tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83350313033680608992012-02-16T18:36:48.126-05:00Searching for His hidden face from within the belly of the fishYonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.comBlogger681100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-75760426470725888372012-01-22T09:00:00.001-05:002012-01-22T09:00:28.385-05:00

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-90880599100345337862011-10-29T22:40:00.002-04:002011-10-31T21:54:25.217-04:00

“Our desire is to tear aside in one motion the entire curtain spread across the totality of life. Then, in an instant you will see yourself standing before God’s glory in the midst of a great camp of angels and seraphim–and you being one of them… “…Instead of your senses forcing your thoughts to apprehend a sensory form according to their nature, the opposite will occur: your mind will

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-90782911195983941292011-08-28T23:52:00.004-04:002011-08-29T00:22:26.094-04:00

“The trait of faith is a subtle inclination from the sensitivity of the soul. If a person is attuned to his soul during a quiet time, free from the hunger of desire, with his eyes amazed at the vision of heaven above, the earth in its depth, he is overcome with emotion and is stunned. The world appears before him like an unsolved riddle, hidden and wondrous, and this riddle wraps up his heart and

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-64922220340206672602011-07-29T11:20:00.002-04:002011-07-29T11:23:16.897-04:00

“The day my mother died, my two brothers, my sister, my sister-in-paw and I were all in the room. My mother hadn’t spoken a word in several hours, and she as breathing in an irregular pattern. None of us were really upset because mother had been on a long downhill course and we knew this was the end. “Suddenly, a bright light appeared I the room. My first thought was that a reflection was

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-30816786870140586862011-07-17T21:47:00.003-04:002011-07-21T15:08:42.525-04:00

Until this point we have considered the need for revelation as a moral need. The problem with this approach is that it places religion as a maidservant to ethics. Therefore, we will now explore the religious-spiritual need for revelation. I. Divine ethics Revelation may or may not be necessary for arriving at a coherent and thick ethic but it is certainly necessary to

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-39229751737769372602011-06-20T22:25:00.007-04:002011-06-20T23:50:03.998-04:00

For a discussion of theories of vision see Rupert Sheldrake, The Sense of Being Stared at, Part 2: Its Implications for Theories of Vision. And for some indications of the close connection between consciousness and vision see below..."As her physician was closing the incision, Sarah's heart stopped beating...But the emergency was over in a minute for it took no more time than that for the

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-33703180812063427322011-06-06T15:21:00.001-04:002011-06-10T16:42:48.858-04:00

"Whoever said of me that my soul is torn put it well, for torn it is indeed. Our minds cannot conceive of a man whose soul is not torn. Only the inanimate is whole. But man's aspirations contradict one another, and battle is constantly waged within him. All of man's efforts are to unite the opposing forces of his spirit by means of a general idea, whose greatness and sublimity holds everything

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-81646725591449224672011-05-13T15:21:00.008-04:002011-05-17T17:46:45.619-04:00

In a previous post, we discussed two reasons why modern man may have difficulty in relating to revelation in general and Torah in particular. In this post I will address an even more fundamental question: Why is there a need for revelation in the first place?[i]This question is obviously assuming a belief in God and soul,[ii]and it is in within this context that we address the issue.

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-75018540505889486982011-05-03T20:08:00.005-04:002011-05-04T11:26:14.047-04:00

"It is forbidden to burn or to destroy by direct action any sacred texts, their commentaries, and their explanations. A person who destroys them by his direct action is given "stripes for rebelliousness."To what does the above apply? To sacred texts written by a Jew with a sacred intent. However, should a Jewish heretic write a Torah scroll, it and the name of God it contains must be burnt, since

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-15886444086179071422011-03-13T10:41:00.003-04:002011-03-13T10:48:57.644-04:00

שלום זה שם המקום אבל מתי תמלך בציון

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-4326610090606778692011-01-26T07:59:00.003-05:002011-01-26T08:27:20.895-05:00

