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  • in reply to: Is it wrong to secretly not want moshiach to come #1132624
    hal
    Member

    apushatayid – you mentioned this Rambam but didn’t mention the source, or show the actual quote, so I thought I may (in english)

    it’s from Hilchos Melachim 12:4

    4. The Sages and prophets did not yearn for the Messianic Era in order

    that [the Jewish people] rule over the entire world, nor in order that

    they have dominion over the gentiles, nor that they be exalted by them,

    nor in order that they eat, drink and celebrate. Rather, their

    aspiration was that [the Jewish people] be free to involve themselves

    in Torah and its wisdom, without anyone to oppress or disturb them, and

    thus be found worthy of life in the World to Come, as we explained in

    Hilchos Teshuvah.

    (addition) I don’t know the source, but I believe somewhere the Rambam explains the main purpose of the messianic era and resurrection of the dead, is for the benefit of those Jews who were prevented from studying Torah and doing mitzvot due to outside forces such as persecution, poverty, and lack of resources, to have the opportunities to earn reward. (perhaps a lot of tinuk shnizbas?)

    in reply to: Reminder: Gedolim had personalities #1038527
    hal
    Member

    good point!

    in reply to: Best Talmud Shiurim Online #1023554
    hal
    Member

    thanks both for great responses!

    in reply to: Best Talmud Shiurim Online #1023551
    hal
    Member

    right now my favorite is Shaas Illuminated, best to download from its own site, but its new and their only up to megillah, and id like something on seder nezekim.

    anyway im not interested in trying out all those people, thats why i made this post, i was hoping someone could tell me who they enjoy and for what reason, maybe someone is good at covering alot of ground, someone might be good at bringing up practical halacha and getting into rishonim, some are just good at explaining the reading and making it easier to learn for a first time…

    in reply to: The Niggunim/Songs that Really Inspire Us #1022623
    hal
    Member

    thanks Daas!

    in reply to: Shachris w/o minyiin??? #1070450
    hal
    Member

    wow your a holy soul to care so deeply about anothers ruchnius! i mean that. i pray i have a wife one day like that. Shachris is important, i find it a bit funny the reasons you listed are all the reasons that apply for a woman also, for men the main reason to doven with a minyan is for saying the Amidah prayer with a minyan, one’s prayers are m’kabal when we doven with a minyan, when dovening alone our prayers are inspected and only if said with proper cavana are they accepted. ofcourse there is no din of minyan by women.

    in reply to: Why do YOU want Moshiach to come? #1058571
    hal
    Member

    the-art-of-moi: i’m looking forward to the answer 🙂

    ofcourse my answer is that when moshiach comes we do continue be able to earn reward. i don’t think we lose the yetzer hara right away, infact according to the Talmud we never completely lose the yetzer hara while in this world, even during the moshiach era, because the yetzer hara is an essential motivating factor for proper Torah study! it’s said it was created for the sake of learning. (a fascinating idea. the thing that drives us to sin needs to be directed towards driving us to accomplish in learning. after all isn’t there a bit of ego in wanting to know it all).

    in reply to: Who is Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel #1191230
    hal
    Member

    OFCOURSE OFCOURSE! my reference to Acher would only apply to someone like Lieberman who wrote a scholarly work (as opposed to philosophical thoughts), and also i wasn’t trying to learn practically what to do, i was just asking what you make of what R Meir did, it was a question of lamdus not halacha. I realize for one thing i’m not as great as R Meir to do what he did, i have no clue where the shell ends and the seeds start of the pomegranate that i could eat one and discard the other.

    anyway what i’m hearing is that we dont study the works of Heschel because of his association with JTS, but many are saying that he was never really part of that world, and his association was vague and short lived at best, so i’m still confused, but then again i haven’t a realy taiveh to study his works, theres plenty for me to learn, so the whole reason i created this topic was to understand more about the man, and you’ve all helped me, so thanks 🙂 I prefer leaving it vague because i can judge him l’kaf zchus, but not study what he wrote (or recommend it) out of a concern.

    in reply to: The Niggunim/Songs that Really Inspire Us #1022621
    hal
    Member

    oh i see, that was 5 years ago his post. my bad

    in reply to: The Niggunim/Songs that Really Inspire Us #1022619
    hal
    Member

    A600KiloBear – Reb Chaim Banet is really amazing!! how can one person come up with so many amazing niggunim!?!? could you make a list of just the best kumzitz songs from him alone? infact i’d say it deserves its own post, but anyway as i’m just discovering him i’d really appreciate to know which ones you, and others, like the best, especially for singing. thanks! btw Machnisei Rachamim really blows me away, so much soul!

