Rashba Tshuva On Batei Din of Hediotim
Click Here Rashba-2-290 PDF
The Torah and the World – Twelve Questions
הדורות לפניו
משנה מסכת עדויות פרק ב משנה ט [ט] הוא היה אומר האב זוכה לבן בנוי ובכח ובעושר ובחכמה ובשנים ובמספר הדורות לפניו והוא הקץ שנאמר (ישעיה מ”א) קורא הדורות מראש אף על פי שנאמר (בראשית ט”ו) ועבדום וענו אותם ארבע מאות שנה ונאמר (שם /בראשית ט”ו/) ודור רביעי ישובו הנה: My interpretation of HaDorot Lefanav follows that of Rabbi Joseph B Soloveitchik,z’l, as found in: Abraham Besdin: […]
FROM THE HUMAN TO THE DIVINE IN JUDGEMENT
There is a transition from intuition to Halacha in Jewish thought. In the Hakdama to Mitzvat HaBayit by Rabbi Yosef Epstein ztz’l, section two, he outlines in detail the transition from the Intellect and Intuition of the Avot to the requirement to observe the Mitzvot after Kabbalat HaTorah, (the formal acceptance of the Torah by the Jewish People). Rabbi Epstein observes that human intellect is an intermediary between […]
The Connection Between Godel’s Theorem and Psak
“We have seen that mathematical propositions which cannot be established by formal deduction from a given set of axioms may, nevertheless, be established by “informal” meta-mathematical reasoning. It would be irresponsible to claim that these formally indemonstrable truths established by meta-mathematical arguments are based on nothing better than bare appeals to intuition.” (Ernest Nagel, Godel’s Proof, p. 112) David Zviel: Godel actually constructs formal statements which must […]
THE INTUITIVE FACTOR IN PSAK
הקדמה אגרות משה דכיון שיכולין לפרש בתורה כב”ש וכב”ה הרי נמצא שנאמר כתרוייהו כל זמן שלא נתבטלו דעת אחד ברבים החולקים. וזהו פירוש מי מעקב שמשה שאל למה עושה הקב”ה האותיות למלכים, שיעשו כפי משמעות החכמים בלשון הכתוב והמסור, דמי מעקב שתכתוב באופן שלא יהיה אפשר לפרש רק דרך אחד ככוונתך האמתית ולמה נתת כח מלוכה להאותיות שימצא שלפעמים יעשו שלא ככוונתך. והשיב הקב”ה משום שע”י זה […]
FROM INTUITION TO HAR SINAI
INTUITION, ETHICAL REASONING AND TORAH LAW, PDF (click here) FROM INTUITION TO HAR SINAI Rabbi Yosef Dovid Epstein: Hakdama to Mitzvat HaBayit: “If the Torah would not have been given, Man would have discovered the Parsha on Proper Conduct himself, through his own intellect. The Avot learned Torah from their own internal mental processes. They recognized obligations by themselves. From their great wisdom they came to the […]
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr vs Robert Bork
The Tempting of America by Robert H. Bork “In the past few decades American institutions have struggled with the temptations of politics. Professions and academic disciplines that once possessed a life and structure of their own have steadily succumbed, in some cases almost entirely, to the belief that nothing matters beyond politically desirable results, however achieved. In this quest, politics invariably tries to dominate another discipline, to capture […]
PLATONIC REALISM AND THE CONCEPT OF MIND
Platonic realism takes the view that mathematics does not create or invent its “object, but discovers them as Columbus discovered America. Now, if this is true, the objects must in some sense “exist” prior to their discovery. According to Platonic doctrine, the objects of mathematical study are not found in the spatio-temporal order. They are disembodied eternal Forms or Archetypes, which dwell in a distinctive realm accessible […]
THE AMAZON FOREST
The Amazon Forest has been described as the Lungs of the Earth. A major percentage of oxygen on Earth is created there. If the Brazilians succeed at destroying their own forest resource, all the inhabitants of the Earth will suffer. Saving Planet Earth is an Economic and Political Problem. Locals have to be bought off or educated to abide by conservation measures in their local vicinity. (To […]
THE RAMBAM’S UNDERSTANDING OF SYSTEM
A study of the fourteen Shorashim to Sefer Hamitzvot is essential for grasping the Rambam’s understanding of “system” and to see how close he came to modern mathematical models exemplifying precision and rigor. Considering the Rambam’s encyclopedic knowledge of Jewish Law and all its sources, it is rather startling to witness his ability to cross over and model a rigorous, logical system in the modern sense of system […]