each daily price transaction, maybe $1, maybe $10.
  2. Similarly Real Estate value. An "existentialist" will evaluate the home based on the value of the raw materials only (cement, wood, appliances, etc). Public sentiment and it's location in relation to the surrounding environment being irrelevant. The 'existential'/fundamental value of the building being the same whether situated in Beverly Hills or the Sahara. מה שאין כן viewing it empirically.
  3. A parent could often times argue and conflict with their child (say for example, refusing to allow the child to go on a class trip). Empirically we would say the parent is fighting with their child; 'existentially' we would describe the situation by the essence of it's dynamics and say the parent is protecting and showing love for the child.
  4. Music and Cinematography. In their fundamental essence, they are a large collection of successive, discrete, separate and static units of information but empirically we grasp them as fluid emergent "moving" phenomena.
  5. "A loves B" is a fundamental, 'existential' definition. It tells you what IS, but nothing of how it manifests physically. From the above statement you have no idea whether it means A gave B a kiss, donated his kidney, had sexual relations, yelled at, etc. In other words, an existentialist description is specifically removed from the gritty physical details of how existential phenomena ultimately manifest themselves into a physical world. From an existentialist frame of reference, those details are marginal.
  6. "You raped me!" from an existential viewpoint, could be true even if I wasn't physically raped but the underlying essence of what rape is was present i.e. you forced me to have a conversation with you against my wishes, you violated my sense of intimacy/trust, etc

II Torah Examples
  • If קידושין is an existential bond (ויצאה והיתה) [and not what's commonly translated as marriage], then the degree of emotional connection or physical connection between the couple is irrelevant. A man could be מקדש a woman one moment and then move to the other side of the world and live there for the next 30 years and she'll remain the exact same degree an אשת איש regardless
  • In wanting to convey a definition/description of a personality existentially, there is little need to give biographical detail as to the majority of his life. The Torah can give over the essence of who אברהם is by giving a few limited paragraphs of his life events-- the earliest one starting from when he was 70 years old! There is no need or desire from an existentialist Torah perspective to write an Artscroll biography book on any Tanach personality. (see example 5 above)
  • as in example 6 above, an existentialist talks in terms of the essential essence of an act's meaning, even if not actually physically carried out-- וילך ראובן וישכב את בלהה. Similarly all of the examples חז"ל mention in כל האומר פלוני חטא אינו אלא טועה וכו
  • Once a person has forfeited his purpose and justification to exist I can refer to him existentially as "dead" -יומת המת- even if he's physically breathing and functioning.   Similarly, someone whose existential essence embodies universal eternal Truths of Creation and Existence is very much alive, even if physically dead. ובניהו בן יהוידע בן איש חי
  • Existentially, a person exists starting משיצא ראשו ורובו של ולד even though from an empirical/physical perspective the fetus is very much alive with a beating heart seconds before birth as well. Similarly, on the other side of the life cycle--  physically, you may call someone dead the moment they cease bodily function whereas existentially, it's no different than killing a חתן בחופתו.
  • Since דם נדה is defined existentially (יהיה, בהויתו יהא) it therefore is מטמא both לח ויבש, whereas otherwise we'd go by the physical parameter of moistness as a gauge for when it's considered to still be capable of impacting and affecting an external reproductive world.
  • Existential perspective will see "Effect" as preceding "Cause". See here.
  • Existential Truths will dictate eventual empirical events to manifest those said Truths inevitably, one way or another. אם החרש תחרישי בעת הזאת רווח והצלה יעמוד ליהודים ממקום אחר וכו. The empirical players are variables in an overall existential equation, see here.
  • Existential perspective will not have gerunds in it's vocabulary. A physical action without an 'Existing Being' performing it does not exist. see here.
  • As physical beings, our ultimate source of existential identity is hidden from us (אין), whereas empirically we are entirely defined sexually in regard to our interaction with the external world (אות). See here.
  • If I tell you someone IS existentially evil --  הוא אחשורוש ברשעו מתחלתו ועד סופו  it's irrespective of time (usually). I don't need to have documented the life of אחשורוש, from birth to death, to testify to the fact that he never helped an old lady across the street. Physical acts of good emanating from existential evil is ultimately evil.   Similarly you see this derasha of הוא in many places in gemara. מס' ערכין being one example of many--  ר' יהודה אומר אפי' עני והעשיר וחזר והעני נותן ערך עשיר מ"ט דר' יהודה אמר קרא (ויקרא כז) ואם מך הוא מערכך עד שיהא במכותו מתחלתו ועד סופו
I'll stop here but there are many more examples in the Torah of this point. This Existential/Empirical distinction is fundamental to the Torah, as is the imperative to understand the interconnection and harmony between them in my opinion... ותן לחכם ויחכם עוד

