[1 of sea as 1 of 4II? inspired by what is taught in memshaltecha in ashrei? (nb. Contextualize the dor va dor too for this). Suggestive, but no proof. Vaguely, kol olamim involves passing through the sea, this occurs over generations, this is done via something like a keter which is hidden, and it is the will to control beyond the seen. Viz. when talking about the malchut of seas, and the...
What is Talmud 1-1-1
Mimatai korim shema b’arvit…[I] Sof ma’ase[1]… The Mishnah was packaged to ensure the survival of key structures within the oral tradition, which although requiring great losses of wisdom, was deemed necessary for the great journey ahead. The terrible voyage had not yet hinted the breadth of its passages, nor depths, nor sense of lost horizons. The Mishnah begins with a question, but the purpose...
Hegel, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, and Kabbalah
Begin by an illustration of Kant’s synthesis of empiricism and idealism. Continue by illustrating Hegel’s using synthesis to bootstrap human consciousness to itself Pause to explain the phenotype of BPD[I] esp black/white thinking. Pause to describe the rise of cog-behavioural therapies and their rise out of mindfulness. Describe the addition of D of DBT[II] into the CBT[III] mix. Elaborate using...
Apology
My motivation to express and communicate my thoughts on these things is curtailed on one side by an awareness of the immensity of my ignorance, and on the other side by my fear that I have no right to promote such substantial claims given my absent credentials. What follows is successful if it convinces the following: I have a unique perspective, which forms an expertise on the basis of its...
Some words on Descartes
Read a biography of Descartes and re-read his Discourse[I] (I’d already read his Methods and excerpts from his scientific slog – optics and harmonics, ergh). So how do I feel about this famous Frenchman, the so-called father of modern philosophy? Philosophy-wise, not that much. His real contribution was to abandon the scholastic philosophy that had been the sole academic curriculum for the...
First premise
Rashi hints that we should no longer justify our ownership of the land of Israel[I]. A person might have thought, “The land has not been given to us back“. But the verse says that there were disagreements between the shepherds, due (Rashi explains) to some of them being thieves by presuming that the land was there’s on the basis that one day it would be. And that is why...
Sons of R’ Gamliel
The following have coalesced in my mind: The first module of the Mishna; the study of Mishna vs Torah; the temporal track-marks of Judaism. First I’ll introduce these, and then unpack them as a whole. First The first Mishna teaches the times for the recitation of Shema in the evening[I]. The Torah (i.e. as we have it) was created alongside and in parallel to the world, whereas the Mishna (i...
Learning maths with Khan Academy
Khan Academy[I] is awesome. Learning maths with Khan Academy is fun and rewarding. Here’s how I started, why I started, my thoughts and experiences. How I started Its been a decade since I last did any mathematics, and whilst I can still remember many general principles and a few rules, the maths part of my brain has certainly grown more than a little rusty. It’s not just forgetting...
On perspectives of right view
Editorial notes: This post was found in ‘Draft’ mode in the original blog and may be incomplete. It is published here in its original state. It was last updated on 23/01/2016. Perspective of samma ditthi[I] Right view is an achievement of comprehension, regarding the nature of experience. It is the answer to the question, “What is reality”, and also “What is the...
First taste of kasina
Editorial notes: Shai starts his seventh blog, entitled “The Traveller is the Journey“. This blog represents the entry point into the third major phase in Shai’s journey. Having previously dedicated substantial research effort to reviewing and documenting the great philosophical minds of the West, he now commences his exploration of the wisdom of East, in particular the mystical aspects of the...