Hebrew

I would normally put this in a comment on the post its relevant to, but im
not able to access my blog in kby. (Check back on old posts for
brilliant insights or information i only found later.)

The Rosh HaYeshiva, R' Greenberg, Gave a shiur today about speaking in
Lashon HaKodesh. I don't think I mentioned in my post the holiness of
Hebrew, another (if not primary) reason to teach hebrew to the very young.
Hebrew is the language of the Jews, the Holy Tongue of the Holy People
(Gur Aryeh, Devarim 1:23). It is the language G-d communicates with
his people (Ramban shemos 30:13).

But specifically about teaching your child hebrew, read this quote from
the Sifri:

When a child begins to speak, his father teaches him lashon hakodesh and
teaches him torah. But if he does not speak with him in lashon
hakodesh and does not teach him torah, it is fit as if he
buried him, as it says, "teach them to your children"

The sifre explains the limud: "l'ma'an yirbu y'meichem" only is true if
"v'limadtem es b'neichem", and "m'klal hen ata shomea lav".
(see also tosefta chagiga 1)

In the Holy Land

I got to KBY 2 days ago, and I'm using their email software from 1989. I'm
emailing blogger whch should post this on my blog. I had been planning on
publishing many posts, but there wasn't enough time between MoKo and KBY.
I don't even have access to my drafts saved on Blogger, but I'll probably
figure out a way to get them. There may be more posts in the future!

A Guten Chodesh

Small Schools

There are way too many Jewish yeshiva high schools for boys. Just in Monsey alone, there are 9? black-hat schools. Due to their small sizes they spend money inefficiently and can't afford many things.

Each school first needs its own building and transportation. Then they each have to get their own menahel, mashgiach, principle, secretary and janitor. Each school then has to offer certain basic classes, even if there aren't enough kids. A calculus class might only have 3 kids. Its not very efficient use of tuition and tzedaka.

But even worse is the lack of choice for kids stuck in a small school. The school is unlikely to have a gym, lab or computer room. The classes will have kids of different abilities dumped together. If AP's are offered, they won't be their own class. Almost everyone will have to go to the same classes without being able to pick what interests them. There won't be any interesting or useful classes like technology or public speaking. There won't be any extracurricular activities or sports. In Limudei Kodesh, there will only be one shiur for all. The brighter and more motivated kids will be forced to learn at a low level. Small schools are clearly quite a disadvantage.

Some will somehow argue that small schools are good, there's more personal attention. Even assuming that's a good thing, it's clearly outweighed by the disadvantages. Imagine if all the high-schools in Monsey moved in to one property. In the beginning, they'll each have completely separate schools, and just save money on the property. But then they'll realize they can get joint transportation and build gyms, etc. They'll make one calculus class for all those interested. They may even start offering a choice of classes besides math. Eventually, they might even realize there's no real point in having so many menahels, etc. After that, they'll figure out a better way to divide up the shiurim and classes. Someone will then notice it will make more sense to have one building and they'll be one school.

So why are there so many black-hat high-schools? There aren't so many elementary schools, girls' schools or modern high schools. There aren't too many bakeries or hardware stores!

I think there's too much of a supply of people who want to be rebbeim, menahilim and rosh yeshivas of mesivtas. In a regular business, that would drive down prices too low, and people would have to switch jobs. But high schools can just collect tzedaka and don't need to be profitable, so anyone can be a rosh yeshiva. I guess the solution is to go to a modern school, which doesn't have as big a supply of rebbeim.

Kollel (draft)

Read this quote:

"...which imposes upon women the burdens of life meant to be borne by men... Opinions vary, but the general trend today is to burden women with a constantly increasing share of what hitherto was an exclusively male concern. And we? We see to our amazement, from our ancient history, that the world today is voluntarily plunging itself into that confusion through which the ancient Egyptians tried to shatter our life force shemachlifin meleches anashim l'nashim and we are warned! The sign of the times speak loud and clear against this new manifestation and bear witness to the truth that this perversity corrodes the forces of life... "

Q: What is the above quote attacking?

A) The Woman's Lib Movement

B) The Kollel Movement

A: This quote, from the Lehman Hagadah (Published _), compares the woman's lib movement to shibud mitzrayim. But How exactly is the Kollel movement different? Haredi society somehow has the contradictory position of both wanting women to keep their traditional roles and support their families while their husbands learn in kollel.

It's a weird idea, that the father shouldn't support his family. The Mishna and the Rambam use strong language against those who take money for learning torah. Fine, it was decided by the achronim that we can no longer keep to such a high standard, and rabbis can earn a salary for their community position. But how did it start that all of the masses go straight to kollel without anyone to support them, many just relying on tzedakah?

