Will add to the list as I go of translation/modern usages I think are distorted from the Torah:
1. הונאה is not fraud or deception
2. להתעמר is not to bully
3. להתעקש is not to be stubborn
4. להשמין , the הפעיל form means to make something else fat, not to become fat oneself
5. מחזה is not appropriate a word for 'a play'
6. ממזר is not a bastard/ born-out-of-wedlock
7. אירוסין is not "getting engaged"
8. מבוכה as 'embarassment'??... I think בושה is the only word possible. what is the use of מבוך in the torah come to think of it....?
9. דכאון not being depression
10. מוביל while having the meaning of bringing/movement does not mean leader/leading
11. אבד הלכתי לאיבודI don't think you find an instance of this used in reference to a human being where the meaning is not ontological or existential. In other words it can't be used for saying a person "got lost" unless they're literally no longer or disconnected from reality to the point that it's as if they're אבוד. you can't use it to refer to taking a wrong turn on a highway exit.
12. לבכר as a generalized use of "to favor/prefer". I have my misgivings of this usage despite it's usage in the לא יוכל לבכר את בן האהובה
13. תמורה does not mean transformation
14. בתול I don't think the Torah recognizes the concept applying to a man
15. מגושם does not mean 'clumsy'
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Nice Russian Song and Some Thoughts On Russian Ethos
I think I've realized today from the following song one of the core components of Russian culture that I find so beautiful and endearing. There's this sense of integrity towards the the greater good, honor, while accepting one's individual hardships and suffering. It's more than just the short vs long term investment of a ויאהב יעקב ברחל וכו ויהיו בעיניו כימים אחדים באהבתו אותה . It's a sacrifice of oneself entirely, absolutely for the integrity and honor of something greater than oneself.
Consider the below song along with these other classical russian culture works: "Moscow does not believe in Tears" (film) , One Million Roses - Alla Pugachova (song), Ya Vas Lyubil and many others...
Anyway, this song and lyrics I'm taking straight from YouTube... it seems to be called Alice & Carroll.. translation thereafter also straight from YouTube...
Так вот, теперь сиди и слушай -
Он не желал ей зла,
Он не хотел запасть ей в душу
И тем лишить ее сна.
Он приносил по выходным ей сладости,
Читал в ее ладонях линии,
И он не знал на свете большей радости,
Чем называть ее по имени.
Ей было где-то тридцать шесть,
Когда он очень тихо помер,
Ей даже не пришлось успеть
В последний раз набрать его несложный номер.
Но в первый раз несла она ему цветы:
Две ярко-белых лилии
В знак, что более никто, кроме него,
Так не называл ее по имени.
И было ей семьдесят шесть,
Когда ее самой не стало.
Нет, не страшила ее смерть,
Скорей, она о ней мечтала.
Бывало, знаете ли, сядет у окна
И смотрит, смотрит, смотрит в небо синее -
Дескать, когда умру, я встречу его там,
и вновь тогда он назовет меня по имени.
Какая, в сущности, смешная вышла жизнь,
Хотя... что может быть красивее,
Чем сидеть на облаке и, свесив ножки вниз,
Друг друга называть по имени?
Translation:
Ok, now sit down and listen to my story.
He never bore ill will to her.
He never wanted to be engraved upon her heart,
to deprive her of innocent sleep.
At weekends he brought her sweets,
he contemplated the lines in her palm.
He never knew a greater joy
than to address her by her first name.
She was about 36
when he peacefully passed away.
She had not managed
to dial his simple number for the last time.
And, for the first time she was now bringing him flowers,
two bright white lilies,
to show that no one else could call her by her first name
the way he did.
She was about 76
when she passed away.
She had not been afraid of death
she had been dreaming about it.
Imagine, she would sit by the window
watching watching watching the blue sky intently.
Thinking: when I die I will meet him there,
and he will call me by my first name.
How funny the life turned out to be.
Still... what could be more beautiful
than to be sitting on a cloud, your legs hanging in the air,
calling each other by your first names.
Consider the below song along with these other classical russian culture works: "Moscow does not believe in Tears" (film) , One Million Roses - Alla Pugachova (song), Ya Vas Lyubil and many others...
Anyway, this song and lyrics I'm taking straight from YouTube... it seems to be called Alice & Carroll.. translation thereafter also straight from YouTube...
Так вот, теперь сиди и слушай -
Он не желал ей зла,
Он не хотел запасть ей в душу
И тем лишить ее сна.
Он приносил по выходным ей сладости,
Читал в ее ладонях линии,
И он не знал на свете большей радости,
Чем называть ее по имени.
Ей было где-то тридцать шесть,
Когда он очень тихо помер,
Ей даже не пришлось успеть
В последний раз набрать его несложный номер.
Но в первый раз несла она ему цветы:
Две ярко-белых лилии
В знак, что более никто, кроме него,
Так не называл ее по имени.
И было ей семьдесят шесть,
Когда ее самой не стало.
Нет, не страшила ее смерть,
Скорей, она о ней мечтала.