Laws which are created through interpretation (hermeneutical principles, textual analysis or logic) The first issue in discussing this category is if it exists at all! There are those Rishonim and Achronim, most notebly R. Avraham b. Daud in Sefer ha'Kabbalah, that maintain that all of halakha, even those which seem to have been created through interpretation, were transmitted from Moshe.This is

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-1875655717689980352010-12-26T16:21:00.005-05:002010-12-26T19:57:06.443-05:00

“While the Baal Shem Tov was in Kutov, he used to meditate in the mountains and fast from one Shabbos until the next. The purpose of his meditation (hisbodedus) in the mountains and wilds of the forests was this: he sought to become one with his inner being – with his feelings and thoughts; to hear the voice of his inner soul from her very depths, without any admixture of external influences, the

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-17095697336576665572010-11-30T10:40:00.010-05:002010-12-01T19:11:24.468-05:00

Painting by Yona“Literature, painting, and sculpting are able to bring to fruition all the spiritual concepts engraved in the depths of the human spirit, and so long as one brush is missing, which is stored away in the depths of the spirit – which ponders and feels – but has not been realized, there is still an obligation on the purposeful work to realize it."-Hamizrach (1903) p352-354"The true

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-41780362196854395892010-11-18T20:33:00.003-05:002011-01-27T06:46:00.711-05:00

Peirushim ha'Mekubalim - Received Explanations from MosheThis category of laws are, like Halakhot l'Moshe m'Sinai, received explanations from Moshe. However, unlike Halakhot l'Moshe m'Sinai they can be supported through exegetic analysis, i.e. they have a remez – a hint – to them in the written Torah. Examples in the Talmud are found in Bava Metzia 22a, Sanhedrin 75a, Avoda Zara 76b and Shavuot

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-50250186048943542302010-10-26T19:16:00.004-04:002011-06-07T00:39:01.220-04:00

"Hasidic thought views philosophy and philosophers with an apathy verging on invalidation. The faith of philosophers rests upon the astute answer that they give to resolve some paradox that they themselves created. But contentment with some "answer" only stultifies the longing soul, which yearns daily for a more profound thirst and for ever-increasing fulfillment...The thirst becomes enclothed in

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-4320948267475536072010-10-21T20:19:00.006-04:002010-11-18T20:33:41.073-05:00

We have previously discussed the purpose of an Oral Torah and some arguments in favor of the reliability of the Oral Torah. Before we turn to understanding the philosophy of the Oral Torah, I will now briefly deliniate it's categories.Halakha l'Moshe m'SinaiHalakha l’Moshe M’Sinai are laws or explanations of laws which, as the name suggests, were given to Moshe and are only known through

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-2110104420826951852010-10-21T19:45:00.003-04:002010-10-21T20:13:20.099-04:00

"I wish to describe to you how powerful is my desire to rejoice with you and to cause you to rejoice at your simchah. I do not exaggerate when I tell you how many years I have waited and longed for this moment and how many times I have pictured in my mind's eye how I would dance in front of you at your wedding. But, "Many are the thoughts of men..." (Mishlei 19:21). This too is no doubt also for

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-27095920800540174622010-10-07T17:46:00.002-04:002010-10-07T18:17:26.817-04:00

In the previous post arguments from Tanakh were presented for the existence of an Oral Torah and the reliability of the Oral Torah in our possession. In this post we will discuss three more arguments from the Mishna, Septuigent, Apocrypha, and historical research.Arguments from the MishnaR. David Nietto (Matteh Dan) argues that the Mishna was completely and immediately accepted by the Jewish

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-32951351167780015602010-09-21T18:01:00.003-04:002010-09-21T18:40:19.206-04:00

In previous posts we have discussed the religious needs for an Oral Torah and some of the possible criteria for a law being written or oral. Now we turn to the age-old discussion concerning the reliability of the Oral Torah.IntroductionFirst, it is obvious that the Written Torah requires interpretation, supplementation and application. It is impossible that the Written Torah was given without an

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-65565036092859330352010-09-06T18:29:00.004-04:002010-09-06T18:32:50.374-04:00