See this article in the Jewish Press which discusses this issue more.

The People Have Spoken!

Nebach! has won the Silver Award (2nd place) as best student blog, beating #3 by a single vote! Every single vote was crucial! The final score was 43-42. Thank You to all voters!

(Jewish & Israeli Blogosphere Awards - Best In Class! - Voting Results, Winners)

Slifkin & Science

R' Slifkin is a firm beliver in the indisputable truth of science. To prove how valid science is, he quotes (p.95) the atheist Steven weinberg:

One can imagine a category of experiments that refute well-accepted scientific theories that have become part of the standard consensus of physicists. Under this category, there are no examples whatsoever in the past hundred years.
[Dreams of a Final Theory, 1993]

Let's see. In 1893, scientists believed in a deterministic universe which had always existed with absolute space and time. Pierre Laplace's view was widespread:

An intellect which at a certain moment would know all forces that set nature in motion, and all positions of all items of which nature is composed... for such an intellect nothing would be uncertain and the future just like the past would be present before its eyes.

One of the greatest scientists of the time had called the existence of the Ether the best-established theory in all of science.

Then along came the Theory of Relativity, which revolutionized ideas about light, gravity, time and space; Quantum Mechanics, which killed determinism and certainty; and Big-Bang Theory which proved the universe had a beginning!

So there's no example of a refuted scientific theory!

Slifkin's statement that only "'minor' facts of modern science... will be overturned" is completely baseless. Just as there have been revolutionary scientific theories in the past, there will continue to be major changes in science. If Slifkin had been around in the late 1800's he would have considered determinism and steady-state theory factual! Slifkin says "not everyone may be qualified to distinguish between those aspests of science that can be considered adequately proven beyond reasonable doubt, and those aspects that may well be overturned in a few years' time. " How is he qualified to judge Intelligent Design?

Slifkin puts too much faith in the 'Scientific Consensus'. Just because scientists believe random, unguided evolution could turn mud into life into humans, doesn't mean it can. To quote slifkin on religious issues (p. 91) "there are questions and there are Questions" on Neo-Darwinism too. Life on Earth shows design, and there are way too many difficulties with the neo-darwinistic worship of randomness.

Not to say there's no difference between the science of today and the 'science' of medieval times. And Evolutionary Theory, although not comparable to the experimental sciences, helps explain the existence of all living things. But not without believing in Intelligent Design. Nothing else could turn nothingness into the amazing complexity of the simplest DNA and the amazing brain.

As for the conclusions drawn by the scientists, Slifkin disagrees. But gently. He says the "religious perspective" is different, or "a religious person would view it differently". It is as if there are two valid ways of viewing creation - the atheistic way and the religious way. Only for ID can he use more emphatic language, (p.288) saying ID is a "danger to religion" and that people who believe Neo-Darwinism is by definition atheistic are "simply wrong" (p.294).

To his credit, Slifkin does point out that many scientists are disingenuous [lying Koferim]. They claim to believe religion is compatible with science, while really believing science has replaced religion. But he considers current scientific consensus more exalted than it truly is.

Creation - Like Purim?

I'm continuing my discussion of The Challenge of Creation. Please read the posts Slifkin on ID and Slifkin&Klinghoffer first (though there is some repetition here).

R' Slifkin seems to side with the view that evolution was a series of apparently random events with incredibly fortuitous results, which he compares to the Purim story. Everything was natural though, therefor ID is wrong. I find this view problematic for many reasons.

If everything just happened on its own, how was it created by G-d? We don't know exactly what "ma'aseh B'raishis" was, but when the Torah says "and G-d created" could it really mean (like slifkin says) 'G-d built into the laws of nature the ability for life to exist"? Slifkin feels this is more elegant than any 'Divine Interference'. Since G-d could have created the world with one act, He must have. But the Mishna in Avos speaks of 10 creation utterances with which G-d created the world, and it deals with Slifkin's very issue (see post Ma'maros and Miracles). From a Jewish point of view, Slifkin seems wrong.

From a non-textual viewpoint, science has not removed the necessity of a Designer to explain the existence and perfection of life on Earth. ID proponents argue that nature shows design in a way that would be recognized in any other circumstance. No one can explain how the DNA of even the simplest life form could have in any way evolved or randomly formed. Slifkin admits this fact in his book. Its unclear why he feels science will eventually have a perfectly materialistic explanation of all of life's origins.

But even if Creation was 'like the Purim story', that wouldn't make ID wrong. If someone teaches the Purim story as pointing to a Guiding Hand, would Slifkin be against it? How else do all the unlikely events make sense? The same thing goes for the development of life on Earth. ID is necessary to explain how a series of fortuitous events could have occurred.

Vote for Nebach!

