[Avodah] kol hamosif , gorea

[Micha Berger]

On Fri, Feb 19, 2010 at 11:26:09AM -0500, Rich, Joel wrote:
: and R' Aron Soloveitchik taught that the menorah represents all
: wisdoms with the central branch representing torah towards which all
: curve towards.

I bet RAS said it besheim the Gra, who did say it first. Likening the 7
branches to the 7 wisdoms identified in the Zohar. (E.g. on Bereishis
7:11, where is speaks of the wellsprings of the 7 wisdoms being opened
in the year 5600.)

According to R' Hillel Rivlin's Sha'ar Be'er Sheva, the Gra's list
of 7 wisdoms were: math, astronomy, physics and chemistry, practical
engineering, medicine, music, psychology. How that maps to the menorah,
where the Torah would have to count as one of the seven, leaving only
6 sciences, is beyond me.

And R' Hutner writes in the Pachad Yitzchaq, Sukkos, that the 7 branches
are the 7 wisdoms, of which music is the most spiritual -- and then
discusses the role of music in simchas bas hasho'eivah. His thesis is
that SBHS is a reenactment of the creation of man as in Bereishis 2.
Water is poured into the very spot from which the dirt to make Adam was
taken (according to one shitah), and then the singing is vayipach
be'apav nishmas chayim. Re'ei sham.

But I think even they would agree with part of the CI's point... one
must view all the wisdoms as flowing from the trunk, and pointing back
to the middle neir. They aren't "outside" additions to the Torah but
daughters that are expressions of it.

BUT...
Isn't this the same CI who is credited with giving brain surgery advice?
Wouldn't that mean that he did learn sciences?

:-)BBii!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             You are where your thoughts are.
micha at aishdas.org                - Ramban, Igeres Hakodesh, Ch. 5
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