[Avodah] torah and mada conference

[Eli Turkel]

Yesterday was the latest annual torah u mada conference.
A short summary of some talks

began with a joke
Husband asks what he can do to help the wife for Pesach
Wife says that the best is to leave the house
The husband returns after 2 houirs and the wife asks why he returned so soon
The husband answers that it is as much as he can do to help for 2 hours

Moral: A Torah conference right before Pesach can be a help for the wife
(ps there were a fair amount of women attending)

-----------------------------
Moshe Koppel spoke about his work on finding authors of books - was tested
first on known works
1. They separated randomly Yermiyahu and Yechezkel and were able to
reconstruct the original with 90-100% accuracy (except for Yechezkel 42)
2. They separated Yeshayahu into 2 parts which yielded the beginning and
second part but the dividing line was perek 32 and not the usual perek 38
3. They compared a controversial teshuva of either Ritva or Rashba and
found it was the Ritva
4. They showed that the letters in Genizat Charson are not from Baal
HaTanya (like the opinion of Ger and against Lubavitch)
5. They showed that "Torah Le-Shma" was indeed written by Ben-Ish_chai
6. Dividing the torah into 2 parts yieldedstandard academic  Priest vs
non-Priest diivision except for the first perek of Beresshit
    dividing into 3 parts gave Devarim as a a separate author
    dividing into 4 parts gave no known division

problems with the method - one needs to specify in advance how many authors
R. Breuer would explain that G-d speaks in several voices
Has nothing to do with Torah mi-Sinai since we can't compare the Torah to
other Sinaitic texts

--------------------
Rav Sherlo spoke on medical ethics (in addition to being a head of a Hesder
Yeshiva he sits/sat on several government boards involving medical ethics)
He changed his talk from the abstract which was to discuss several specific
cases in detail. Instead he gave an overview
Four challenges of Mada to Torah in order of difficulty
1. Modern day questions - eg transplants, motherhood, internet,
electricity, status of a chiloni etc
    main problem is that there is no Mesorah and many of thee teshuvot are
far-fetched
2. Experiments on soldiers (how much choice do they have) , surgery on the
brain
3. Areas were Torah an Science  disagree - eg use of DNA for identification
with regard to agunot, burial
    age of the earth, the definition of "ones", deaf
4. Free will, is rain deterministic- prayers for lack of rain and thanks
for appropriate rain, beracha on eclipse, prayer in general

The most difficult area deal with brain research sin that is internal to us
rather than external. Consciousness
There are several approaches to conflicts
1. attacks on science - Darwin isnt proved, meteorology is inexact,  Carbon
dating isnt proved.
     Someone even claimed that elections are not deterministic as G-d can
change the ballots between the time they are voted and the time they are
counted.
2. Re-interpret the Torah - This was the approach of Rambam.
    A modern attempt - murderer has no free will he is punished to save
society not a  punishment
3. Ignore issues that are not immediate - e archaeology, free will etc. no
connection between Torah and science
4. View the to as not enemies - but a challenge
     Chadash is not prohibited it is allowed after the Omer is brought
     greater insight is brought by the nee to define deaf or the moment of
death or the concept of  "ones and ratzon" in light of modern science
     Homosexuality is prohibited by the Torah - but society's treatment of
a homosexual can be changed

One way Torah an impact on modern society is the "basket of medicine"
approved in many countries for government help.
In Israel  IVF is approved for 2 children no matter how long it takes.
Diseases that are (partially) caused by the patient have less ssupport - eg
lung cancer due to smoking and AIDS due to homosexual activity

---------------------------------------
Prof. Koslovsky of head of  Psychology at Bar Ilan

New area of psychology is the impact of brain research -
effect of drugs on free will
difference between "mind" and the brain - do actions start with the mind
telling the brain or does the brain tell the mind what it is doing
correlations seem to show that the brain makes decisions before the mind
knows.
determinism is favored base on Occam's razor
genetics - a court in France gave only 1 year in prison to a murderer who
had a XYY gene which has been associated with violence
Josephus explains that the Pershum believed in limited free will, the
Saduccees in complete free will and the Essenes in no free will.
Koslovsky's personal belief was in line with Rav Dessler and the Perushin
in a limited free will.
Studies show that mental illness add even physical illness is affected by
free will.

--------------------------------------
other talks and posters
LED and microwave should be permitted on shabbat even according to CI as no
circuits are closed.
Only problem is "Zilzul shabbat" and so is only permitted in special cases.
More generally old decisions need to be re-evaluated based on changes in
technology

Argument between Rabbenu Tam and the Gra over Shekia is really a machloket
between Rava & Yerushalmi against  others in the gemara.
Contradiction between 2 sugyot is really just 2 opinions
Careful  experiments show one can see 3 stars 14 minutes after sunset

Maharil says that Kiddush Hachodesh ends exactly (to the minute)) at half
way through the month.(not like the Tur)
 not coincidentally the mechanical clock was invented shortly before his
time

----------------------------
Symposium was on Jews in space
one said that Jews always arrive late on the scene but it is inevitable -
like moving to America.
Another pointed out that the Gra said one should not live above the 66th
parallel as there are too many questions.


-- 
Eli Turkel
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