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Jewish Sources - Rabbi Dr. David Gottlieb
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I
we usually talk about two parts of the
tradition the written in the oral I want
to describe to you a third part which is
not written in that world the written
and the oral have in common that they
are both in words sentences paragraphs
chapters books they both in language it
can be written and spoken the third part
is not in language it's not in words
probably can't be put into words in any
practical way I used to say that it
couldn't be put into words theoretically
then a student pointed out that my proof
was not correct so I've taken that back
but certainly in no practical way it's
far as we are concerned terms are
dealing with it living with it
interacting with it it's beyond language
all together now what I want to do is
first of all show you some traditional
sources which indicate that there is
such a thing then second what the status
of such thing is if it's not in words
what is it could it be right or wrong to
or false factual this is just emotion
and then third I want to talk about
where exactly it's found Jewish Lee and
how we can deal with it interact with it
so first step is to resources that show
that there is such a thing there's a
person d'ivoire involved chapter 6 of
Deuteronomy you take this verse 14 where
it says you shall do what is straight
and good and I Shems eyes see say you're
short of a nation you do was straight
and good
God's eyes then I'm bond asks least
implicitly what is this week I 730
Commandments is this a 614 commandment
it is the other 613 is another one do
what is straight good does it sum up the
other ones if you do all the other
things and I told you that automatically
is straight and good what is the status
of the state of what is doing then I man
says something pretty radical pretty
surprising he says this verse is talking
about interpersonal relations person to
person group community society the
nation and he says it is impossible to
write down a full list of rules for it
to personal relations it's impossible to
do that that was just stopping and take
account here he's writing a commentary
on a verse in the Torah who's the author
of the tour God God dictated it to Moses
letter by letter so if they're on bond
right it's impossible to write down and
apply to a list of rules is he saying
that God couldn't write down complete
list of rules sounds like it I take it
what he means is that maybe there is a
complete list of rules but it will have
two million rules and we would never be
able to read it understand it and
applied for us human beings there's no
way to tell us what's expected of us in
interpersonal relations by writing a
versus list of rules so the run bond
says the Torah meaning of course bro who
took a two-part approach first of all he
wrote down a number of rules those rules
are precise and focused scribed stealing
murder applying justice charities over
the so on but then he said don't be
satisfied just with the explicit rules I
gave you don't be satisfied set yourself
to go beyond the rules I gave you to do
also was straight and good in God's eyes
and the reader reads that he thinks well
how am I supposed to do that you're not
telling me what you want and then you
say do what I want even though I don't
tell you I mean how am I supposed to do
there we're supposed to get that phone
as another verse in Leviticus by a crow
where the Torah says Kadosh MTU be holy
and there are mine says the same thing
over again and he links to two
discussions cross-references them but
this time to expect the personal
behavior not interpersonal with other
people just personal behavior my man
says it's impossible to write down a
complete list of rules to tell you how
you should live as a human being so the
Torah has two levels first of all it
gives you a number of specific rules I
bet it says don't be content to that
don't be satisfied with that but set
yourself to go beyond the explicit rules
I gave you so as to live a life of
holiness and he gives he makes a remark
which has become famous in our
literature it is possible to be an
evolved issue satoru it's possible to be
a degraded disgusting personality fully
within the Taurus rules so for example
we have rules of cashews meat to the
kosher wine to be kosher where does it
say how much meat and how much wine to
eat per meal where does it say that
where's that written nowhere so her man
says you can fulfill all the roles of
cashiers and eat and drink yourself into
a stupor where you can't think anymore
where is it written this is a limit on
that here he says because that's not
wholly it doesn't express holiness that
expresses the animal life of an animal
so twice the ram ban says the Torah
doesn't give you a full list of rules it
gives you some rules as examples and
then you have to go beyond those rules
and the question is how do you do that
how do you do that where do you get the
way to do that a third source is the
mysterious assuring the passive adjust
right Lou tato
chapter 18 he describes what is a closet
as opposed to what is at attic tonika
person righteous quest as a person would
be I'm being righteous a customer the
person who says my whole life is
dedicated to pleasing God and that
includes pleasing him even in ways that
he didn't command he says that
explicitly going beyond all the official
rules but how am I supposed to know what
will please God if there aren't rules to
tell you what he wants we don't
encourage making things up flying by the
seat of your pants intuition guessing
dreams that's not a Jewish approach but
then what are you supposed to do or be
told explicitly to go beyond what the
explicit rules tell us a fourth source
many times in the Talmud tomlin has to
decide on a course of action or later
commentators inside of course of action
and situations complex because if I do a
certain Jewish mitzvahs and values will
be strengthened and others will be we
could I do be it'll be a different group
will be strengthened a weekend how do I
make a bottom-line evaluation I'll give
you a simple example whereas the shuttle
