tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post6847779161476695756..comments2023-10-12T10:09:54.121-04:00Comments on Believing is Knowing: Why Does The Torah Not Explain The Reason For Many Mitzvot?David Guttmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07668302013143561290noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post-76341484329531384462010-09-11T21:15:19.176-04:002010-09-11T21:15:19.176-04:00Whether you call them different faculties of a sin...Whether you call them different faculties of a single soul or different parts of the soul really makes no difference.<br /><br />Paralleling the Rambam's argument against ascribing positive attributes to the Borei.<br /><br />In our case, thinking G-dly thoughts and only satisfying our physical desires are very related but different things.<br /><br />My opening comment was that Hil' Dei'os and Hil' Yesodei haTorah are different things. I think it's particular to the Rambam to make life more about Yesodei haTorah, making Dei'os a handmaiden, a necessary part of really holding correct thought, than the other way around.<br /><br />And learning Dei'os takes practice in addition to contemplation. The main lesson to be learned can't be gotten from books, but needs to be experienced.<br /><br />My tangential comment to Eliyahu relates to the notion that Yesodei haTorah are embraced by the Ruach, whereas Dei'os are faculties of the Nefesh. (As these faculties/aspects are defined by R' Saadia Gaon or the Gra.)<br /><br />-michamicha bergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11612144735431285113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post-9587377121932760702010-09-11T21:07:12.705-04:002010-09-11T21:07:12.705-04:00דע, שנפש האדם אחת, ויש לה פעולות רבות, חלוקות, יקר...דע, שנפש האדם אחת, ויש לה פעולות רבות, חלוקות, יקראו קצת הפעולות ההן, "נפשות".<br /><br />beginning of Shemona Perakim.<br /><br />Gmar Chatima Tova R. Micha.David Guttmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07668302013143561290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post-56475219982524266372010-09-11T20:55:13.156-04:002010-09-11T20:55:13.156-04:00Veyadata hayom vehasheivosa el levavekha -- you ca...Veyadata hayom vehasheivosa el levavekha -- you can know things today, and still require answering them to your heart.<br /><br />I don't think one's body needs separate binding to the Almighty. It's a physical object, a tool to be used. Its spiritual state is simply dragged along.<br /><br />Last, man is far more than body and soul. The self involves three aspects of the soul, the lowest of which is the nefesh -- where the soul interacts with the fact of living in a mammalian body.<br /><br />The neshamah doesn't need binding to G-d -- neshamah shanasta bi tehorah hi -- it's beyond our ability to sully.<br /><br />Where all the action happens is there the desires of the nefesh and neshamah collide, where man has conscious thought and free will, the ruach.<br /><br />-michamicha bergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11612144735431285113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post-21234499801044367932010-09-11T16:36:29.663-04:002010-09-11T16:36:29.663-04:00Micha,
Man is both body and soul. While ideas can ...Micha,<br />Man is both body and soul. While ideas can be taught, the body still needs practice and coercion. Also, since the objective is to bind the individual to Hashem, his body also needs binding, no less than the intellect.Eli Abramzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06968173171056899599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post-54140821901502124162010-09-08T09:13:40.879-04:002010-09-08T09:13:40.879-04:00I think the title could be rephrased, "What&#...I think the title could be rephrased, "What's so great about 'naaseh venishmah' over 'nishmah venaaseh'?" Why don't we get the reasons before doing?<br /><br />And if, as this blog, the Rambam, RSRH, etc... assert, the reason for mitzvos can be reduced to textbook classes, why not study the mitzvos rather than doing them?<br /><br />I think the whole point is that they can't. The mitzvah internalizes an attitude and/or a middah. Not just relays a truth we could have otherwise meditated upon.<br /><br />-michamicha bergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11612144735431285113noreply@blogger.com