The final round of voting has begun! I'm a finalist in the student blog category. Please vote for me by clicking here.

Q: Why should I vote for Nebach! over the other 5 student blogs?
A: Because Nebach! is a high-quality blog that discusses fundamental topics in Torah and Judaism. The other blogs discuss boring things like college news or themselves.

P.S.
This is Nebach!'s 50th post!

Slifkin, Klinghoffer and Evolution

Slifkin discusses the religious implications of evolution. He says there are two views among the biologists – those that consider evolution from mud to human as an incredibly fortuitous, unlikely event and those that consider it inevitable. He accepts both as a possibility.

Life – inevitable?? Earlier he said they have no idea how life could have developed from mud. How could incredibly complex self-replicating RNA or protiens form randomly (and violate the 2^nd law of thermodynamics)? No one knows, but “life was bound to arise… and it will arise simlarly wherever and whenever the same conditions obtain”! [quote on p. 256] And a single cell would inevitably turn into a human, brains and all! Why slifkin considers such a view is beyond me.

He says the religious interpretation of this school of thought would be like the “Chanukah story, the ideological victory of which was that the laws of nature are seen to be programmed by God.” I’m not really sure what he’s saying; I would think the religious implication of such a weird idea is Deism.

The other “possibility”, the fact that the development of life was an amazingly unlikely process, clearly points to a Guiding Hand. But not everyone sees it this way. I can’t find the quote in Slifkin’s book, but read this quote from David Klinghoffer, an Orthodox Jew writing about Slifkin and Collins:

Something you'll often hear people say is, "Well, Darwinism doesn't mean God isn't the creator. Maybe evolution was programmed into the universe from the start. So He had no need to guide the process." The problem with such thinking is that it's directly contradicted by a major current in Darwinian evolutionary theory. In his book Wonderful Life (1989), the late Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould demonstrated what he called the "contingency" of life's history. Gould explained what an incredibly lucky break it was that Earth ever cast up intelligent life forms.
Wisely turning away from this doomed approach to showing God's hand…

It seems Klinghoffer is saying G-d couldn’t have done it, because the evolution from mud to humans was too unlikely for a designer to know it would happen. Klinghoffer then quotes a ‘brilliant’ solution:

In his most satisfying defense of belief, Collins brings forward a clever way of reconciling an unguided evolutionary process with God as the Creator. He points out that God resides beyond the limits of time. Hence, what appears to us as evolution's unpredictable course was, from God's perspective, entirely predictable. It's a neat perspective--except, perhaps, if we ask whether an unguided process of "creation" is still "creation" even if its results were foreseen.

Klinghoffer appears to be a deist, who doesn’t believe G-d could guide nature! And what exactlty is the havamina about G-d knowing the future? And what’s his difficulty with that? Maybe someone can explain it.

To Be Cont…(?)

Finalist Nebach!

Although its not official yet, it seems like I made it as a finalist in the Student blog category. Thank you to all voters! The second round of voting has been postponed to May 9th, to review the voting records. Make sure to come back and vote then!

Slifkin on ID

R' Slifkin makes it clear he does not like the ID movement. Ignoring the scientific issues, Slifkin says ID "involves some extremely problematic theological aspects" which make it a "great danger to religion." (p. 288) His argument can be summarized as follows: ID sees G-d by pointing to things in evolution that can’t be explained naturally. Also, it’s like “G-d of the gaps” and will eventually become obsolete once science can explain everything naturally. We should see G-d in the laws of the universe instead, which are amazingly unlikely constants perfectly suited for life.

Basically, all Slifkin has done is move G-d one step further away. Slifkin is afraid that creation will be able to be explained 100% naturally like the daily running of nature. But, maybe one day, the laws of nature will be explained also! Slifkin blurs the distinction even more between him and ID in chapter two. He says the wavelength of the light from the sun is perfectly suited for life on earth. But perhaps life developed to fit the wavelength, or developed here because the sun had the perfect wavelength! How is Slifkin's view different from ID?

Slifkin says ID “denies the role of G-d in 99% of the universe”. But a person could see both the wonders of G-d in nature and even more clearly in what can’t be explained completely with chance and natural laws. Slifkin recognizes this and calls it “a slight to G-d’s creative abilities. Was He incapable of designing laws that could accomplish all His objectives, and therefor had to interfere to bring about the results He wanted?”

Does Slifkin know G-d’s Mind so well? Perhaps G-d wanted to show Himself more clearly in nature! This is the “extremely problematic theological aspect” of ID? The idea of G-d intervening in nature? A basic Jewish belief of thousands of years is suddenly a “great danger to religion"? Whatever Slifkin’s personal beliefs about miracles, how can he attack ID in such a way?