In the previous post in this series we discussed the necessity of the Oral Torah. In this post we will begin exploring the criteria by which a law was part of the written or oral Torah. This question is two-fold: 1) why are certain halakhot explicit in the Torah while others are received traditions and halakhot l'moshe m'sinai, 2) why are certain halakhot explicit in the Torah (p'shat) while

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-70636311087508204792010-07-31T14:48:00.007-04:002010-07-31T16:29:37.506-04:00

Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everythingThat's how the Light gets through-Leonard Cohen

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-88655562586433229032010-06-25T09:48:00.003-04:002010-06-25T10:09:13.385-04:00

"'This emanated from Hashem; it is wondrous in our eyes' - This means that the intention to believe in Torah that it is from heaven, and all of its details and particulars, is above our intellectual comprehension..." -(Vilna Gaon, Kol Eliyahu, Tehillim 118:23) The Mystery of RevelationThe nature of prophetic revelation is certainly mysterious. I have often said that the most common verse in the

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-10778359775852853972010-06-17T05:06:00.003-04:002010-06-17T05:13:09.024-04:00

Now that we have concluded our discussion concerning the importance of learning the Oral Torah, and specifically Gemara, we now turn to the related question of "Why is there an Oral Torah?" To further clarify the question we will ask this on each part of the Oral Torah: Halakha l’moshe m’Sinai and Peirushim ha’Mekubalim, laws created through interpretation or logic, and Gezerot and

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-40570028303912627022010-06-09T15:11:00.006-04:002010-06-09T15:26:25.915-04:00

"Merely seeing the face of Tzadikim is beneficial" (Sefer ha'Midot, 6)Painting by Yona (acrylics on marble)

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-38501787401937260212010-05-11T13:36:00.009-04:002010-05-12T01:13:50.465-04:00

Painting by Morris Blanco "Ten measures of beauty descended to the world, nine were taken by Jerusalem."(Kiddushin 49b)"Whoever did not see Jerusalem in its days of glory, never saw a beautiful city in their life." (Sukkah 51b)"There is no beauty compared to the beauty of Jerusalem." (Avot d'Rebbe Natan 1:28)

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-52182418093065645662010-05-10T00:26:00.005-04:002010-05-10T00:50:34.028-04:00

Previously, I gave an overview of the mind-body problem and briefly argued that the Materialism cannot explain away consciousness. It is fundamentally a trans-physical creation, or in the words of the well-known neuroscientist Sir John Eccles, "a Divine creation" (Quoted in Varghese, Cosmos, Bios, Theos, pg. 160). However, we are not exempt from considering the role of the brain and body and it's

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-85851849634770384902010-04-30T13:28:00.005-04:002010-05-02T14:15:02.986-04:00

"If you aspire to become a master of your soul, if you still feel in yourself that your spirit is not satiated with dry words and you no longer find fulfillment in the external things that your eyes beheld in the days of your youth,and behold, you desire to descend into the inner depths of things according to the true spirit of the Torah - then come and I will reveal to you the mystery of

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-78387013097831154492010-04-25T20:00:00.005-04:002010-05-10T00:26:13.846-04:00

The Torah is not merely a description of an ancient reality; it is a blueprint, a map, of reality itself. The Torah reveals the makeup of reality, both of the cosmos and the psychos, the Adam ha'Gadol and the Adam ha'Katan[i].Yet the Torah is not merely a map of reality; it is that which contains[ii] and continuously[iii] channels reality.[iv]We may call the Torah a brain, the interface between

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-83918120322376736612010-04-24T23:31:00.004-04:002010-04-25T00:25:28.486-04:00

Hasagos vHavayos“השגה” represents the intellectual grasp of any given idea, while “הויה” represents the incorporation of that idea into the person’s weltanschauung. Our goal is to merely discuss theoretical ideas and then return to our daily lives. We want to transform the ideas of theTorah into a living Torah, a תורת חיים.I would like to introduce a new blog written by two of my Rabbeim, two of

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-5996299184983673072010-04-20T19:16:00.005-04:002010-05-10T00:26:00.782-04:00

