[Avodah] Societal Needs vs.Self-Perfectin was re: Religion and Falsifiability

[Richard Wolpoe]

On 10/23/07, Richard Wolpoe <rabbirichwolpoe at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> On 10/23/07, David Riceman <driceman at att.net> wrote:
> >
> > Richard Wolpoe wrote:
> >
> > > The Torah is not about SELF-PERFECTION but creating SOCIETAL
> > > perfection, i.e a mamlehces kohanim
> > So would you find that hypothetical survey convincing? Incidentally, if
> > that's the function of the Torah, wouldn't we be better off dismissing
> > all failed Jews from the clan?
>
>
See Sanhedrin Mishna 9:5 [recnet Mishna yomis]
The only missas beis  din that warrents Kippa due to flawed testimony is
"horeg nefesh"

Reason?
Kehatti Citing Talmud: Only horgei Nefesh get kippah that even though that
there are avieros hamuros than Shefichus damim, neverthless they do not
entail haschasa yishuvo shel olam"

[which avieros hamuros? maybe AZ in private. No kippah for that[

Thus we see that the singular point is to enforce Yishuvo shel olam and to
counter hash'chassas yishuva ehshel olam..  This dovetails with parshas
no'ach -  ki mol'ah ho'oretz hamas - is fatal.  Dor haflagah - challening
HKBH while having a co-operative society- is FLAWED but NOT fatally flawed.

The AZ of Ach'av did not prevent his military succes. Why? No lashon horin
during his reign! While OTOH Bayis shsheini was filled wtih Torah-True Jews
and the Bayis was destroyed becasue of Sin'as Hinam.

Anyone who reads the plain Peshat of Mikra in Yisro, Misphatim, kedoshim
will see that the Torah is primarily convcerned with a just society not
about self-perfection. Self-perfection is nice of course but is mainly for
y'chidei segulah not necessary for the society at large. The important thing
for a society are concepts like:

   - Shiftu Yassom,. rivu Almanah.
   - Tzedek Tzedek tirdof
   - Betzedek Tishpot Amisecha

Coarse/Crude people can still contribute to a society at large as long as
their behavior is not essentially anti-social

Hnistaros Lashem Elokeinu, v'haniglos lanu ulevaneinu...

Let individuals wrestle with HKBH self-perfection Torah as a Bris as a
covenatn is about the public welfare, both the spiritual and material.  Even
hillul Sahbbos is qualitatively different b'tzin'a vs. b'farhesyah, because
after all b'tzin'a  there is no public hashchassah.

QED

-- 
Kol Tuv / Best Regards,
RabbiRichWolpoe at Gmail.com
Please Visit:
http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/
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