Whether you call it breaking the laws of nature, or quantum improbabilities or just extremely unlikely events, G-d’s Hand is seen in nature. This is what ID proponents believe.
For example, William Dembski, one of ID's leading proponents, said:

The fundamental claim of ID is straightforward and easy: there are natural systems that cannot be adequately explained in terms of undirected natural forces and that exhibit features which in any other circumstance we would attribute to intelligence. [emphasis mine.]

ID's position is just that nature clearly shows design. Some ID proponents even think nature could have been 'preprogrammed', a view remarkably similar to Slifkin's. For example, earlier in the book Slifkin quotes Behe:

It is fine by me if common descent is indeed true, and there is some sort of designed program to power changes over time (i.e., evolution).

But ID is necessary to explain how it all came about. Sure, Amalek could say at krias yam suf that it was just the wind, the Jews were lucky, there is no G-d. And the scientists can say about creation that it was just “natural selection” and chance. But it makes no sense without believing in a G-d who caused and guided it all. What does Slifkin have against ID?

Science & Monotheism (draft)

R' Slifkin begins the book by pointing out that all of science is really based on monotheism. The fact that the nature has set laws that can be understood and that the universe shows such unity points to One G-d who created it all. Atheism and polytheism can’t explain such order.

The connection between Monotheism and Science can be seen in the greatest scientist of all time. Issac Newton, who discovered the Universal Law of Gravitation, recognized the unity the Universe showed. He rejected the Trinity and secretly believed in One G-d. Later in the book (p. 283), Slifkin quotes Darwin:

I see no good reason why the views given in this volume should shock the religious feelings of any one. It is satisfactory, as showing how transient such impressions are, to remember that the greatest discovery ever made by man, namely, the law of the attraction of gravity, was also attacked by Leibnitz, ''as subversive of natural, and inferentially of revealed, religion." …

But Leibniz preffered to believe in a totally mechanistic universe with no magical “force of gravity”. He felt gravity was like saying there was an ongoing “miracle” that couldn’t be explained. This is almost the opposite of the objections against Darwin. And Darwin himself was an agnostic who didn't believe in any Divine revelation. ...

Coming up

I'm going to yeshiva today. Also, The Challenge of Creation is overdue at the library, so I won't have it anymore. I will still try to publish some posts about:

• Science, Monotheism and Newton
• G-d and Nature
• Miracles & Providence

Then, I'll hopefully move on to part two in the book about the age of the universe and Genesis.
Finally, I'll get to the real issues about ID and evolution.

The Challenge of Creation

A few weeks ago, I finally read The Challenge of Creation, by Rabbi Natan Slifkin. I plan on discussing some of the ideas in the book on my blog. But first, some general comments about the book:

The book consists of 3 parts: Science, Cosmology and Evolution:

• In the first part, Slifkin presents evidence for G-d’s existence from the laws of the Universe. He then discusses miracles, providence and natural law. Finally he shows how to resolve conflicts of Science with Torah by reinterpreting things not-literally.

• In the second part, Slifkin presents evidence for the age of the Universe. He then discusses different approaches of reconciling the science with the Torah. He rejects these approaches and concludes that Genesis is a theological text, not a scientific one.

• In the third part, Slifkin presents evidence for Common Ancestry, Evolution and Natural Selection. He discusses Intelligent Design, but rejects it for religious reasons. He then tries to reconcile Darwinian Evolution with Judaism. Finally, he tries to resolve the contradiction between the scientific explanation of man’s existence and the account in Genesis.

The book is filled with many quotes to give authority to the views presented. Quoting someone doesn’t prove it is true and it makes the book a slightly choppy read, but I guess it is necessary. The book is filled with controversial and sometimes irrelevant footnotes, which often raise issues without discussing them well. I thing some of them should be expanded, and others deleted. The book is overall well-written, though some phrases sound like the writing of a 17-year old. The book often gave me a déjà vu feeling because of its redundancies. The same quotes appear in multiple places in the book. Besides these minor flaws, The Challenge of Creation is an excellent discussion of critically important, but often ignored, issues.

On most issues, I probably would agree with Slifkin. I may disagree somewhat about ID or some of the book’s implications, but I’m not 100% sure about all my views. The posts to come will be discuss the actual issues.

Leap of Faith?