ז' ימים של עשרת ימי תשובה

See שער הכונות הקדמת דרושי ראש השנה that the concept of each day of עשרת ימי תשובה bringing forgiveness for each day of the week was originally said in the context of תשובה with fasting...

עי' בשער הכונות הקדמת דרושי ראש השנה דתיקון ימי השבוע בכל אחד מז' ימי עשרת תשובה נאמר בעשיית תשובה תוך צום ותענית...


עוד יחוד ג' והוא בעשרת ימי תשובה אמר לי ה"ר משה גאלאנטי ששמע ממוז"ל שאם האדם יתענה בז' ימים שבין ר"ה ליוה"כ ויעש' בהם תשובה גמורה כל יום מהם מכפר על כל העונות שחטא כל ימיו ביום שכיוצא בו. כיצד הרי שחל יום א' של ז' ימי תשובה הנז' ביום א' של השבוע והתענה בו ועשה תשובה בו הנה הוא מכפר על כל עבירות שעשה האיש ההוא בכל ימיו ביום א' שבכל שבוע מכל ימי חייו. ואם התענה ועשה תשובה בכל ז' הימים ההם יתכפרו לו כל עונותיו שעשה כל ימיו

Thursday, March 22, 2012

כאילו מלמדה תפלות

סוטה כ עמוד א - ר"א אומר כל המלמד בתו תורה <כאילו> לומדה תפלות ר' יהושע אומר רוצה אשה בקב ותפלות מט' קבין ופרישות. ובגמ'-- אמר ר' אבהו מ"ט דר"א דכתיב אני חכמה שכנתי ערמה, כיון שנכנסה חכמה באדם נכנסה עמו ערמומית וכו'... מאי קאמר ר' יהושע הכי קאמר רוצה אשה בקב ותיפלות עמו מתשעת קבין ופרישות

The word תפלות being somewhat unclear as to it's exact meaning yet seemingly understood as something loosely connected to sexuality and sexual promiscuity. That notwithstanding it still remains unclear how תפלות is related to the word תפל which means blandness of taste and spice (תבלין) as in פת תפל of איוב ו or more fundamentally as something not fully developed as in יחזקאל יג כ ועיין מצודות ציון שם....

לענ"ד being that תורה in it's essence is a description of existential reality and not an empirical one, a woman who is naturally predisposed to an empirical world of process and cause/effect is by definition constrained to translating and interpreting all Torah information by way of empirical nature... evolutionary biology... the fundamental drive of spreading genes and self, i.e. sexuality. By definition, anything in terms of interaction with an external world must ultimately be defined in terms of sexuality as faintly mentioned in regard to אות. 

It's only a man who is naturally predisposed in relating to existential dimensions of reality per se that can learn תורה in it's proper "tasty" (בראתי תורה תבלין) and developed form. Hence כל המלמד בתו תורה כאילו מלמדה תפלות.

ונכון הוא

[Note also then, beautifully, the word תפלה  being a defining and assessment specifically of how an empirical world (חיי שעה) ought to be, sharing then the same letters, besides being כולו ענין של ייחודים as well...]

[Note also Torah standing conferred upon women specifically by way of their intimate relations-- אשת חבר כחבר, and not by intellectual expertise of the knowledge per se]

זוהר פנחס רלו ע"ב-- יו"ד דא רזא דברית וכו' יו"ד דא איצטריך דלא יתעדי כלל מגו תפלה דיד, דלא יעביד פרודא, וכל חדוה דילה בהאי י' איהו, יו"ד דא בדכורא איהו, ולא בנוקבא, איהו צדיק ואיהי צדק ובגין כך אתקריבת בהדה ומאן דרחיק ליה מאתר דא רחיק הוא מעדונא דעלמא דאתי.    בדכורא איהו צדיק ואיהי צדק בלא יו"ד, איהו איש ואיהי אשה בלא יו"ד, ובגין כך חדוה דילה לאתקרבא בה ולאתעדנא בהדה וכו'... ועל דא כתיב כי מכבדי אכבד

[And see the Malbim's (16/35) distinction of ערום from חכם, insofar as his character to "go for what he wants" independent of the abstract principles themselves, related to our אני חכמה שכנתי ערמה above as well.]