The Talmud (Berakhot 55b) states: "All dreams follow the mouth." In other words, the interpretation of the dream determines its outcome. The Sefer ha'Chasidim commenting on this writes (pgs. 307-308, Reuven Margoliot ed.):"The Torah is from Him and it follows the mouth and heart for interpretation...The sages said there were twenty-four dream interpreters in Jerusalem. No one interpreted as did

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-44460295487568772432010-04-07T23:15:00.007-04:002010-04-07T23:29:41.379-04:00

"At the end of days, before the coming of the Messiah, God shall take a string, a "string of faith," and stretch it around the world. Many a man will attemp to grab that string and to hang on to it. However, God will appoint two angels to hold the string at both ends, instructing them to shake it violently as the days of Messiah near. It will become increasingly difficult to maintain a grasp on

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-65604612836791598812010-03-23T22:10:00.004-04:002010-03-23T22:22:57.343-04:00

Our constant goal is not only to be redeemed from Egypt, not only to be healed from wounds and delivered from disease, not only to come forth from the bonds of poverty and the darkness of blindness. We yearn to be filled with greatness: with the great wealth of the soul. We thirst for a fresh life, filled with brilliance. And we come to the land of Israel. We hope for redemption, we pine for a

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-10157124521412876292010-03-17T00:33:00.009-04:002010-03-19T11:07:04.418-04:00

תוך תוךואני מתגלהעמוק עמוקואני עולהרום רוםולבי לוחש שמחהקום קום והעולם מתרחש בזיו האהבה

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-21797613600302418082010-03-14T20:49:00.005-04:002010-03-14T21:07:49.336-04:00

"Know from the start that all truth derives from the Word of God and thus partakes of the sacred. Cultivate purity, knowing that this constitutes a precondition to the reception of truth. Learn once more to revere what is worthy of reverence. Cast off the profane and irreverent persona of the modern intellectual, and cultivate the spirit of discipleship. Learn to receive the gift of faith; know

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-18204010694885918442010-03-13T23:45:00.002-05:002010-03-19T11:16:29.461-04:00

"By a "silly" theory I mean one which may be held at the time when one is talking or writing professionally, but which only an inmate of a lunatic asylum would think of carrying into daily life. I should count Behaviourism, taken quite strictly... as "silly" in this sense. No one in his senses can in practice regard himself or his friends or enemies simply as ingenious machines produced by other

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-71682208732651066382010-02-14T19:35:00.008-05:002010-02-14T21:15:21.816-05:00

It seems that the major objection people have to learning Gemara is that it is simply too confusing. Remarkably, our Sages were aware that the Talmud Bavli in particular is quite confusing – calling it “darkness” – and suggested that one’s love of Hashem is measured by one’s willingness to go through this darkness (Tanchuma, Noach #3). What benefit is there to seeing the “great light” through

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-11451231773838309832010-02-09T17:19:00.010-05:002010-02-09T18:11:47.454-05:00

(In addition to last post, see Pri Eitz Chayim, Sha'ar Hanhagat ha'Limud 4:2 [quoted by Bezalel Naor, A Kabbalist's Diary, pg.233])

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-59899851436678268752010-02-06T23:34:00.012-05:002010-02-07T01:21:10.387-05:00

Some of this post is speculative so please feel free to argue or add to it...As we approach the Messianic era[i] scientists and philosophers not only discuss worlds and galaxies, but universes and dimensions as well. Some hypothesize that our universe[ii] is but one of the infinite yet interconnected universes that make up a multiverse or omniverse; reality consists of higher and lower planes (

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-50833861440688915432010-02-01T19:24:00.005-05:002010-02-07T01:21:57.556-05:00

כְּתָב-לְךָ אֶת-הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה: כִּי עַל-פִּי הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, כָּרַתִּי אִתְּךָ בְּרִית--וְאֶת-יִשְׂרָאֵלThe spirituality hovering above and buried within the Torah has been called many names: Light,[i] Divine flow,[ii] Transcendence,[iii] or most commonly, the Shechinah (Divine presence).[iv]The entire Torah is but one Name of Hashem, one manifestation of the Divine.[v] The Holy One