R' Gottlieb of Cross-Currents recently posted about Dr. Francis Collins, discussing "a leap of faith, or what we commonly refer to as emunah peshutah." Although I'm not sure if we really have different views, R' Gottlieb seems to believe you need to first just "have faith" and only then can studying the Universe bring you closer to G-d. He implies the intellect alone won't bring a person to recognize there's a G-d. Maimonides also believed this, he claims. I commented there:

The “leap of faith” you find so appealing is a Christian concept:

Christian dogma, according to Kierkegaard, embodies paradoxes which are offensive to reason. The central paradox is the assertion that the eternal, infinite, transcendent God simultaneously became incarnated as a temporal, finite, human being (Jesus). There are two possible attitudes we can adopt to this assertion, viz. we can have faith, or we can take offense. What we cannot do, according to Kierkegaard, is believe by virtue of reason. If we choose faith we must suspend our reason in order to believe in something higher than reason. In fact we must believe by virtue of the absurd.

—The Stafford Encylopedia of Philosophy
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kierkegaard/#Reli

Maimonides says a person can’t believe irrational things and mentions some Christian beliefs like the one above. This is what he has to say about Emunah Peshutah:

There are some who think a lot about G-d and mention him frequently but have no knowledge and merely follow imagination or accept tradition blindly… Such people are outside of the habitation … and do not in truth mention or think about G-d. Because that which is merely in his imagination… does not correspond to any existing being at all…

—Moreh Nevuchim 3:51 translation by D. Eidensohn

Although religious belief isn’t based entirely on logic, no “leap of faith” is necessary to recognize G-d. Part of recognizing G-d may indeed be “hearing the music” and not 100% mathematical proofs. But it is still based on reason. Avraham Avinu looked at the Universe and realized there must have been a Creator. Only than, was there revelation to him. Certainly now, after the revelation to our forefathers, we need no leap of faith.

Science doesn’t just show the “plausibility of the existence of G-d”, it is very strong evidence for it. The perfection of the laws of the Universe and of DNA are are far more rational to explain based on a belief in G-d than on atheism. Atheism and Christianity require a “leap of faith”, not Judaism.

P.S.
There was only one response to my comment on Cross-Currents, and it was from some Christian who didn't really say anything

The Rambam on Providence & Chance.

In a famous letter to the Rabbis of Montepelier on Astrology, the Rambam clearly states his belief about Providence. He disagrees with the philosophers that all is chance, and quotes the Torah and Talmud to show that the this world is one of Providence and Reward & Punishment:

...The Philosophers claim that everything that happens... is all due to chance... We assert that that what happens to a person is not chance but rather it is the result of G-d's Judgment... The Torah warned and gave testimony that if you don't obey G-d He will punish you (Vayikra 26:14). Therefor if you assert that this suffering is not punishment for sin but merely chance you will suffer additional calamities from this "chance". This is stated clearly in Vayikra (26:27-28): If you walk with me with chance then I will walk with you with the wrath of chance. This is the root of our religion which is the Torah of Moshe - that all events that happen in the world and all suffering that happens to a person is just a decree from G-d. Thus, our sages said that there is no death without sin and no suffering without transgression (Shabbos 55a).
(translation by D. Eidensohn)

The Rambam continues:
...Here is Reuben, a tanner, poor, and his children have died in his own lifetime. And here is Simon, a perfumer, rich, and his children stand before him.
The philosopher will maintain that this is due to chance. It is possible that Reuben could become a perfumer, grow rich, and have children; and it is possible that Simon could become impoverished, turn into a tanner, and witness his children's death. All this is simply fortuitous... This is the position of the philosophers....

The true way upon which we rely and in which we walk is this: We say regarding this Reuben and Simon, that there is nothing that draws on the one to become a perfumer and rich, and the other to become a tanner and poor. It is possible that the situation will change and be reversed, as the philosopher maintains. But the philosopher maintains that this is due to chance. We maintain that it is not due to chance, but rather that this situation depends on the will of "Him who spoke, and (the world) came into being" (Ps. 33:9); all of this is a (just) decree and judgment. We do not know the end of the Holy One's wisdom so as to know by what decree and judgment He required that this should be this way and that that should be the other way; "for His ways are not like our ways, neither are His thoughts like our thoughts" (Is. 55:8). We rather are obliged to fix in our minds that if Simon sins, he will be punished with stripes and impoverished and his children will die and the like. And if Reuben repents and mends his ways and searches his deeds and walks in a straight path, he will grow rich and will succeed in all his undertakings and "see (his) seed and prolong (his) days" (ibid. 55:10). This is a root of the religion. If a man says, "But look, many have acted in this way and yet have not succeeded," why this is no proof. Either some iniquity of theirs caused this, or they are now afflicted in order to inherit something even better than this.
(translation from here.)

Blog under Construction

I upgraded the blog template for Pesach, but lost some changes. The blog will now be able to have more things on the side and be easier to edit.