[ולא נתן תפלה לאלקים (איוב א) עדיין צריך עוד עיון...]

Thursday, March 8, 2012

הוה

Note a puzzling thing: the word הוה, being essentially 75% of the שם המפורש, has in fact a negative connotation of שבר and tribulation as in יחזקאל ז) הוה על הוה) [even having the same vowelization!]... The only explanation in my mind being the loss of the 'י' as mentioned here.

If so we have an additional difficulty to resolve-- the word used for the Present term-- הווה , it being the only one of the three tenses bereft of a י...

לענ"ד the Present being in it's very essence (by virtue of it's being standalone and devoid of חיבור i.e. devoid of context) chaotic and ambivalent, hence frustrating and painful; contrary to a sequential chronological Past (היה) or an envisioned unfolding Future (יהיה).

יהו"ה-- היה הווה ויהיה

Chazal say (source?) the meaning of יהו"ה being היה הווה ויהיה -- presumably from the 3 vowelizations of שב"א, חול"ם, וקמ"ץ.  The beginning שב"א for future e.g. יהי אור, the חול"ם used for present e.g הווה, עושה  ; and קמץ for past e.g. היה, נהיה.

Problem is though, Chazal should state the order opposite:  יהיה הווה והיה as per the vowelization...

לענ"ד from the perspective of Mankind, Creation's processes are leading up towards ultimate Existential completion, hence היה הווה ויהיה but from the perspective of Primal Existence/ יהו"ה, an existentialist perspective, the ultimate future final result of what remains is your point of origin, how could you begin from things which "are-not"?; what remains are the particular processes by which Existence shall manifest itself but one way or another, those existential Truths will manifest. Hence from an existentialist perspective the effect exists before the causes that bring it about --- רווח והצלה יעמוד ליהודים ממקום אחר ואת ובית אביך תאבדו. As R' Matis Weinberg explained in Frameworks Pr' Hukat.

.....In the same way then that mathematical truths precede and are pre-determined even before the selection of the particular causal data that bring them about, as for example x + y = 20. The result will be 20, no matter what 'x' you choose.

It is interesting then, following this line of thinking, that the שם of צבאות follows a different order, namely: Future, Past, Present... וצע"ע

Monday, March 5, 2012

אגרת רבן יוחנן בן זכאי

אגרת רבן יוחנן בן זכאי 

I have nothing to say. Everyone has to read it for themselves. Be prepared for a lot of gematria in מספר קטן. Many thanks to LG for showing this to me.

If the online hebrew calendar conversion works correctly, the hebrew date of authorship Kislev 3813 - כסלו ג' תתיג comes out to approx the 10th of November 52 C.E.

אגרת רבן יוחנן בן זכאי provided by HebrewBooks.org

Monday, February 27, 2012

Letter of Aristeas - Why Do Jews Discriminate?

It's one thing to hear a modern day discussion between jew and non-jew regarding the nature of jewish law but it's all the more fascinating to read a similar discussion 2,300 years ago between a greek Ptolemaic official and the Kohen Gadol...  full text is here ... and in hebrew here.... I have no idea what is meant that מעלה גרה ומפרסת פרסה is connected to זכרון (see below v 153)?.. It may in fact be correct here to re-translate זכרון here as "awareness"/"mindfulness" as R' Matis often pointed out.



