<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jul 1, 2008 at 4:52 PM, Micha Berger <<a href="mailto:micha@aishdas.org">micha@aishdas.org</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<br>
RMBreuer could be read as saying that Judaism wants feeling harnessed<br>
by intellect, and thus "is not satisfied with feeling" becayse "only<br>
cognitive reason ... can fortify against life's trials and temptations".<br>
<br>
Tir'u baTov!<br>
-Micha<br>
<font color="#888888"></font></blockquote><div><br>I heard a drash like this<br>Those who put their feelings [lev] ahead of their brains [mo'ach] are a "lemech<br> But<br>Those who put there head [mo'ach} ahdead of their feelings [lev] are a Melech<br>
</div></div><br>L'havdil FWIW, the late Albert Ellis {an anti-religious briliant eccentric] who advocated a totally rational way of life - eventually evolved away from af PURE rationalism into Rational-Emotive Therapy. <br>
<br>Although ellis might deny it, he actually used Talmudic style dialectic to argue with oneself out of irrational thinking, just the way the Talmud dialectically arrives at a conclusion.<br><br>Once the proper conclusion is reached, then those emotions that support that conclusion are "rational emotions" <br>
<br>Benidon didan Micha aisi is making the same point. Emotions must serve the correct conclusions arrived at via a clear mind. <br><br>BTW, that is why AISI the ikkar aziom for doing mitzvos is that Hashem took us out of Egypt to be HIS slaves, and rejecting the Torah would "revert us back" so to speak to avdei Par'oh. IOW Yetzi'as mitzaryim is imho a more fundamental axiom in many ways than Hashem As creator, and this explains the First Dibra as the main Ikkar.<br clear="all">
<br>-- <br>Kol Tuv / Best Regards,<br>RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com<br>see: <a href="http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/">http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/</a>