Tzoveya - Dyeing

This is the fourth Shabook. It was written by B. Goldberg and illustrated by me. These images didn't scan in perfectly, and they're even harder to figure out how to print. This time it's a larger two-sheet edition. Each corner has a page number so you know what order it's supposed to be. Directions for printing (to further confuse anyone who thinks they can) :

1. Print out the page with the cover quarter.
2. Print out the page with the inside cover quarter so it comes out on the back of the cover.
3. Do the same for the bottom two pages.
   
4. Put the two pages together and fold in half lengthwise, then widthwise.
5. Cut off the top and staple the side.

Melabain

Click on the images to enlarge. The books have to be printed out, folded and cut correctly to be in order. I might edit it sometime so it can be read on the computer. It needs a little fixing anyways.

Hilchos Shabbos

A long time ago, I said I would publish some Hilchos Shabbos mini-books. 4 of them have already been written. I'll probably put them on the blog this weekend. Eventually, maybe I'll publish them on Lulu.com.

UPDATE
There are 4 Shabooks in existence: Shemiras Shabbos, Gozez, Melabain, and Tzoveya. All of them are based on R' Ribiat's "The 39 Melachos". I created them because many people don't know basic hilchos shabbos and these mini-books are easy to read. They're for ages 7 and up.

Google Ads

I added some ads on the side. If an ad interests you, click on it. Since I've started the blog, there's been 6 clicks.

Update:
I've removed the ads since most of them were for things like interfaith marriages or Jesus.

Comments I've put on Hirhurim about ID and Miracles

(these comments were taken from the post below)

on comment "explaining" miracles:

what is the point in saying the annenei hakavod were volcanic plumes, etc.?all these things would all still be very unikely so y not just say the electrons, etc. somehow moved in just the right way so as to split seas, etc. it's the same unlikely probability. in addition what was the point in appearing miraculous? to trick the Jews of the time? if it was a miracle to them, y should we have to say it wasn't really? what exactly is the point in saying miracles weren't miraculos? the Ramban explains the purpose in having them happen, what's so problematic? miracles completely show that G-d created and cares about the world and there's Hashgacha. people who don't like the idea shouldn't like the idea of the universe being created in 10 ma'amoros either, it's the same thing - G-d appears to b doing things in a (chvsh) "cheaper" way, y couldn't He just do it w/o miracles, with only one ma'amar? but there is a reason - it adds value to the world, it shows G-d cares even about us...
people might not like the idea of law-breaking miracles b/c they don't happen nowadays, but we don't have nevuah either. there was s/t about the times of a'vodah zara that made nevuah and maybe miracles able to happen (perhaps they didn't affect bechirah as much then) nowadays it's not like that and we can't even detect those times well, the Jews' clothes didn't even wear out, they left no records.
eventually this will b discussed more on my blog.
(rav on 10 makkos)

Hirhurim, ur point is not relevant to design:

Hirhurim: This came to mind recently upon reading an article about the merits of various scientific theories by a rabbi with no advanced scientific training, in which the author declared a particular scientific theory to be "illogical" and unscientific.

me: maybe to declare a theory illogical w/o knowledge is wrong but certain conclusions can be drawn no matter what. certain issues do not require the best scientific knowledge to determine. this universe appears designed no matter what level of scientific knowledge u have. u could have lived 3819 years ago and recognized there was a designer just by looking at the universe. u could live now and with just a superficial knowledge of physics and biology and recognize the design. u could be a biochemist and see it even more. or u could be a future scientist, where it will be even clearer to the unbiased. just like a computer appears designed even without having any clue how the CPU works, so too the universe. of course, if u understand the inner workings of a computer, u'll have more appreciation of it, and the same goes for the universe. its a mitzvah to learn about the universe so u can come to greater fear and love of g-d. even though there are many scientists who look at the universe and say it's purely random, a person with much less knowledge can still realize that the scientists are completely wrong. u don't even need to know statistics and probability to tell that this universe was designed.
(fake torah and science)

anti-miracles?
while i agree w/ r' sax that we can find G-d in nature, i believe miracles r still important. they show w/o doubt that G-d exists, cares about our actions and the world and intervenes when necessary. the miracles of yetzias mitzrayim, matan torah and coming into eretz yisroel r the foundation of Judaism, and explain y we have lasted for 3300 yrs.
miracles make even the non-believer exclaim "this is a finger of G-d!". r' sacks says this is a pagan way of thinking. so when the jew saw the "hand of G-d" that was also bad? all the miracles that happened to the jews - what were they for? so they should come to pagan conclusions?
a more sophisticated approach is necessary. nature is amazing and can bring one to figure out theres a G-d, but at certain points in history, G-d performs miracles so the jews can "see" G-d.
(g-d of gaps post)

Amalek, Darwinism and Nazism (draft)

Avi Shafran of Cross-Currents recently wrote about Amalek and the worship of Randomness.
I put a comment there:

Amalek also heard about the miracle of the sea splitting, but it didn’t react like other nations - it explained the miracle “The wind was blowing, it was pure chance”. Amalek so hated the Jews implication of purpose that it attempted to destroy them, but not by abiding to any norms of war, instead attacking the weak and unprotected Jews at the rear.

