Editorial notes: This is one of Shai’s longest essays, written in seven instalments, six within a period of just ten days in 2016 (from 13th October to 23rd October 2016) and the seventh, a year later, on August 31 2017. Reflecting on Shai’s complete collection of writings, this can be seen, perhaps, as the zenith and culmination of his intellectual journey. As he was writing this essay he was...
In my heart, the real challenge awakened into quarrel’s inner courtrooms by Korach is the essence of post-theodic[I] egalitarianism[II], i.e. if all are facets of the same diamond, and all the centre of the stage, then why arrange ourselves by systems that force us to interact with each other and the world in specified protocols? This is both (1) unfair, why should only royalty enjoy fame’s...
{Part 1 – 26/10/2016} There are 22 Hebrew letters, plus 5 final variants. They are given numerical values. I don’t know if this is commonly thought by those who are better studied. This isn’t a proof, it’s a thought trail, followed by some demonstrations. Why are there only 4 letters in the 100’s order? There are 10 sefirot, but how would they fit? First thought: The...
{Part 1 – 22/10/2016} A preamble on Eastern philosophy, religion, idol worship (nb. not referencing F. Bacon[I], but weakly alluding), and phenomenological incongruencies. Any reference to Indian (whether defining geographically, as did the Muslims, vis the river, or by cultural genealogies, via translocated Arayan, [aka] Brahman lineage, or Tantric resurgence [nb. meridian axis or at least...
[Editor: This is already dated. And contains real problems, but those lie outside the scope of intent for readership so ok. The point is more how to guide an introduction to something which people are willing to understand, but can’t imagine doing so without condensation. [most people should rather admit to knowing as much about .., as about devas]] B/s: Explain how we need wisdom for seeing...
Editorial notes: This essay appears in two versions, the first documented as a draft in Shai’s A BASHFUL HOPE blog (see For the Complexed (v1)) and another version found as a Google Document. The two versions have a similar structure but somewhat different content and the version showing here has been adapted to merge the two versions to form a more complete version of this document. It...
This is an expression of how I’ve been thinking about the first Mishna. It goes into more detail than my previous post. It does not propose to explain what the Mishna is about. Instead, I propose to explain what I have been thinking about. 1. From when are we to perform the Shema recital in the evening? 2. “From the hour that the Kohanim move to eat their Teruma; until the end of the...
I am small and the world is great and beyond my comprehension right now. This at least I can say without doubt. But here is a dream. Once there was a fish in a fishbowl. There were pebbles on the ground, water all around, a toy castle, and a filtration system of some sort. Every so while food would fall from above the water, from where there was no water, a place of nothingness except pain of...
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 20/11/2015 This is a variation-on-a-theme. Where I previously wrote on reading Talmud with Levinas, here I revisit the issue, simplifying some aspects, and expanding on the concept and role of will. There is one idea I wish...
I meditate to transform my experiences. What does it mean to know transformation? I have become more familiar with the subtleties of the breath’s sensation – this is the most communicable transformation. It is easy to imagine an increase in awareness in nuances of sensation: the spectrum of a painting, the textures of a carpet, the timbre of a violin. The words point to the distinction: “green”...
