Talmud Bavli Manuscripts -- Hebrew University

Just came across the Hebrew University's webste http://jnul.huji.ac.il/eng/ejudaica.html --- amazing!! overwhelming!! There's is SOOO much there.

But one thing in particular i came across was a section of online manuscripts of Gemara -- http://jnul.huji.ac.il/dl/talmud/

you can pick any gemara from among three versions of manuscripts (1) Fireze, Italy (2) Munich, Germany (3) Paris, France

anyway, it's really something that would and should take a lifetime to process... but just one interesting thing i saw when looking at the French Manuscript on Berachot:

where the gemara wants to know on the pasuk ובא השמש וטהר ... how do we know וטהר is on the day and not the man... our version has because it should have said ויטהר but the version in the French manuscript is לכתוב קרא וכבוא השמש וטהר and I really like the logic of that version actually.

שבעה דברים בחכם וכו' -- אבות דרבי נתן

See Avot D'Rebbi Natan on that Mishna (Perek ??):

אינו נכנם לתוך דברי חבירו -- Usually this is understood from a prudent point of view i.e. let a person finish their words before you assume you know what they are going to say, you may be wrong.
... I'd like to suggest differently. See the proof the אבות דרבי נתן brings is from Hashem's allowing Avraham to go through the whole "bargaining the # of Tzadikim" in Sdom and the other 4 cities.
...if so, it's not an issue of prudence on the part of the chacham...

Rather, Hashem knew there weren't even 10 Tzadikim but he went through the whole drawn out process with Avraham for Avraham i.e. Avraham needs to be allowed to finish his thought process and work through his misperceptions and mistakes himself. He needs to be allowed to "work it out himself, for himself" and even if Hashem Himself is the Chacham on the other side, knowing his friend is completely off the mark, restraint and patience has to be given to allow the other party to realize the truth themselves. The objective "Right and Wrong" of the matter is irrelevant vis-a-vis the individual who has yet to discover the truth for himself.

Crowning Glory

There's a song by Julie Andrews and Raven-- Your Crowning Glory. Google the lyrics for the whole thing http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=crowning+glory+lyrics

But just the piece i thought interesting:

Dear little girl/ you are terribly blessed/ But it's your heart of gold/ I love the best/ And that will be your crowning glory/ your whole life through/ It'll always be your crowning glory/ The most glorious part of you

The "Crowning Glory" of Hod being associated with the Heart/Lev.
Lev Aharon.

Human Beings

Interesting that we use that phrase -- Human Being -- the reference to the existential havaya.

Falun Dafa/Gong

The beautiful thing about investing in stocks actually (and working in general) is your interacting and interconnecting with the world outside. Had a stock that suffered from a chinese government deal-back-out, rumored to be because of some of the political unrest out there.

(see: http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Smart_Ideas/Outdoor/G9U8P7G6 )

Which led me into reading about Falun Gong or Falun Dafa (the group the Chinese Govt is against, and I really hope all the horrible accounts I read about the persecution are exaggerations.. terrible). Found their website http://www.falundafa.org/eng/intro.html and some promotional videos of the practice on youtube.

anyways, just the piece I thought to put down: the 3 tenets of the system --- Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forebearance ... sounds alot like (l'havdil) Hesed, Gevura, & Tiferet to me.

שתי תורות הברית

Unfortunately, this is a piece that's part of a much larger idea and shiur that i never got the gumpgo to organize and write down. But all roads lead to Truth, and if it is the Truth then I'm sure someone else traveling along the road will discover the same and find use.

The commitment of ברית allowing for the peaceful integration of נעשה ונשמע , Heart and Mind, Loyal Subordination and Independent Intellectual Opposition, עבודה and תורה, gאהרן ומשה , Sefaradim and Ashkenazim .... and today's realized addition:

כתב-לך את-הדברים האלה כי על-פי הדברים האלה כרתי אתך ברית ואת-ישראל

Torah Sh'bichtav and Torah sheB'alPeh functioning in the same way. The structured framework of Torah Sh'bichtav with the open, independent, challenging of b'alPeh. == Brit.

Initiating an Initiator -- Receptivity

We're accustomed to thinking that in male-female courtship the man is always the initiator e.g. the one to approach the girl, to ask her out, her phone number, etc. But actually I think that's only half true.
It's often the female who will first show signs of receptivity beforehand. It's the expression of receptivity that is the true initiator of the initiate so that ultimately what you have is two separate initiators --- one b'itgalya and one b'itkasya.
That I think is part of the dysfunction in your standard shidduch set-up. The man is attempting to court someone who has no real initial interest in him. In live settings, we men can make use of certain tricks to help induce that receptivity ;-)

The idea came to me when reading about the mating procedures of dolphins. There's alot we can take from dolphins in understanding our own selves i think (Bechoros 8A)

As I mentioned though, there are forms of courtship which are completely initiated by the male with no initial female interest whatsoever. It then becomes a responsibility on the male part to "spark her interest" i.e. to create a need, a want, receptivity.

Be that as it may though, either path you take, at some point in the process a need of, and receptivity to, must be formed for any true "click" of a male-female energy to work. Only empty spaces can be filled.

http://67.55.50.201/lilly/dolsex.html - strange website though. Dr. Lily experimented with LSD while examing the dolphins so who knows if the info is credible....

http://www.zoophile.net/dolphin.php -- we have what to learn from the man regardless of his being an עבריין

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070403224451.htm

[Afterwards, I saw it's מדוייק in Avot D'Rebbi Natan (פרק א) :
עשר קללות נתקללה חוה באותה שעה ..... והוא ימשל בך שהאיש תובע בפה והאישה תובעת בלב. ]