Although the idea of Evolution has existed for thousands of years, and Jewish sources also say only the beginning was creation ex nihilo, until recent times most people still saw the need for a Designer. Only in the mid 1800’s was it proposed that all of the amazing miraculous creation could be explained by pure chance and a purposeless struggle between creatures.

Herbert Spencer, a Social Darwinist, invented the term “survival of the fittest”, the fundamental belief of Darwinism. Charles Darwin himself said:

We civilised men, on the other hand, do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick; we institute poor-laws; and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of every one to the last moment. There is reason to believe that vaccination has preserved thousands, who from a weak constitution would formerly have succumbed to small-pox. Thus the weak members of civilised societies propagate their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man. It is surprising how soon a want of care, or care wrongly directed, leads to the degeneration of a domestic race; but excepting in the case of man itself, hardly any one is so ignorant as to allow his worst animals to breed.
(Descent of Man)

Eugenics, the application of Social Darwinism, was popular in America and Europe until the rise of Nazi Germany. The Nazis hated the idea of a G-d, but still believed in purpose to existence – the strong should dominate or annihilate the weak and rule on their own. They were big believers in Darwinism. Their antithesis was the Jews, who, as Hitler said, “The Jews have inflicted two wounds on humanity: Circumcision on the body and conscience on the soul." The Nazis therefore tried annihilating the Jews.

Although Eugenics has lost popularity, and most atheists aren't killing Jews, the idea of Darwinism that everything is just the result of randomness, without a higher purpose, is still quite common. This is similar to the philosophy of Amalek.

ID V

based on YU Honors Admission Essay A2

The Universe – Random Process or Intelligent Design?

Imagine taking a tour of various universes, looking for evidence of design. In each universe you determine its laws, and trace its development. You look at the final product, examining it for any apparent purpose. After touring several universes, you come to our own Universe. You have to determine whether or not it is designed. Here is some evidence you might consider.

The first amazing thing about the Universe is its laws and constants. If the force of gravity was a little stronger, if a neutron weighed a tiny bit more, if the universe had expanded any faster, then the universe would have been unstable, and nothing could have existed.

The best explanation scientists can come up with to explain the “fine-tuning” of the laws is the “Multiple Universe Theory”: This Universe might be just one of innumerable universes, and it is the only one where life can exist, which is why we are in it.

While explaining away a need for G-d, this theory requires a lot more faith to believe. There is absolutely no evidence for it, it is unverifiable, and it violates Ockham's razor.

There is even more evidence of design from the existence of living things. The biological machinery and DNA coding that make up the smallest cell are far more complex than a supercomputer. Scientists believe they can explain the emergence of this complexity with Darwinian Evolution.

When living things reproduce, they copy their DNA to their offspring. On rare occasions, there is an error in copying and on extremely rare occasions, the change is beneficial. An improvement in the genes of one member of a species will give that organism a better chance of survival than its fellows. Over time this can cause a change in the species.

There is scientific evidence to show this occurs on small scale and causes minor changes in species. It may even explain minor differences between similar species, such as the different beaks of birds on the Galapagos. But can unguided natural selection alone explain the great complexity of life?

Take one small example: blood clotting. In order for blood clotting to work, 16 enzymes must be present in the blood. They must interact in a precise sequence known as the Clotting Cascade. If only one of the chemicals is missing, the blood clotting will not work, and therefore the organism enjoys no advantage from having the other 15 chemicals. How can natural selection explain the emergence of such a system?

Scientists have proposed that many of the 16 components had an additional purpose which gave the organism an advantage. Even if this is true, there is still strong evidence for design: The fact that each chemical happens to have another purpose that would allow the development of Life with with its amazing ecosystem, diversity of the species, and a mind that can contemplate it all.

After finishing with this universe, you move on to the next: a random collection of particles almost existing, before all collapsing into nothingness.

One Year

It's been a year since the beginning of Nebach! I may start posting more often.

R' Eliyahu Feinstein

YU Admission Essay (slightly edited)

R’ Elye Pruzhaner

In 1884, a terrible cholera epidemic swept through Poland and the town of Pruzhana was not spared. On the first day of selichot, Meir the coachman died, and the health authorities insisted that he be buried immediately. The Chevra Kaddisha, afraid of catching cholera, refused to carry out the burial. R’ Elye, the Rav of the town, refused to hold the selichot services. Instead, he went to the house of the deceased, accompanied by one other person. Upon seeing that R’ Elye was going to perform the burial himself, people began to gather around the house to try to persuade the Rav to let them perform the task. He remained there, until the ritual cleansing (“Tahara”) had been completed, and it was only after the burial that the synagogues were reopened for Selichot.