comes out in shabbos we don't blow the
shofar why not the Torah says explicitly
blow the show and rosh hashanah even on
shabbos the rabbi said no why because if
you blow the shofar on shabbos rosh
hashanah you might be worried that you
didn't blow it correctly you're a show
for isn't valid and you might run to
find a rabbi who can tell you what he
did it right or not and you could carry
the chauffeur through a public domain
and that will be violating shabbos so
because of the possibility that have
small number of people will by accident
violet shabbos the rabbi said no one
should blow shell for that year there I
sir how did they make that evaluation
who told them what's more important
there's a rule in the literature no
Misha that says which one is more
important they had to sum it up in their
minds and say well blowing shofar for
the whole nation versus
risk of violating shadows by a few
people protecting shabbos is more
important and they did that many such
decisions that had to be made again this
is not made by flipping a coin is that
babe I you know reading tea leaves they
thought about it they evaluated it and
they came to a joint decision that this
is what should be done so again there
seems to be some way of deciding what to
do decide me what's correct they call us
above and beyond what we have in the
written rules where does that come from
what is it is just proving to you
there's something here that isn't
written down that's all now I lived
through some revolutions in philosophy
and psychology physics one of the things
I lived through when I was undergraduate
about 100 years ago I was really in 60s
early sixties there was a thought that
all thinking is in words well thinking
is in words we used to be taught if you
can't say it you can't think it thinking
is putting words together that's what
think he is having a thot means having
words that's dreadfully wrong it's
dreadfully wrong and in the coming
decades they became to realize that it
is dreadfully wrong that a great deal of
thought is not in words here are some of
the considerations just to make them
some easy considerations to show you the
status of thinking not in words did you
ever have the experience of trying to
put something into words look in a cloud
formation talks on the phone what does
it look like what does it look like how
can I tell you well it looks a little
bit like a sea shore with horses running
across it or something like that or what
does it look like let me think for a
while you're looking at it you see it
you're not what a shape is but you don't
have the words for and then you may find
the words
searching for words how did it feel when
he said that to you how did it feel so
you sort of pull up the feeling for your
memory you're feeling the feeling what
word choice and then you say well it was
a kind of mixture of fear and awe and
privilege it was those three elements
push together but they take you time to
find the words now I can't be that you
have no thought until you have words
because what were you trying to find
words for somebody says to you was it
irritation no that wasn't voters how do
you know that wasn't what was how do you
know that's wrong word if you have no
thought you're not gonna have an idea in
your mind how can you disqualify word
and say it's wrong obviously you have a
thought you have an idea there's
something in front of you and you're
looking forwards to fit it friend of
mine has been working at the Applied
Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins
University forever well they build
satellites and ballistic systems and
armaments for submarines of things like
that he told me at one time they had a
problem that on a sonar scope certain
schools of fish looked like enemy
submarines and that's not good because
you fire torpedo at a school of fish
you're wasting and torpedo so it was
important to figure out which is which
there were two people in our Navy who
could reliably tell they look at the
sonos scheme they see the figure and
they could say no that's that's
something that's fish and then one died
so I said why did they ask them to
describe what the difference is he said
the Navy thought of that that's so dumb
they thought of that they said then
what's the difference between the ones
that look like facial ones over like
submarines and they said well the ones
those like fish look like fish and the
first was like submarines looks like
celebrates they just look different we
see a difference and they were this is
objective because you could test them
show them slide us to slide and they get
it right every time they just couldn't
put it into words math what about the
petitions do is they try to prove things
we have axioms you try to prove
something
true or false how do they search for a
proof do they have hidden away in the
safe in the back room a secret book of
rules so here's how you find proof no
and in fact we know from certain
fundamental theorems proved in the
middle of the 20th century it's
impossible to have such a book of rules
mathematicians look at it and think and
let things hit them until an idea comes
up on the screen here comes up they bat
it around for a while see if it's
worthwhile worked out with well they
canceled that screen and go back to
looking at and hoping something happens
some mathematicians are very gifted they
look at the thing and I think about it
and something comes up on the screen and
others don't do they don't become a
tradition become cooks or bus drivers or
if you have any dumb the process of
looking for a proof is what we call
intuitive so to play with it and see if
something happens creativity is like
that generally same thing in science you
have a theory you get experiments which
contradict the theory what are you going
to do well you're going to think about
it until something happens now in all
these cases what's going on isn't put in
words but its objective thought the
reason subject is logically should check
you could check whether they get it
right or wrong when those guys said this
is a submarine this is cool the fish the
people showing them the pictures know
