[Avodah] "Watch Whom You Marry"

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, November 14, 2007 8:08 pm, R Richard Wolberg wrote:
: Zev Sero wrote:
:> But had Lavan tried to feed him treif, Hashem would have saved Yaakov
:> from eating it.

: And regarding HBKH protecting tzadikkim from UNINTENDED acts,
: I respectfully submit the following for your consideration:

: What about the case of Kibud Av and Shiluach Es HaKan promising but
: not fulfilling longevity in a particular case that caused Elisha Ben
: Avuya to become a meshumad?...

Was this boy a tzadiq? One to the extent that Hashem would bend the
law of large numbers (defy the statistics) for him? Similarly, is
anyone alive today of that calibre, regardless of whether or not they
bought meat in Monsey?

There is a statement in the gemara that such protection is given.

Jumping ahead to the end:
: In addition, seventy people can see something, and have seventy
: different perceptions. We're back to eilu v'eilu.

That doesn't close the question. Eilu va'eilu doesn't mean everyone's
perception is equally valid. It means that every Torah-informed
perception is. There is still reason to explore the question to find
the range of valid answers. How do we understand this Chazal?

Skipping back to the thesis, about which I /do/ agree:
: My point is that it's a gross oversimplification to make broad
: generalizations. It's more complicated than meets the eye....

Aristotilian physics has no equivalent to the laws of conservation of
momentum or of energy. In fact, in the real world, we never witness
these laws. There is always friction robbing the object of its
momentum, and leaching off energy by converting it to heat and
entropy. The reality is too complex to simply look at one law of
nature and expect it to fully describe the reality.

Does the fact that cars do slow to a halt (when on a flat surface)
disprove the conservation of momentum?

The same is true for metaphysical laws.

SheTir'u baTov!
-micha

-- 
Micha Berger             One who kills his inclination is as though he
micha at aishdas.org        brought an offering. But to bring an offering,
http://www.aishdas.org   you must know where to slaughter and what
Fax: (270) 514-1507      parts to offer.        - R' Simcha Zissel Ziv