[Avodah] Assur to be Stupid...

[Richard Wolberg]

R' Micha wrote:
I understood RYBS as stating that there
is an implied prohibition against not using 
the intelligence G-d gave you.

That's fine and nice but who is to determine how much or
what is the quality of the intelligence that G-d gave you? 
AND our perception of the bowing is quite different from the
Japanese perception. Intelligence is both subjective and 
objective. People's intelligence can vary quite significantly, 
as do different cultures,so to be judgmental and say that someone
else's culture is stupid may also be considered stupid. The following 
may shed some light on this example:  "The etiquette of bowing demonstrates 
the courtesy of and respect for Judo, Judo Sensei's and other judoka. 
Bowing in Judo equals to the American handshake and has nothing to 
do with any religious practice." 

Obviously, it is against our halacha, but to call someone stupid who is
unaware of the halacha is somewhat condescending.  That is why I make
the distinction between "stupid" and "ignorant." A person unaware of halacha 
is "ignorant." 
Also, you can have two people aware of halacha but interpret it differently. Does 
that mean if someone who interprets it differently from you is "stupid" or "ignorant?"
ri


 



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