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-41756498656101269712010-01-25T19:06:00.004-05:002010-01-25T19:46:34.772-05:00

ניצוץ נגהמאיר ועולהמתפלל לרבונה-זאת התפילה המתמדת שלה תפילת הנשמהמתפשטת אורהעל פני תבל ומלואהומחיה העיף ויגע-זאת השירה המשכלת שלהשירת התורה

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-55177605227578143982010-01-24T23:35:00.004-05:002010-02-07T01:21:38.258-05:00

Light is not only the source of life and the vehicle for manifesting the physical world, but also is a common metaphor for positive emotion and spirituality. We yearn for enlightenment and wait for the redemptive twilight, shed light upon and illuminate difficulties, delight and brighten up someone's day, shine and beam with radiance, and ignite the spark in someone's heart and soul.The examples

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-26754460638788758872009-12-22T09:07:00.002-05:002009-12-22T09:08:35.990-05:00

Sorry, I am away until mid-January. Until then...

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-28805966111183179932009-11-26T19:32:00.011-05:002009-12-01T19:35:05.495-05:00

In the previous post in the series Deeper is Higher, I briefly summarized the voluminous research of Ian Stevenson. While Stevenson certainly got the attention of the scientific mainstream, one obituary concludes that “His greatest frustration, he maintained, was not that people dismissed his theories, but that so few bothered even to read the evidence he had so painstakingly assembled.”However,

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-50853597536124083462009-11-17T22:42:00.006-05:002009-11-17T22:53:38.458-05:00

Courtesy of On The Main Line

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-50239893676607811972009-11-12T14:37:00.019-05:002009-11-18T14:48:37.970-05:00

"עֵץ-חַיִּים הִיא, לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ-She is a tree of life for those who cling to her."One aspect of this common refrain points to the life-giving quality of the Torah,[i] but another aspect refers to the very nature of the Torah.[ii]The Torah is a unified[iii] and living[iv] organism whose growth is incumbent upon Israel[v] but is guided by Providence.[vi] As the tree develops it becomes ever

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-14759084843206617252009-11-12T14:36:00.010-05:002009-11-25T18:06:00.613-05:00

Children Who Remember Previous Lives"I was telling these stories [of children who remember previous lives] to my friend Gene Weingarten, a Washington Post writer and editor and one of the most skeptical individuals I have ever known, the kind of guy who would rather feed his hand into a meat grinder than admit to believing in paranormal phenomena. Gene let me finish. Then he said, "You remember

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-23296040675210715422009-11-06T13:48:00.009-05:002009-11-12T14:35:59.417-05:00

The Torah as God's Mind, the problem with this idea, and a first approach to dealing with the problem is all dealt with here. To briefly summarize: The Rambam, and others, teach that the key to Ahavat Hashem is beholding His wisdom in Torah and in nature. The difficulty with this is that much of the Torah is not necessarily the wisdom of Hashem, although certainly His will, since most of the

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-88828490784612155482009-11-04T20:18:00.005-05:002009-12-07T21:20:27.734-05:00

In the previous post we discussed the view that through learning Torah one is connecting to God's Mind. The question that was raised was "how can we claim that the Torah is God's Mind when much of the Torah is based on human interpretation?!" The first approach answers that human cognition, especially when contemplating wisdom or Torah, is guided by Divine inspiration.The next question, then, is

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-2305085214403603242009-11-02T22:12:00.011-05:002009-11-12T14:34:59.479-05:00

The Torah as God's MindThrough learning one may get a glimpse the wisdom of Hashem as manifested in the Torah. The intellect beholds the Infinite Perfection of Hashem, "how the higher light fits within the halakha”[i] and the heart is filled with tremendous pleasure and love of Hashem.”[ii]Coming to this experiential recognition of love of Hashem is the climax of spiritual growth. The Shiurei Da’

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-89820885717558790262009-10-26T18:22:00.003-04:002009-11-02T21:20:58.627-05:00