what the picture was taken up and they
know that they got it right these
mathematicians sit around and they come
up with theorems that's what they're
employed as mathematicians because they
regularly prove things fans with
empirical scientists when they have
trouble of a theory they sit and think
try to think of an alternative but when
they think of an alternative and then
they test it very often it tests correct
so we know there's something about
grasping the world that goes beyond
words and it's very important it's
crucial a lot of progress is made by
using that kind of thinking so when we
say that this piece of Torah is not
putting words not expressed in words one
should not therefore say well it's only
second class it's not objective it's
just feeling is poetry that's nothing to
do with the real world on the contrary
on the contrary this applies that say in
psychology look at a person and you
wonder what is his mood what is he
feeling yet people could take a look at
him and tell you exactly what he's
feeling of the people it's a blank
personal takes a look Reed's body
language often that's a gift you just
learn somehow what other people don't
learn you look at the person you could
tell what he's feeling sometimes they
could tell you this is what he's feeling
and this is what he needs do this and
you'll see you'll feel better or listen
this will happen they make predictions
how do you test any idea you ask for
predictions have you tested and they're
right you deal with the person in the
way that you were told and then the
person breed acts in the way that was
predicted then you know these people
know something about the world that the
others don't know so when I say that
it's beyond language that should not be
taken to downgrade it at all it's just a
part of how we know the world by the way
this is reflected even in halacha let's
say you're a judge and you're dealing
with the case and there's evidence
witnesses come and they say this all
this and this and this you question them
across examine them they pass all the
tests but something bothers you
something bothers you it just doesn't
feel right what do you do you say but
there are rules the tradition has rules
ask these questions get these answers
see if there are contradictions I
followed all the rules the the law is if
you don't feel confident that it's right
disqualify yourself don't render a
decision in other words trust your
intuition to that extent if it doesn't
feel right then there's something wrong
and disqualify yourself don't just say
well that's just feelings I just want
and just throw it away no because
there's a way of grasping what's going
on is beyond the rules beyond the words
beyond the formulas and that also has
validity and it also contributes to the
way you make a decision okay now if all
this is correct where does it come from
where does the non linguistic part of
the tradition come
from here it's an opportunity to make a
gigantic mistake gigantic dangerous
mistake well God created me he gave me a
soul and that soul has a natural
connection with divinity with what's
holy with what's true with the Torah and
when the feelings well up inside me
that's God communicating with me and
that's where this non linguistic
understanding comes from that's
absolutely incorrect we're not promoting
subjectivity here it's absolutely
incorrect and by the way there's a whole
religion based on that idea and it's
Protestant Christianity everyone has his
own private revelations something
appeals to you and it feels very deep
and feels very positive so that's true
there's no echo of that in total the
source of this in this understanding is
in prophecy it's in prophecy just like
the source of the linguistic traditions
and prophecy the Torah comes from the
homeland for Moses the other prophets
writings come for prophecy and divine
inspiration this also comes from
prophecy because as ron van says and
kuzuri says and the run bob says and
others prophecies a total experience
prophecy isn't like getting a postcard
in the mail dear dear so-and-so ABC side
God prophecies a total experience so
much so that this is recorded in a
famous verse prophet Samuel comes to
habits Samuel comes to soul he says to
him I want to go on a trip and on the
way you will meet some disciples of the
prophets you too will prophesy then they
have factored leash out there you'll be
overturned into another person when
someone has prophecy he becomes another
person it has an impact on him as a
whole person not just worried said he
remembers so much so that aside for
Moses went someone had a prophecy he was
reluctant on the ground he lost control
of his muscles lost control of his mind
lost control of his perceptions lost
control of his azz motions it was a
totally overwhelming experience
when he came out of prophecy he's a
different person he was a different
person prabhas he left it imprinted him
and that difference in who he was showed
in the way he acted the way he
interacted with people the way he lived
his life so much so that when the
tradition describes why Joshua took over
from Moses why did Joshua take over from
Moses the answer is because Joshua was
Moses servant Machaerus motion he never
was absent from his tent if you look at
the first verse in the book of Joshua
that's what it says and the gondolas
commentary there he served them so that
he wasn't content with Moses lectures he
wanted to absorb as much of Moses the
person as possible so he attended him he
washed his hands he served his meals he
was within day and night and that's why
he was chosen to be the second leader of
the Jewish people because he had more of
Moses than anybody else because part of
whom Moses is shows in what he does and
what Moses is is the supreme profit
there is no profit greater than Moses or
as great as Moses not before and that
since now since the time of the exodus
the Jewish people had 1,200,000 profits
600,000 men and six hundred thousand
women prophecy was very common for a
thousand years prophecy was very common
every Jew lived with profits every Jew
spoke the prophets interacted with
profits and that means because they were