128 It is worth while to mention briefly the information which he gave in reply to our questions. For I suppose that most people feel a curiosity with regard to some of the enactments in the law, 129 especially those about meats and drinks and animals recognized as unclean. When we asked why, since there is but one form of creation, some animals are regarded as unclean for eating, and others unclean even to the touch (for though the law is scrupulous on most points, it is specially scrupulous on such130 matters as these) he began his reply as follows: 'You observe,' he said, 'what an effect our modes of life and our associations produce upon us; by associating with the bad, men catch their depravities and become miserable throughout their life; but if they live with the wise and prudent, they find 131 the means of escaping from ignorance and amending their lives. Our Lawgiver first of all laid down the principles of piety and righteousness and inculcated them point by point, not merely by prohibitions but by the use of examples as well, demonstrating the injurious effects of sin and the 132 punishments inflicted by God upon the guilty. For he proved first of all that there is only one God and that his power is manifested throughout the universe, since every place is filled with his sovereignty and none of the things which are wrought in secret by men upon the earth escapes His knowledge. For all that a man does and all that is to come to pass in the future are manifest to 133 Him. Working out these truths carefully and having made them plain he showed that even if a man should think of doing evil - to say nothing of actually effecting it -134 he would not escape detection, for he made it clear that the power of God pervaded the whole of the law. 135 Beginning from this starting point he went on to show that all mankind except ourselves believe in the existence of many gods, though they themselves are much more powerful than the beings whom they vainly worship. For when they have made statues of stone and wood, they say that they are the images of those who have invented something useful for life and they worship them, though 136they have clear proof that they possess no feeling. For it would be utterly foolish to suppose that any one became a god in virtue of his inventions. For the inventors simply took certain objects already created and by combining them together, showed that they possessed a fresh utility: they 137 did not themselves create the substance of the thing, and so it is a vain and foolish thing for people to make gods of men like themselves. For in our times there are many who are much more inventive and much more learned than the men of former days who have been deified, and yet they would never come to worship them. The makers and authors of these myths think that they are 138 the wisest of the Greeks. Why need we speak of other infatuated people, Egyptians and the like, who place their reliance upon wild beasts and most kinds of creeping things and cattle, and worship them, and offer sacrifices to them both while living and when dead?'
139 'Now our Lawgiver being a wise man and specially endowed by God to understand all things, took a comprehensive view of each particular detail, and fenced us round with impregnable ramparts and walls of iron, that we might not mingle at all with any of the other nations, but remain pure in body and soul, free from all vain imaginations, worshiping the one Almighty God above the whole 140 creation. Hence the leading Egyptian priests having looked carefully into many matters, and being cognizant with (our) affairs, call us " men of God ". This is a title which does not belong to the rest of mankind but only to those who worship the true God. The rest are men not of God but of meats and drinks and clothing. For their whole disposition leads them to find solace in these things. 141 Among our people such things are reckoned of no account. but throughout their whole life their 142main consideration is the sovereignty of God. Therefore lest we should be corrupted by any abomination, or our lives be perverted by evil communications, he hedged us round on all sides by 143 rules of purity, affecting alike what we eat, or drink, or touch, or hear, or see. For though, speaking generally, all things are alike in their natural constitution, since they are all governed by one and the same power, yet there is a deep reason in each individual case why we abstain from the use of certain things and enjoy the common use of others. For the sake of illustration I will run over one or two 144 points and explain them to you. For you must not fall into the degrading idea that it was out of regard to mice and weasels and other such things that Moses drew up his laws with such exceeding care. All these ordinances were made for the sake of righteousness to aid the quest for virtue and 145 the perfecting of character. For all the birds that we use are tame and distinguished by their cleanliness, feeding on various kinds of grain and pulse, such as for instance pigeons, turtle-doves, 146 locusts, partridges, geese also, and all other birds of this class. But the birds which are forbidden you will find to be wild and carnivorous, tyrannizing over the others by the strength which they possess, and cruelly obtaining food by preying on the tame birds enumerated above and not only so, but 147they seize lambs and kids, and injure human beings too, whether dead or alive, and so by naming them unclean, he gave a sign by means of them that those, for whom the legislation was ordained, must practice righteousness in their hearts and not tyrannize over any one in reliance upon their own strength nor rob them of anything, but steer their course of life in accordance with justice, just as the tame birds, already mentioned, consume the different kinds of pulse that grow upon the earth 148 and do not tyrannize to the destruction of their own kindred. Our legislator taught us therefore that it is by such methods as these that indications are given to the wise, that they must be just and effect nothing by violence, and refrain from tyrannizing over others in reliance upon their own 149 strength. For since it is considered unseemly even to touch such unclean animals, as have been mentioned, on