Some have compared the world to a book, but we can also compare the Book, the Torah, to the world.[i] Like the physical world, the "olam ha'Torah" consists of raw materials and technological built-up.[ii] Certainly the technology is implicit in the original raw materials[iii] and limited by it,[iv] but, nevertheless, our world is wholly unlike the world of previous generations.[v] Moshe saw the

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-57559933150274988822009-10-20T15:50:00.015-04:002011-12-01T10:00:04.211-05:00

Materialists attempt to reduce NDEs to pharmological, physiological-neurological or psychological mechanisms.Pharmological explanations suggest that drugs administered during medical care, especially anesthetics, are responsible for a NDE. This explanation is problematic primarily because many NDE occur without medical care and drugs. Furthermore, many researchers have pointed out that those

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-46639485670213989772009-10-16T14:06:00.003-04:002009-10-16T14:12:37.683-04:00

In the previous post on this subject I suggested that learning is emphasized more than doing because it is possible to imagine more situations than are practically possible, and "infuse" them with the will of Hashem. Now I will elaborate on the role of the imagination in learning.Menachem Ekstein in T’nai ha’Nefesh l’Hasagat ha’Chasidut (translated at Visions of a Compassionate World), explains

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-66094641026421648682009-10-15T21:59:00.009-04:002009-11-13T09:29:03.054-05:00

Near-Death ExperiencesA Near-Death Experience (NDE) is an episode where someone either came very close to death or were resuscitated after being clinically dead, and subsequently recounted experiences during the time they were "dead." The length of their time dead ranges from minutes to hours; the book 90 Minutes in Heaven recounts a lengthy NDE, and I once heard of a lady who woke up in the

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-20998283114833959962009-10-09T00:51:00.003-04:002010-04-25T19:55:12.354-04:00

The foundation of upon which the Torah is built is middot tovot.[i] In other words, the Torah is built upon the person. The Written Torah is the outer structure of the building, while the rabbinic interpretations and injunctions provide for the functionality of building, the walls, ceiling and lighting, and the imperatives of “Kedoshim tiheyu” and “v'asita ha'yashar v'hatov b’eynei Hashem ” make

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-84602537943853574882009-10-05T02:41:00.011-04:002009-11-13T09:29:28.489-05:00

Charles T. Tart defines OBE's as having two crucial aspects: "(1) you find yourself experientially located at a place other than where you physical body is , and you may or may not see your actual physical body from an outside point of view; and (2) your consciousness feels clear during the experience...he generally feels that he's in his general state of consciousness, so that the concepts of

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-9787124630488736492009-09-28T23:36:00.004-04:002009-11-04T20:16:09.063-05:00

In the next few posts on this topic we will discuss how learning Torah, and specially gemara, changes all aspects of a person. We begin with perhaps the most fundamental aspect of Man - his will.A person is born with a yetzer hara, a drive for self-gratification seperate from the service of Hashem. It is our goal throughout life to identify more and more with the will of Hashem. The study of

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-72397247766778173512009-09-23T18:53:00.005-04:002009-09-24T19:25:02.520-04:00

What is the Torah? Indeed it is the revelation of Hashem's wisdom and will, but what that means and how the system of Torah works is still in question. Why is revelation even necessary? What makes it into the written or oral Torah? What does the structure of the Torah teach us? How do derashot work, and what is the role of p'shat? What is the goal of halakha and does it develop? What is the

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-82934837772062978112009-09-22T23:01:00.004-04:002009-11-13T09:29:41.515-05:00

We previously discussed evidence in favor of telepathy. Now we turn to the related phenomenon of psychokinesis (PK), or telekinesis. Again there are many ways to interpret the evidence, assuming it is accepted, but it seems to be impossible to understand it within conventional materialistic philosophy. Thus it will either influence the way we understand mind or the way we understand matter.I will

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-91781359104448608992009-09-17T16:36:00.002-04:002009-09-17T16:40:36.063-04:00