Бывало, знаете ли, сядет у окна
И смотрит, смотрит, смотрит в небо синее -
Дескать, когда умру, я встречу его там,
и вновь тогда он назовет меня по имени.
Какая, в сущности, смешная вышла жизнь,
Хотя... что может быть красивее,
Чем сидеть на облаке и, свесив ножки вниз,
Друг друга называть по имени?
Translation:
Ok, now sit down and listen to my story.
He never bore ill will to her.
He never wanted to be engraved upon her heart,
to deprive her of innocent sleep.
At weekends he brought her sweets,
he contemplated the lines in her palm.
He never knew a greater joy
than to address her by her first name.
She was about 36
when he peacefully passed away.
She had not managed
to dial his simple number for the last time.
And, for the first time she was now bringing him flowers,
two bright white lilies,
to show that no one else could call her by her first name
the way he did.
She was about 76
when she passed away.
She had not been afraid of death
she had been dreaming about it.
Imagine, she would sit by the window
watching watching watching the blue sky intently.
Thinking: when I die I will meet him there,
and he will call me by my first name.
How funny the life turned out to be.
Still... what could be more beautiful
than to be sitting on a cloud, your legs hanging in the air,
calling each other by your first names.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Speech as Dissipitant/Outlet of Sexual Desire
Have a theory/hypothesis that speech and talking per se acts as a dissipitant/outlet of sexual urge and desire but didn't find any concrete material on the subject... to be continued then...
ועי' זוהר נשא קכא ב' "וצריך לשורר ולנגן וכו'" --וצע"ע
ועי' זוהר נשא קכא ב' "וצריך לשורר ולנגן וכו'" --וצע"ע
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Tell Me Lies, Tell Me Sweet Lies
A joke from a friend of mine:
מלאכי ג' יט כי-הנה היום בא, בער כתנור; והיו כל-זדים וכל-עשה רשעה, קש, ולהט אתם היום הבא אמר יהוה צבאות, אשר לא-יעזב להם שרש וענף.כ וזרחה לכם יראי שמי, שמש צדקה, ומרפא, בכנפיה; ויצאתם ופשתם, כעגלי מרבק. כא ועסותם רשעים--כי-יהיו אפר, תחת כפות רגליכם: ביום אשר אני עשה, אמר יהוה צבאות.
A low-class guy (israeli slang for it is ars) invites the Rabbi to come to his home and check his mezuzuot. After checking the whole house the Rabbi says "All the mezuzot are fine except for one that I found pasul. Shall I fix it for you?" The ars responds with astonishment and says "...fix this mezuza, are you crazy?! I swear by this mezuza everyday to my wife that I don't cheat on her!!"
Funny joke but upon reflection the insight in it is powerful: When it comes down to it, everyone wants atleast one מזוזה פסולה in the house to swear and live their lives by. No one wants to (or arguably can) live their lives against a standard of absolute honest Truth, a מזוזה כשרה. A world which would be entirely expressive of Truth would be a disaster for the generation undergoing the transition... just look at the backlash that came from the Wikileaks-US Cables debacle.
Imagine what it would mean to live in a world where people are brutally honest in their relationships, be they political, commercial, romantic, or any other... Our society's social structure is simply not built to handle it...
And so we pray everyday for a world that will be expressive of existential true reality while knowing that if it doesn't develop and sprout forth gradually the sudden abruptness of the correction could destroy everything entirely - מצמיח קרן ישועה
So in the meantime we live with the one pasul mezuza in our personal, communal, and global lives. "Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies" (or big ones, as the case may be).
מלאכי ג' יט כי-הנה היום בא, בער כתנור; והיו כל-זדים וכל-עשה רשעה, קש, ולהט אתם היום הבא אמר יהוה צבאות, אשר לא-יעזב להם שרש וענף.כ וזרחה לכם יראי שמי, שמש צדקה, ומרפא, בכנפיה; ויצאתם ופשתם, כעגלי מרבק. כא ועסותם רשעים--כי-יהיו אפר, תחת כפות רגליכם: ביום אשר אני עשה, אמר יהוה צבאות.
See further "In My Secret Life"
Saturday, January 1, 2011
תשובה Existentially
The concepts of תשובה and אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה--
תשובה being an accessing and changing of one's existential self and who he is, not what he does per se.... the ability and opportunity of accessing a depth of existential self-layer so that it's even possible to express regret, shame, etc regarding one's own particular evils in a meaningful lasting manner... hence, אין מספיקין בידו meaning the general sense of jadedness-apathy-lethargy-etc that we feel all too often in today's world, that doesn't allow us to even access that part of ourselves, that particular self-layer, where the potential lies for true-fundamental-existential expression and change...
"well you can't fight the tears that 'aint comin ...when everything feels like the movies, yeah you bleed just to know you're alive..." (Goo Goo Dolls)
I thought it's beautifully seen in the pasuk וימנע מרשעים אורם-- איוב לח
אור לא נאמר אלא אורם \i.e. the light and infinity that is within them themselves, at deeper levels....
