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<font size=3>At 10:59 AM 8/20/2010, R. Micha wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">On Areivim, RZS asked about the
value in general:<br>
> *If* Prof. Auman was mechaeven to the intention of the original
Amoraim,<br>
> then yasher koach to him, and we can now understand this gemara
better<br>
> than the rishonim did; and maybe there are more gemaras that the
same<br>
> knowledge will help interpret, but maybe that's the only one. Is
it<br>
> really worth studying game theory just for that? Once one has
'filled<br>
> his belly with bread and meat', perhaps; but surely not until
then.<br><br>
The quote about lechem ubasar is significant, and can't be summarily<br>
dismissed.</blockquote><br>
Is it possible that "filling one's belly with bread and meat"
means that one has to study secular subjects as well as Torah? After all,
R. Yhonason Eybeschutz wrote in Yaaros Devash 2:7 (as translated by L.
Levi in Torah and Science, pages 24-25):<br><br>
For all the sciences are "condiments" and are necessary for our
Torah, such as the science of mathematics, which is the science of
measurements and includes the science of numbers, geometry, and algebra
and is very essential for the measurements required in connection with
the Eglah Arufah and the cities of the Levites and the cities of refuge
as well as the Sabbath boundaries of our cities. The science of weights
[i.e., mechanics] is necessary for the judiciary, to scrutinize in detail
whether scales are used honestly or fraudulently. The science of vision
[optics] is necessary for the Sanhedrin to clarify the deceits
perpetrated by idolatrous priests; furthermore, the need for this science
is great in connection with examining witnesses, who claim they stood at
a distance and saw the scene, to determine whether the arc of vision
extends so far straight or bent. The science of astronomy is a science of
the Jews, the secret of leap years to know the paths of the
constellations and to sanctify the new moon. The science of nature which
includes the science of medicine in general is very important for
distinguishing the blood of the Niddah whether it is pure or impure and
how much more is it necessary when one strikes his fellow man in order to
ascertain whether the blow was mortal, and if he died whether he died
because of it, and for what disease one may desecrate the Sabbath.
Regarding botany, how great is the power of the Sages in connection with
kilayim [mixed crops]! Here too we may mention zoology, to know which
animals may be hybridized; and chemistry, which is important in
connection with the metals used in the tabernacle, etc.<br>
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Yitzchok Levine</font></body>
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