Artist: Elana Flerova

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-53762463748670478982009-08-30T22:41:00.003-04:002009-11-13T09:29:56.256-05:00

In "There Are No Living Atheists" I attempted to show the complete absurdity of materialistic philosophy. We want meaning, we yearn for it. We want to ascend to the heavens but we have become "men of matter," our spiritual senses dulled by the onslaught of Western culture and the monotony of daily life. Our first step, then, must be to dig deeper into our own soul and sense the Transcendent One,

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-34481869910599754502009-08-18T00:42:00.007-04:002009-11-25T17:13:36.139-05:00

In a previous post, I showed that the experience of the Kedushat ha'Torah is the perennial experience of the Jewish people. The existential question facing every Jew is: "do I trust that experience and those who have had them?"For some this will lead to a full acceptance of Torah u'Mitzvot and will give them the strength to keep their faith during difficult times. Ultimately this "prophetic faith

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-68974202428236433332009-08-14T00:23:00.005-04:002009-08-15T21:39:40.690-04:00

Indeed there is a practical need, especially for the posek, to be intimately knwoledgable and constantly involved in halakhic reasoning, but why is gemara the essential spiritual path for the Jew?In this post we will explore the idea that learning nigleh must proceed learning nistar.The Rambam (Hilkhot Yesodei ha’Torah, 4:13) writes: These four chapters, with these five mitzvoth [to know that

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-30935131805427143652009-07-30T23:33:00.003-04:002009-07-31T01:10:09.148-04:00

Before we investigate the nature of the halakhic system and process we will ask two interrelated fundamental questions: Why is there an Oral Torah and why must we learn this Oral Torah? Of course, these questions can only be understood in their depth when we first understand what is the Oral Torah.The question of "why learn gemara" takes for granted that it is important to know practical halakha.

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-79185936543154577422009-07-26T01:18:00.012-04:002009-11-25T17:13:01.678-05:00

We will now begin to attempt to understand Chumash - its mateial, philosophical, and mystical expressions, the nature of its system and its essence. However...What drives our search is our sense that there is something very, very special about the Torah. We may have gotten a glimpse of lights from above - the experience of the granduer and sweetness, the wisdom and infinity of the Torah. But for

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-87378806510582436892009-07-23T23:38:00.010-04:002009-11-25T17:09:34.105-05:00

Like all discussions we will begin with the heart since it is there that much, if not most, of our thinking begins and ends. The following is an introduction to the absurdity of secularism and an emotional argument for belief in G-d.“The pure saints do not complain about heresy, but increase faith”– Rav KookWe are all familiar with the proverbial “there are no atheists in a foxhole.” However,

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-2530104517258047702009-07-22T20:52:00.017-04:002009-11-13T09:27:13.726-05:00

אני לא מבין כל מיני דבריםאבל זה לא מפריע ליכי אניהקטן שבקטנים The story is told of a student of the Maggid of Mezritch who fell from the path of Torah.[i] The Alter Rebbe commented that “even as this student began his studies a worm – the ego – was eating at him.” And as I continue to encounter skeptics, and the skeptic within, I see that the worm has only grown. Arrogance, the dual perspective

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-28188646668866936282009-07-22T20:47:00.006-04:002009-11-13T09:27:28.571-05:00

Being that much of the time we will be exploring the fundamental faith propositions of Judaism let me first introduce some thoughts on the process of coming to belief. This introduction should give a good idea of where we are heading and frame future discussions.The choice to believe is a choice that is constantly made throughout our lives. We make belief-choices in the complicated issues of

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8335031303368060899.post-1454669171330283162009-07-21T22:24:00.010-04:002009-11-13T09:27:41.839-05:00

The sea of Torah is an infinitely vast and deep body of knowledge and experience. In her waters we immerse and are washed with purity. We drink her waters and are given life. Today, however, the sea is stormy; ships sink, people drown, waves overpower. The winds of the day are blowing. Confusion abounds, complexity reigns. This world truly is a funny place – ironic, paradoxical, and incongruous.

Yonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13010972653310239071noreply@blogger.com1