account of their particular habits, ought we not to take every precaution lest our own 150 characters should be destroyed to the same extent? Wherefore all the rules which he has laid down with regard to what is permitted in the case of these birds and other animals, he has enacted with the object of teaching us a moral lesson. For the division of the hoof and the separation of the claws are intended to teach us that we must discriminate between our individual actions with a view 151 to the practice of virtue. For the strength of our whole body and its activity depend upon our shoulders and limbs. Therefore he compels us to recognize that we must perform all our actions with discrimination according to the standard of righteousness - more especially because we have 152 been distinctly separated from the rest of mankind. For most other men defile themselves by promiscuous intercourse, thereby working great iniquity, and whole countries and cities pride themselves upon such vices. For they not only have intercourse with men but they defile their own 153 mothers and even their daughters. But we have been kept separate from such sins. And the people who have been separated in the aforementioned way are also characterized by the Lawgiver as possessing the gift of memory. For all animals " which are cloven-footed and chew the cud " 154 represent to the initiated the symbol of memory. For the act of chewing the cud is nothing else than the reminiscence of life and existence. For life is wont to be sustained by means of food 155 wherefore he exhorts us in the Scripture also in these words: 'Thou shalt surely remember the Lord that wrought in thee those great and wonderful things". For when they are properly conceived, they are manifestly great and glorious; first the construction of the body and the disposition of the 156 food and the separation of each individual limb and, far more, the organization of the senses, the operation and invisible movement of the mind, the rapidity of its particular actions and its discovery of the 157 arts, display an infinite resourcefulness. Wherefore he exhorts us to remember that the aforesaid parts are kept together by the divine power with consummate skill. For he has marked out every 158 time and place that we may continually remember the God who rules and preserves (us). For in the matter of meats and drinks he bids us first of all offer part as a sacrifice and then forthwith enjoy our meal. Moreover, upon our garments he has given us a symbol of remembrance, and in like manner he has ordered us to put the divine oracles upon our gates and doors as a remembrance of 159God. And upon our hands, too, he expressly orders the symbol to be fastened, clearly showing that we ought to perform every act in righteousness, remembering (our own creation), and above all the 160 fear of God. He bids men also, when lying down to sleep and rising up again, to meditate upon the works of God, not only in word, but by observing distinctly the change and impression produced upon them, when they are going to sleep, and also their waking, how divine and incomprehensible 161 the change from one of these states to the other is. The excellency of the analogy in regard to discrimination and memory has now been pointed out to you, according to our interpretation of " the cloven hoof and the chewing of the cud ". For our laws have not been drawn up at random or in accordance with the first casual thought that occurred to the mind, but with a view to truth and the 162 indication of right reason. For by means of the directions which he gives with regard to meats and drinks and particular cases of touching, he bids us neither to do nor listen to anything, thoughtlessly 163 nor to resort to injustice by the abuse of the power of reason. In the case of the wild animals, too, the same principle may be discovered. For the character of the weasel and of mice and such 164 animals as these, which are expressly mentioned, is destructive. Mice defile and damage everything, not only for their own food but even to the extent of rendering absolutely useless to man whatever 165 it falls in their way to damage. The weasel class, too, is peculiar: for besides what has been said, it has a characteristic which is defiling: It conceives through the ears and brings forth through the 166 mouth. And it is for this reason that a like practice is declared unclean in men. For by embodying in speech all that they receive through the ears, they involve others in evils and work no ordinary impurity, being themselves altogether defiled by the pollution of impiety. And your king, as we are informed, does quite right in destroying such men.' 167 Then I said 'I suppose you mean the informers, for he constantly exposes them to tortures and to 168 painful forms of death'. 'Yes,' he replied, 'these are the men I mean, for to watch for men's destruction is an unholy thing. And our law forbids us to injure any one either by word or deed. My brief account of these matters ought to have convinced you, that all our regulations have been drawn up with a view to righteousness, and that nothing has been enacted in the Scripture thoughtlessly or without due reason, but its purpose is to enable us throughout our whole life and in all our actions 169 to practice righteousness before all men, being mindful of Almighty God. And so concerning meats and things unclean, creeping things, and wild beasts, the whole system aims at righteousness and righteous relationships between man and man.'
170 He seemed to me to have made a good defense on all the points; for in reference also to the calves and rams and goats which are offered, he said that it was necessary to take them from the herds and flocks, and sacrifice tame animals and offer nothing wild, that the offerers of the sacrifices might understand the symbolic meaning of the lawgiver and not be under the influence of an arrogant self-consciousness. For he, who offers a sacrifice makes an offering also of his own soul in all its moods.171 I think that these particulars with regard to our discussion are worth narrating and on account of the sanctity and natural meaning of the law, I have been induced to explain them to you clearly, Philocrates, because of your own devotion to learning.