    in reply to: Who is Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel #1191225
    hal
    Member

    old man, what do you make of Rav Meir learning from Acher? I’d say that’s support that one should take wisdom wherever it could be found. personally when it comes to something like translations and explanations of tosephot i feel more comfortable, after all you can judge the correctness of it yourself with your own intellect, but to learn someones novel ideas or approaches, especially hashkafically, i’d rather stick with known tzaddikim.

    in reply to: FFB – Do We Get Credit? #1023041
    hal
    Member

    there’s no reward in being ‘frum’, what G-d wants is that we fear him, emulate him, love him, serve him with pure intentions, and keep all his commandments. you’ve been doing that since birth? are you doing that now properly? My point is true service is a life long goal, even if we lived till a million we’d still find ways to improve. Besides for the mussar, alot of ‘frum’ people are sometimes not so ‘frum’. Doing teshuvah in that case could be even greater than doing teshuvah in the case where one is clearly against halacha. for instance doing teshuvah and learning to keep shabbos is amazing, although it should be easy on the side that it’s a clear case of right and wrong. But a person who keeps the mitzvot but they’re not careful about certain things like having kavanah when saying blessings, then to repent then takes a special strength, especially since in that case it’s a private matter with no one to rebuke them. and how could a person even call themselves frum if they speak loshon hara, or embarrass or hurt others, or are not careful about others property, etc… if you learn some good mussar maybe you wont feel so frum and then you can feel good about getting to be a baal teshuvah!

    in reply to: Who is Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel #1191211
    hal
    Member

    sorry but no one seems to be answering my question. Many seem to allude to something being ‘off’ about this great man, but what was wrong exactly? i agree something seems off. not picking up a kippuh seems odd, but not forbidden. it’s not clear he didn’t care, perhaps he didn’t notice, i’m not going to discredit a man who is clearly a genius in Torah on the basis of a kippuh falling off. so when i say he is a great man i stand by it, his wisdom is evident. however was he ‘kosher’? i’m not necessarily looking to read his work, and i for sure wont as long as i’m in doubt about the man, i’m looking for someone to help me understand the daas Torah perspective, but i’d need a good strong legit reason to discredit someone from such a glorious Torah family with knowledge that i’m sure surpasses many of the great Torah scholars of today. falling kippuhs and long hair doesn’t stir me though.

    in reply to: Why do YOU want Moshiach to come? #1058565
    hal
    Member

    thechoiceismine, what greater reward is their than clarity? how about clarity you discovered on your own, rather than clarity forced upon you by things outside you.

    Infact people explain that’s why Torah learning, especially Talmud, is so complicated. they could of just spoon fed us all the halachas and hashkafas and exactly what to do and require no work to get to the answers, that would be instant clarity, and you say, what can be better? Well Chazal knew what was better, working hard and struggling to achieve that clarity! only when one is truly familiar with the dark can he really appreciate the light!

    angels wanted to teach the Vilna Gaon, but the Gaon refused on the grounds that he didn’t want to learn without the chance of amal b’Torah, (toiling in Torah), toiling in pursuit of Truth. according to the pain is the reward!

    in reply to: Why do YOU want Moshiach to come? #1058564
    hal
    Member

    yes, the-art-of-moi, its basically my question. altho i admit i’m wrong, and a hypocrite also, because i do pray for my life to be easier, which could also mean less reward, but then again it’s not less reward cuz i get the schar of bitachon and praying to G-d and that’s what G-d wants, us to pray for help.

    but basically, what is death? death means you can’t do mitzvahs any more and you get your reward, and if a person dies pure then death is very good for them, they go to the soul world and experience pleasure infinitely greater than anything and everything in this physical realm. unfortunately they can’t do any more mitzvot (and i do believe that G-d gives us the time we need to either reach perfection, or reach a point that we refuse to grow further and G-d knows that more life won’t accomplish anything, after all G-d is the ultimate giver, he doesn’t do anybody any wrong by taking lives early)

    now when moshiach comes, and we can’t grow further, how is that different than death? seriously. life is the time to work and grow and death is the time to enjoy what was earned. moshiach time, if it’s all about enjoying reward, and no growth, isn’t that death? i do live for Olam Haba, but i don’t pray to go there while i can, and still need to accomplish in Olam Hazeh so my Olam Haba can be perfect. i mean i dunno know about you, but i wanna be up there with Moshe Rabbeinu and Dovid HaMelech, and the rest of Chazal and all the holy Tzaddikim. and anyone who doesn’t want to be at the top of Olam Haba it’s not because they’ve conquered their ego or desire for reward and pleasure, it’s the opposite, it’s because they’re spiritual small and physical, but ya know it’s something to work on.

    in reply to: Inspirational One Liners #1048045
    hal
    Member

    it’s always great mussar to really meditate on one powerful line to let the message sink in.