R’ Elye, or HaRav Eliyahu Halevi Feinstein was born in Slutzk, Russia, in 1843, and died in Pruzhana in 1929. He was my great-great grandfather and a leading rabbinic authority of his time. Many important scholars learned from R' Elye, including Rav Moshe Feinstein, his nephew and Rabbi J. B. Soloveitchik, his grandson...

R Elye held many rabbinical posts during his life, but always on one condition: that he be free from non-urgent community concerns until noon every day, so he could study Torah uninterrupted. After serving as Rav in Storbin, Kletzk, Karelitz and Reisin, R’ Elye settled down in Pruzhana. Although he received many offers to be Rav of larger cities, he preferred to stay in Pruzhana. He was twice offered the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, but turned it down because of family obligations.

In 1910, R. Elye participated in a large conference of Jewish leaders in Petersburg. He suggested that, due to changes in society, there was a need for secular education in the chadarim (Jewish day schools). He proposed that children be taught Russian and mathematics to enable them to have decent livelihoods in adulthood. The proposal was met with a lot of resistance from some of the rabbis and was not implemented. Later, the Socialists and secular Zionists were able to lure large numbers of poverty-stricken Jews to their irreligious ideologies.

Perhaps, had R. Elye's ideas been carried out, secular socialism would not have made such inroads into Judaism.

Once, a terrible fire devastated half of Pruzhana. R' Elye was abroad at the time undergoing medical treatment, but he rushed back when he heard the news. He went to the regional governor, with whom he was on good terms, and asked him a seemingly minor request: Could the government allow all building materials to be transported to Pruzhana without the usual tariff? The Russian government acceded to the request and Pruzhana became an important relay station for all of western Russia. The money saved because of the tariff exemption was used to rebuild the city, which was accomplished remarkably quickly.

In meeting R’ Elye, I would be able to see how a truly great leader balances authority and compassion, intellectual pursuits with communal responsibilities, and spirituality with worldly insight.

Some comments I’ve put on Hirhurim (slightly edited):

Post where people were saying “eilu v’eilu” applies to modern-day jewish groups:

me: eilu v'eilu? that was about shammai and hillel. maybe it applies later but definetly not nowadays.

Some other commenter: Ah, nowadays there can only be ONE way! And coincidentally it is the way of the group that you think is right! What nonsense. Eilu v'eilu implies that there is only one correct derekh in aovdas hashem today? This is the shoresh of the problem in your machaneh.

me: only some haredim would say eilu v'eilu in a halachic dispute nowadays b/c they feel gedolim can't err and therefore if there's a machlokes, they're both right. they r taking a unique case and applying it even nowadays. the hazon ish said it may apply to certain cases among rishonim but even he agreed it doesn't apply nowadays.
that's for specific halchic disputes. as for completely different groups of orthodox judaism, what does eilu v'eilu mean anyways? Obviously, the Jews should really be one group. making different agudos (groups) is forbidden by the torah. perhaps u can say different people can have their own derech, but that's not eilu v'eilu (there's one law, just diff. people have diff. personalities, etc. and have their own way. but there's no machlokes). the best choice is just to say like we say about our religion: we're right, e/o else is wrong. (although from left to right, they may be right enough to get a share in olam haba)
(pirchei-politics)


I heard a similar story:A russian minister asked the netziv or s/o about aggaditic gemaras and he replied: If the decrees you want were signed by the czar to expel or kill the jews, a poet might say "a drop of ink drowned a million people". e/o would know what it meant but in a thousand years they wouldn't. the same with aggadata.
(R. Yisrael Salanter on Aggadata )


some commenter (paraphrased) explaining gil student’s motives : i have books to sell. i better keep on blogging about the slifkin ban even though e/o is sick of it b/c that way they'll buy the books.
Me: it doesn't really explain y all the blogs are discussing it or y people r reading it and it seems like unlikely motives. personally, i'm tired of people saying they're tired of slifkin ban discussions. it's not like making of a gadol, the ban is implying scientific facts r kefirah. the controversy around the rambam's books lasted many decades or centuries and this seems to be a continuation of it. (of course, they didn't ban the mishnah torah for saying chazal could err, only now when science has advanced so much do they realize its kefirah to believe.) (its coming)


about the ban:
the "majority of gedolim" also believe the universe is 15 billion years old. they just say 15 billion years happened in a week, which doesn't mean anything.
the slifkin books were banned because they said chazal could make a mistake in science, not because they said the universe is old.