כ"ד משמרות כהונה

I have nothing to add. I just think the various wikipedia posts on the כד' משמרות כהונה and their various centers of living in ארץ ישראל are fascinating:

משמרות כהונה        משמרת חזיר       משמרת יהויריב

מצנפת, מגבעת, Letter of Aristeas

A peculiar description regarding the כהן גדול in the Letter of Aristeas or אגרת אריסטיאס at verse 98 (see text)  :

On his breast he wore the oracle of God, as it is called, on which twelve stones, of different kinds, were inset, fastened together with gold, containing the names of the leaders of the tribes, according to their original order, each one flashing forth in an indescribable way 98 its own particular colour. On his head he wore a tiara, as it is called, and upon this in the middle of his forehead an inimitable turban, the royal diadem full of glory with the name of God inscribed in sacred letters on a plate of gold


It sounds like from here the כהן גדול wore both a מגבעת and a מצנפת.... 

Sunday, February 19, 2012

חיים וחיות, אלמנות חיות

Throughout the blog I've mentioned the differences between חיים and הויה.

The former being always an interactive engaging with something external to oneself, most clearly manifested in 3 areas -- אשה, תורה, ואומנות--- all subsumed within the pasuk ראה חיים עם אשה אשר אהבת

The ד' נחשבים כמתים in נדרים סד all being instances of a life that is limited by it's engagement with the external world.

Hence, the גואל עיר מקלט being provided his subjective personal necessities for "having a life" and not just existing per se -- ונס אל אחת מן הערים האל וחי עביד ליה מידי דתיהוי ליה חיותא --מכות י עמוד א

Hence, the word חיים always being in the plural even when speaking of the life of a single individual.

It's then beautiful that by עגונה we switch to the singular -- חיות.

 שמואל ב ,כ ג-- וַיָּבֹא דָוִד אֶל בֵּיתוֹ יְרוּשָׁלַ‍ִם וַיִּקַּח הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵת עֶשֶׂר נָשִׁים פִּלַגְשִׁים אֲשֶׁר הִנִּיחַ לִשְׁמֹר הַבַּיִת וַיִּתְּנֵם בֵּית מִשְׁמֶרֶת וַיְכַלְכְּלֵם וַאֲלֵיהֶם לֹא בָא וַתִּהְיֶינָה צְרֻרוֹת עַד יוֹם מֻתָן אַלְמְנוּת חַיּוּת.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

בגד, בגידה, בבגדו בה, בא גד

The english translation of בגידה as betrayal and deceit being inaccurate. בגידה rather meaning "considering something external enough to oneself to be considered for change", as in "a change of clothing". [Compare with the סמיכות of שמלה and חליפה]. Why should changing political sides at different times in one's life be any more of a "betrayal" then wearing a different shirt on a different day?  Only because of the expectation that one's ideologies and values should be an integral and existential component of who one is. Hence, the negative sense of treachery/deceit that evolved for the word...

בבגדו בה - פר' משפטים then meaning the choice of the אדון to not carry over and maintain a relationship with the girl who has been working for him, or given to him as a פילגש (??) if I've understood the אדרת אליהו correctly on the pasuk, shows his relating to her as an external בגד of his life and not as in integral, irreplaceable part of it. A part of his life that is interchangeable. בבגדו בה (Granted this reads the בבגדו בה as going on the אדון, the thought may still hold true even if you learn the pasuk is referring to the אב in his having sold her... not sure...)

The כתיב then of  ותאמר לאה, בגד (בא גד); ותקרא את-שמו, גד not having to be necessarily a negative connotation of treachery. It simply means a change i.e. a change in מזל.

