Questions
Peace be upon the late Rabbi Shlita.
1. The story of the Muslim caliph who burned the Library of Alexandria is well known, claiming, “If what was written here is true, it is already written in the Quran, and if it is not written in the Quran, then it is probably not true.” Was he right? Is there any point in a religious person accepting values that go beyond the Jewish faith, such as art or modern morality, and so on.
2. There is a parable by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov about a madman who is 100 percent certain that he should roll around in torn clothes in the streets, etc., and has several arguments as to why he is like that, and yet he should obey those who have true reason. This parable, which apparently means that one should listen to the true righteous and throw away one’s reason, confused me. For example, if I am studying something and check several times and am sure that I am right, let’s say a halakha, and a person of the stature of Rabbi Ovadia comes along and tells me that I am wrong. How much can I really trust my logic?
3. A few days ago I asked the Rabbi why he doesn’t believe in miracles (sorry, I can’t send responses to Rabbi Michila) and the Rabbi answered me that a miracle is when something happens without a physical force, and we’ve never seen it happen. So I have two things to say: A. After all, it can be said that every physical force is, at its root, a miracle from the proof of the first cause. B. Miracles don’t have to be like if you spill a drop of ink on a page and the words “Repent or I’ll finish you off” come out. Isn’t that a miracle? Even if all the forces of nature were operating as they should.
4. The rabbi claims that, apart from the Halm, not a single Halacha from the Torah came down from Sinai, and all of this is according to the sermon and logic of the Sages, which was subject to the way of looking at things in their day. He also sent me to Maimonides, Hilchot Memariam, where he says that the Halacha from the Torah can be changed by the Sanhedrin, and so I have three questions: A. However, Maimonides says that this is only if they made a mistake in their sermon methods and not because of other considerations, and that this is not relevant to us at all. B. Maimonides says in the introduction to the Mishnayot that the basis of the Torah is according to the Halacha that actually came down at Sinai. C. Are the methods of sermon subject to the considerations of the Sages? Do they not automatically lead to a certain conclusion, as in mathematics?
PS If the rabbi was strict about me calling him by flattering titles such as “Tzadik Hador” and the like, I am sorry from the bottom of my heart. After all, God can be jealous of the rabbi, and then his method of not being watchful will be hidden and his sorrow will increase.
Sorry for the length. I try to be brief, but Mark Twain’s words are well-known and there is no room to extend them.
- I didn’t understand the connection to the caliph. Our mother is not a value, so I don’t understand what I’m supposed to accept there. There is a place for values outside of the law (the Shulchan Arba), but not outside of God’s will. Being bound to two sources of authority is essentially a sin.
- Is there a question here? These things are nonsense, of course, and if you accept them at face value, you are living them. And pay close attention. What will you do when two wise people tell you opposite things? And who decides which wise person should be obeyed?
- I have no problem with the notion that the laws of nature operate by the power of God (I think so too), but a miracle means a deviation from the laws of nature. There is no such thing as a miracle in nature. These are the gibberish of people who don’t understand what they are talking about. If a meaningful inscription came out when, according to the laws of nature, it shouldn’t have come out, it is a miracle, but if in this case it was poured out in such a way that the laws of nature caused the inscription to be created, there is no miracle here, but rather a rare event. A solar eclipse is also a rare event, and that doesn’t mean it is a miracle.
- I did not say such a thing and I do not understand the question. There are other things that came from Sinai beyond the Halachah. The Halachah is a law that came from Sinai and has no anchor in Scripture. There are laws that came from Sinai and have an anchor in Scripture (a sermon that is valid). The ways of the sermon are not mathematics. It is worth reading about this in Rabbi Shmuel Ariel’s book Neta Bentani.
- How can a righteous man of this generation be strict with someone?
Ramban, end of Parashat Ba, chapter 13, verse 16, that a person has no part in the Torah of Moses our Lord until we believe in all our words and events, all of which are miracles, and there is no nature or custom of the world in them, whether in public or in private, except that if he does the commandments, he will be rewarded, and if he transgresses them, he will be cut off, and all will be punished by a higher decree.
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