[Avodah] R Tzadok-TSBP

[Micha Berger]

On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:40:51 GMT, RRW <rabbirichwolpoe at gmail.com> wrote:
:> One doesn't need a theory of everything, but if one wants to gain the
:> most possible from the performance of mitzvos means a theory that
:> (1) gives meaning to as much of what I do as possible (measured in hours
:> and effort, not number of dinim) and (2) gives me a mission statement I
: > can actually encompass.
...
: Certain rabbanim used induction for a unified field theory and then
: tried to fit square pegs into round holes to make the theory work across
: the board.

My point was to make a chiluq between having a theory, and knowing how
the theory reaches every perat. Finding meaning for as much of my day as
possible and giving myself a clear mission statement doesn't mean
believing one is capable of making the thoeyr work across the board.

: Those who say it's all about X are distilling the Torah too far.

I obviously disagree. I think it's those who actually think they can map
everything to X who went too far. To give RRW's example:

: Even Hillel's one-legged statement ends with the caveat - "Zil Gmor!" Iow
: any encapsulation does not do the Torah Justice w/o further learning!

But he did believe it does actually encapsule the Torah, it does define
an X that it's all about.

I think of it like the physicist's dream of finding a Grand Unified
Theory (a Theory of Everything). Even if the physicist were ever to
reach it, you still couldn't reliably get from this one theory of all
of energy and matter, time and space, to the details of neurochemisty.
You still need a zil gemor because the unfolding from theory to all the
complicated details of real life is beyond us.

But Torah is Da'as Hashem, as is physics. I don't think physics will ever
be complete, nor will there ever be a perfect mapping from the Torah to a
mission statement. Approximations of the Divine Intellect, yes; but not
actually getting there. Pragmatically, living a life lishmah requires
finding that approximation, as I called it: "a mission statement I can
actually encompass." Hillel gave one approximation. The Besh"t another,
and the Gra a third. Vekhulu.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "Man wants to achieve greatness overnight,
micha at aishdas.org        and he wants to sleep well that night too."
http://www.aishdas.org         - Rav Yosef Yozel Horwitz, Alter of Novarodok
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