[I'm tickled by the בא גד - בגד in the pasuk. 2,3,4 vs 1,2,3,4. 9 vs 10.... could we say it's the א that makes the difference between בגידה and Existential Wholeness/Unity.... don't know.   See further שער מאמרי רשב"י על בראשית על אותיות ד' וג' בבריאת העולם]

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

פן יפרץ בהם יהוה

 שמות יט כב-- וְגַם הַכֹּהֲנִים הַנִּגָּשִׁים אֶל יְהוָה יִתְקַדָּשׁוּ פֶּן יִפְרֹץ בָּהֶם יְהוָה
וברש"י -- "פן יפרץ" - לשון פרצה יהרוג בהם ויעשה בהם פרצה

The impossible connotation in relation to Primal Existence the concept of "breaking out/forth by way of growth, strengthening" as by Yaakov, hence Rashi's לשון פירצה יעשה בהם פירצה  i.e. מצד הנבראים. 
Similarly his point on פסוק כד.
ודו"ק

Monday, February 13, 2012

רבינו בחיי על פרקי אבות

[רבינו בחיי בן אשר על פרקי אבות - הקדמה -  pg. 20/148]

רצו החכמים לומר כי המוסר הוא שיגדל אדם את נפשו בתועלת מעשית גופניות לפי שהן סולם לעלות אל המידות השכליות עד יעלה עניינו למדרגת מדות הנביא המתנבא ברוח הקדש, שהוא העשירית למדות, כמו שהזכירו רז״ל א) ורוח הקדש גדולה מכולן, ואם כן הכל תלוי במוסר המדות להתהלך בנתיבתו ומתוך רום מעלתו. ויקר תפארת גדלתו הזהיר עליו שלמה בחכמתו (משלי א׳ הי) שמע בני מוסר אביך ואל תטוש תודת אמך, הוא המלך שלמה ע״ה אבי העולם והחכמה. ומפני זה נהג בכל דברי משליו העליונים ומוסריו [הנעימים] לקרוא לכל בני העולם בני, יאמר שם שמע בני ירא את ד׳ בני (שם כ״ד נ״א) חכם בני ושמח לבי (שם כ״ז י״ב) (משלי א׳ י׳) בני אם יפתוך הטאים, (שם ד׳ כי) בני לדברי הקשיבה, ורבים כיוצא בהם, וידוע כי מלת בן נגזר מבנין לפי שהבן בנין האב והאב יסודו ועיקרו, כן שלמה היה יסוד החכמה, וחכמי כל הדורות הבאים אחריו היו בניו שלו, ולכן יתמיד תמיד לקרוא את הכל בני, לפי שההכמה ניתנה לו במתנה וכענין שכתוב (מ״א ה׳ כ״ו) והי נתן חכמה לשלמה וכל יודעיה דור אחר דוד אינה אלא בניין חכמתו, וכן אמרו במדרש שיר השירים (פ״א ח׳) עד שלא בא שלמה למה הייתה תורה דומה לקופה שאין לה אזנים. בא שלמה ועשה לה אזנים אזן והקר... ועל דרך הפשט וכו' עכ"ל


לענ"ד כוונתו על שם הוי"ה דב"ן השייכת לחכמתא תתאה

Why Good Guys Get A Bad Rap & Other Shidduch Discontents

It saddens me how you can make a genuine gesture that is all-defined and all-contingent by the context it was given in; that someone can then go and "tell over the facts" but just viciously chooses to omit all the points of context and subtleties of conversation that make sense out of your actions, and the end result is an absolutely horrifying account of yourself that you shudder upon hearing being relayed from your family, friends, or "former friends"--  as the case may be after them having heard the story...

I think I've really come to understood better R' Matis' talks on לשון הרע and פרשת מרגלים... It's all about the context and it's in context where בעלי לשון roam free to crucify you to the stake as they see fit... sad... 

I hate dating through middlemen (a.k.a shadchanim). It's not enough dealing with the date itself but you then have to be constantly paranoid and stressed about not saying or doing anything that can be presented back to others in less than favorable light should the relayer so wish it... and that paranoia [which is truly valid] is what leads a good, honest man to close in and "play it safe" by offering nothing of his rough personal edges to allow for genuine, honest relationship and mutual understanding. In other words, the system makes it worthwhile to be disingenuous at worst or just plain dry, bland, superficial and tepid at best... how sad...

