<html><body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div><br><br><div><br></div></div><div><br>On 22 בספט 2011, at 06:01 לפנה״צ, Meir Rabi <<a href="mailto:meirabi@gmail.com">meirabi@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; ">I believe we have a duty to accept the
words rulings and ideas of the Torah as absolute truth."</span><br></div><div><br></div>Therefore you need to learn them properly in order to know what the Pshat is<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; "><br></span></div><div>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; ">The discussion of verses and MaAmerie
Chazal, from my perspective is not necesssarily within the realm of Talmud
Torah."</span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);">Would you make a birchas haTorah before reading these verses and Chazals? Could you learn it on tisha ba'v?...</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);">I do find it strange discussing this as an abstract comment, you have not read the essay in question, and nonetheless seem quite opinionated. The chapter is not about humanoids, yet the possibility of the existence of such creatures does emerge.</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);">By the way the book has a lot of other chapters as well :)</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);"><br></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);">Ari Kahn<br></span></font><div><div><br></div><div><br></div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div><ol style="margin-top:0cm" start="2" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;background:white">By way of example, when Chazal have a “game” of suggesting various
Pessukim to support various commonly held “street wisdoms” I suspect this
is not TT</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;background:white">.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;background:white">Reading the Torah, any verses in the
Torah is certainly TT. That includes the Passuk Bereshis 6:4 which
certainly sounds like it is talking about humanoids, or something to that
effect.</span></span></li>
<ol style="margin-top:0cm" start="1" type="a">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;background:white">But I
strongly suspect that our speculation about these things and the
construction of mental and spiritual edifices which support significant religious
life perspectives; I am shaken and fear possible negative consequences.</span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;background:white">I similarly
am concerned that these edifices are perceived to be an equivalent to
Talmud study. As a consequence learning Gemara is no longer deemed to be valuable,
critical and of core significance.</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;background:white"></span></li>
</ol></ol><div><br></div>-- <br><br>Best,<br><br>Meir G. Rabi<br>
</div></blockquote></div></div></body></html>