    in the past i focused on the end of Koheles, where after exploring how all the earth is empty and devoid of meaning or anything good and worthwhile, the wisest man who ever lived concludes, (in my own words) ‘the end of the matter, all being heard, fear G-d and keep his laws because that is all of man’.

    also if you want to focus on learning, remember ‘Torah is our life and the length of our days’

    i often focus on the fact that ‘a moment of olam haba is more pleasurable than all of the life of olam hazeh…’

    Rabbi Akiva we know focused on the water dripping on the rock and made a hole, and he said to himself if water can make such an impact on solid rock, than Torah which is likened to fire, can make an impact on me and change what i am into something else like the water changed the rock. (it’s a kal vachomer, water which is weak made an impact on something as hard as rock, than Torah, much more powerful than water, can certainly make an impact on man/flesh, which is softer than rock)

    in reply to: Common Sayings That Irritate Me #1148924
    hal
    Member

    “nothing free in life”

    while life itself is actually free, which is how it has to be, non-existant people have no money

    in reply to: Why do YOU want Moshiach to come? #1058561
    hal
    Member

    YES coffee addict, according to the Ramchal, read “The Way of G-d”, yes the purpose of life on earth is to earn reward. otherwise why is there suffering? it serves a purpose. and btw, that is what gives HaShem happiness.

    coffee addict, this is important Hashkafa to know so please read and try and understand, i’m quoting the book “The Way of G-d”

    in “the way of G-d” we learn that G-d created man in order to give to man. G-d is perfect, and there’s nothing man can give to G-d. G-d wanted to give because G-d is giving and merciful so he created a being known as human to receive good, and G-d wants to give man the perfect good, and the only true good that exists is G-d, so the ultimate good is man to attach himself to G-d and be as similar as G-d as he can. however here’s the catch, to be similar to G-d and therefore experience to pleasure G-d wants us to experience, we need to use our own free will and choose to be like G-d, because G-d wasn’t forced by anything to be G-d, so we can’t be like G-d if we are forced and aren’t holy by choice. the idea of what G-d is, and how G-d is necessary are very deep ideas, and contemplating G-d in that way, personally i find it very powerful and inspiring me with awe of G-d. if there was no G-d there would be absolutely nothing, but G-d exists, and really G-d is all that exists, and all that has to exist. it’s not ‘luck’ that G-d exists, it’s part of the idea of G-d.

    so anyway, this world is for earning the reward, the world to come is for receiving the reward. basically when we can’t earn reward it’s the same as being dead. and no one prays for that. that’s my question (if Moshiach era means not earning reward).

    G-d created to give, there’s nothing for G-d to receive because Gd is perfect. there’s nothing we can give him, all the mitzvot are to purify and improve us.

    btw im not saying we should do mitzvot only for the reward, but considering that this reward is closeness to HaShem, and the only true good that exists for us, i don’t believe any intelligent person could ever want to give that up.

    and yes a good parent does only make their kids do there chores to get a treat. although the treat is becoming a better more mature person, learning independence and life skills, etc.

    (please forgive poor grammar, written late at night quickly)

    in reply to: Why do YOU want Moshiach to come? #1058559
    hal
    Member

    i really don’t know how i’m supposed to long for Moshiach when i know as soon as he comes the world will exist in a way that i can’t receive the same reward for my mitzvah’s. or so i understand. if i’m incorrect about that, then someone correct me, and you will have fixed my problem.

    but if you agree with me, then it’s a serious issue i can’t get past. and i think people who don’t have that issue are often just oblivious to what it means to earn reward for olam haba.

    besides i’m not so sure why we want Moshiach to come in the first place.

    is it so we can serve HaShem in the Beis Hamikdash? because we are serving HaShem, and it may not be all the mitzvot, but i would imagine our mitzvot are more dear to G-d when we overcome our yetzer’s, and he’d rather have our Torah learning done in current difficult conditions than our sacrifices at a time when it’s easy.

    so we do it so the goyim should know HaShem? well that’s strange, we’re sacrificing our spirituality for them? could be, but i don’t believe it, i never saw any Rabbi put it that way.

    and if we’re doing it for HaShem, what does HaShem get out of it? what could we ever do for HaShem when all he does is for us? he’s perfect, he doesn’t need praise or love or acknowledgment, his perfection is beyond our comprehension, needs don’t apply to G-d.

    so why do we long for Moshiach?

    now if you say that after Moshiach comes we continue to gain reward, it all is well and good, we can learn Torah, do mitzvot, serve at the Holy Temple. but if you don’t get reward, then it’s basically saying death, because that’s all death is, a time when you can’t repent or get reward for observance. and no one is praying for that. i’m inclined to believe therefore that when Moshiach comes we continue to have free will and get reward, just the same as before, and eventually the world becomes perfected in a way that there’s no free will, but that’s when time is out and we all have had all the time we need to reach shelamos.

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