Etymology: Shapour שבור מלכא

The persian title of emperor- שבור מלכא being linked to the modern day persian name of Shapour.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

איה ואיפה; איה מקום כבודו

The מלבי"ם in יאיר אור 9 (courtesy of teachittome.com) points out that איה is used in instances where you have a sense of where the object is but are remarking how it ought to be by you. That having then ramifications for:

כבודו מלא עולם משרתיו שואלים זה לזה איה מקום כבודו להעריצו


Saturday, February 4, 2012

Impossible Paradox

As I get older it seems my ability to deepen relationships can only be done by way of offending--- at best, or hurting--- at worst.... an impossible paradox....

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Etymology: Calamity, קלמתא, כינים

ח,יב ויאמר יהוה, אל-משה, אמר אל-אהרן, נטה את-מטך והך את-עפר הארץ; והיה לכנם, בכל-ארץ מצרים

ואמר ה', למשה, אימר לאהרון, ארים ית חוטרך ומחי ית עפרא דארעא; ויהי לקלמתא, בכל ארעא דמצריים

Thursday, January 26, 2012

תפלה As Defining Reality; מתפלל, ויפלל, פלילים

[It's possible I've heard all this from R' Matis, forgot, and now it comes to me as if I thought of it myself]

It's quite a startling thing-- the text of our Tefillah lacks any phrases of requests?!! If you look through the עמידה you will not find a single wording of a request (such as "please" נא or "could you" האם תוכל or "we beg you" אנו מתחננים etc etc) save for two [see below]. Everything is said either בלשון צווי or in the prophetic future tense.. דוק ותשכח

A:
תפלה and פלל meaning "defining how reality ought to be".
Justice in Life depending not on existential Truth of שמים alone but on how it's perceived and received מצד Creation and the נבראים.  Avraham's השופט כל הארץ לא יעשה משפט being then an issue that must be addressed even if Truth by itself sees otherwise... תפלה then being the ultimate example of the mutuality and interrelationship of מלכות Cf. ואני תפלה... אין מלך בלא עם

מתפלל then being "re-defining to oneself  how reality ought to be"

ויפלל  then being "asserting on the world how I feel reality ought to be" and hence the קנאות of פנחס being not an act of פסק דין but a visceral reaction to what the קנאי sees as a violation of what ought to be --- בועל ארמית הבא לימלך אין מורין לו as R' Matis always explained.

and of course then- beautifully- the one instance of פלל appearing in a situation of defining something that had yet to be and come into the world -- דמי וולדות i.e. כאשר ישית עליו בעל האשה ונתן בפלילים.

תפלה being unable to define reality once reality has already manifested physically יהי רצון שלא יהו אלו תוך ביתי-- הרי זו תפלת שוא

[Note: In נוסח אשכנז there is not a single instance of נא in the עמידה. In נוסח עדות המזרח there are two.. one in גאולה of ראה נא בענינו and one  in ברכת צדיקים we have ועלינו יהמו נא רחמיך ה' אלקינו.... I do not have an explanation....]

[Later found the Malbim says this point on פלל and הפלאה, see here.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

ובני חלאה צרת וצחר ואתנן

דברי הימים א ד ולאשחור אבי תקוע, היו שתי נשים: חלאה, ונערה. ותלד לו נערה את-אחזם ואת-חפר, ואת-תימני ואת-האחשתרי; אלה, בני נערה.  ובני, חלאה--צרת יצחר (וצחר), ואתנן.

סוטה יב א - ולאשחור אבי תקוע היו שתי נשים חלאה ונערה. "אשחור" זה כלב, ולמה נקרא שמו אשחור? שהושחרו פניו בתעניות. "אבי" שנעשה לה כאב. "תקוע" שתקע את לבו לאביו שבשמים. "היו שתי נשים" נעשה מרים כשתי נשים. "חלאה ונערה" לא חלאה ונערה הואי אלא בתחילה חלאה ולבסוף נערה (דברי הימים א ד) ובני חלאה צרת וצהר ואתנן צרת שנעשית צרה לחברותיה צהר שהיו פניה דומין כצהרים אתנן שכל הרואה אותה מוליך אתנן לאשתו


It's hard to understand how חז"ל  justify their derasha on צרת צחר ואתנן when they are listed under חלאה and not נערה...?!