See also here Layers of Self
תשובה being an accessing and changing of one's existential self and who he is, not what he does per se.... the ability and opportunity of accessing a depth of existential self-layer so that it's even possible to express regret, shame, etc regarding one's own particular evils in a meaningful lasting manner... hence, אין מספיקין בידו meaning the general sense of jadedness-apathy-lethargy-etc that we feel all too often in today's world, that doesn't allow us to even access that part of ourselves, that particular self-layer, where the potential lies for true-fundamental-existential expression and change...
"well you can't fight the tears that 'aint comin ...when everything feels like the movies, yeah you bleed just to know you're alive..." (Goo Goo Dolls)
I thought it's beautifully seen in the pasuk וימנע מרשעים אורם-- איוב לח
אור לא נאמר אלא אורם \i.e. the light and infinity that is within them themselves, at deeper levels....
See also here Layers of Self
Thursday, December 30, 2010
קטרת מבטלת ארס נחש
See (תורה לשמה (שאלה שס"ו and see ליקוטי ר שמשון מאסטרופולי pg 9 ("איתא בתקונים דרשו ד, קליפות ביחזקאל וכו"
ויאמר יהוה אל-משה קח-לך סמים, נטף ושחלת וחלבנה, סמים, ולבנה זכה: בד בבד, יהיה
משחית אף חמה
ויאמר יהוה אל-משה קח-לך סמים, נטף ושחלת וחלבנה, סמים, ולבנה זכה: בד בבד, יהיה
משחית אף חמה
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
More Trig - Vilna Gaon - איל משולש
Was reading more of the איל משולש. This part just blew me away (Ayil Meshulash, 356). Hope I can write it down clearly.
First he notes that in every multiplication of fractions we have 6 items (3 numerators and 3 denominators).
Ex. a/b * c/d = e/f
[Ex using hebrew letters: א/ב * ג/ד = ה/ו]
[The using of the hebrew letters instead of a,b,c, etc is how the Gaon writes it and imho is a critical piece of knowledge in regard to other issues]
Now what he points out beautifully is that there are exactly only 72 ways to manipulate the equation above [a/b *c/d = e/f] while still maintaining equational balance according to the laws of mathematics. You can work it out yourself or you can look at the chart he made there (אות שנ"ו) or mine below.
Additionally, he points out, and this was the brainstorm for me, if you work out all 72 possible ways of rearranging the equation you'll find that the possibilities as to how the numbers can be rearranged and swapped among each other is actually fairly simply broken down into just 2 groups:
a,c,f & b,d,e or in the hebrew אג"ו בד"ה
That means to say that it's impossible for an integer of one of the groups to switch places with an integer from the other group alone and for the equation to still be correct. Example:
2/3 * 6/8 = 5/10 2=a, 3=b, 6=c, 8=d, 5=e, 10=f
2,6,10 v 3,8,5 -- you can switch the 6 with the 2 or 10 but you cannot switch it with the 3,8,or 5 (without making other rearrangements) and still have the equation correct and balanced.
It sounds complicated but it's really not, it's just hard to show in a blog.
So I guess in essence what I found so intriguing about this insight is the revelation of this funny new relationship -- אג"ו & בד"ה
[p.s. Note the word of והי"ה only appearing in אג"ו of the עשר מכות - in דם, כנים, ושחין ]
[Made an amateurish list of the 72 expressions]
First he notes that in every multiplication of fractions we have 6 items (3 numerators and 3 denominators).
Ex. a/b * c/d = e/f
[Ex using hebrew letters: א/ב * ג/ד = ה/ו]
[The using of the hebrew letters instead of a,b,c, etc is how the Gaon writes it and imho is a critical piece of knowledge in regard to other issues]
Now what he points out beautifully is that there are exactly only 72 ways to manipulate the equation above [a/b *c/d = e/f] while still maintaining equational balance according to the laws of mathematics. You can work it out yourself or you can look at the chart he made there (אות שנ"ו) or mine below.
Additionally, he points out, and this was the brainstorm for me, if you work out all 72 possible ways of rearranging the equation you'll find that the possibilities as to how the numbers can be rearranged and swapped among each other is actually fairly simply broken down into just 2 groups:
a,c,f & b,d,e or in the hebrew אג"ו בד"ה
That means to say that it's impossible for an integer of one of the groups to switch places with an integer from the other group alone and for the equation to still be correct. Example:
2/3 * 6/8 = 5/10 2=a, 3=b, 6=c, 8=d, 5=e, 10=f
2,6,10 v 3,8,5 -- you can switch the 6 with the 2 or 10 but you cannot switch it with the 3,8,or 5 (without making other rearrangements) and still have the equation correct and balanced.
It sounds complicated but it's really not, it's just hard to show in a blog.
So I guess in essence what I found so intriguing about this insight is the revelation of this funny new relationship -- אג"ו & בד"ה
[p.s. Note the word of והי"ה only appearing in אג"ו of the עשר מכות - in דם, כנים, ושחין ]
[Made an amateurish list of the 72 expressions]
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