prophets the way they interacted with
people showed this residue this left
over this remainder of what prophecy
does for a person what that prophecy
does to a person that's the source of
the non linguistic part of the Torah it
came from an experienced it expresses
itself in behavior and becomes available
to other people to experience that's
where it is and that's how its
communicated it comes from God just like
the linguistic comes
God the whole of our tradition comes
from God doesn't come from anyplace else
it certainly doesn't come from inner
intuitions that's not where the
tradition comes from cousin a divine
injection into the world and that's what
its origin is now if thats what its
origin is and if that's what it is it's
something which isn't put into words how
do you learn it well you can't learn it
the lectures are books you gave me one
in two words you learn it by interacting
with the people who have it and this
will depend upon a person's preparation
for this or a natural talent for this
what is this like this is like advanced
sports you're throwing a ball you want
to be flipped Leandra quarterbacking
you're throwing football and the coach
says don't throw it like that throw it
like this and he shows you he didn't say
use the four fingers more and more
tightly spread the fingers morons over
the zone he shows you you look at him
and Ed you get who you don't and you
don't get it then you be go play chess
you don't play football you watch what's
done and then you grasped by watching
what the dynamics are what the crucial
features are and then if you have the
coordination to implement it you learn
all of this non linguistic learnings
like that I Delta philosophy I took a
couple of courses with a very eminent
professor and he would throw out
problems for us then we would work on
them and then we would give him our
answers and he would show them why there
why is that wrong and then he would tell
us his answer and sometimes people
estimate how did you come up with that
answer he said I've thought about it
thanks a lot that's really helpful and
sometimes he would say well you know I
thought this and then this but how did
you start with this and why'd you move
to that I don't know so he tells you
when either you get it or you don't I I
played a musical instrument and I
performed classical music many times
there's such a thing as musicianship you
can get all the notes right and the
music is awful it's just mechanical
musicianship means give it feeling how
do you do that I'll show you what it
means there's a famous line in
Shakespeare to be
to be that is the question right now
suppose somebody said oh I know how to
be dead to be or not to be that is the
question don't be an actor because you
didn't give it any meaning but I said
every word that all the words in order i
pronounce them clearly no one have any
question what I said yeah but you didn't
communicate anything you didn't say
anything you didn't give it a meaning so
you hear Chatha Heston or some other
great actor reading words listen they
come alive they communicate the whole
thought the whole attitude how do you
learn to read like that you listen to
great people learn to me you look great
people read like that and either you get
it or you don't then rules for reading
pause here emphasize that word and say
these true music you're playing music
where are the phrases are they for bars
aitbar 16 bars should you put the 16
bars together or break it up into two a
pilot well play it here it and sing it
breathe it and it'll come if you're
gifted if you have this talent it'll
come out making sense different
performance do it in different ways
that's why different performance can
perform the same piece of music and it
says different things when they perform
there's always room for new nuance new
new way of expressing things at any rate
the way this is communicated is through
experiencing those who had it that's why
personal contact is so important it's
important in general watch a person be
present when it when someone prays or
when he interacts with people or when
he's making a difficult decision or when
he's under stress I watched someone I
will never forget this was in Boston was
morning Dominic chakras Erika chakras my
reverie was there I was there and
someone whom we both knew weld came up
to my Rebbe and started yelling yelling
and screaming at him I was horrified I
was horrified so I put myself in between
them facing the other guy and I walked
at him and just forced him
the door I turned back therapy was
perfectly calm / 50 Cal sittin how can
you be so calm he said when he started
to yell I said to think about what's
going on at home and what is facing all
I felt was hey that that poor fellow is
dealing with those brown allergy I
wouldn't have reacted that way I saw it
I saw it nope that was like an emblem
for me so this is possible possible for
you and being three spot like that maybe
actifry research resources in myself to
move somewhere in that direction this is
something you absorb by interacting with
these people and that includes learning
that includes learning when you interact
the prisoners learning and he faces a
problem and he deals with the problem
hasn't answered then the answer doesn't
work and that goes back so you see how
he how he takes it how he deals with it
I don't know if you know what Texas is
but somebody has Rafael salon sir how I
your only certain amount of time to
learn I'm killer tomorrow with rashi
she's commentary but that's all he said
is that ok should I do that Oh Solange
is supposed to have said I don't know
the source of stories about to said
you're not going to learn choices how do
you learn you Russia mine I will learn
fear and all of heaven what what has
stasis got to do with fear the wall of
heaven I thought the approach of ptosis
commentary is to take whatever is said
in this page and look up every other
place in the entire tablet and work hard
to make sense out of all of it what
pushes someone to make that kind of
effort fake that kind of responsibility
is because this has to be understood it
has to and has the globally understood
and everything in the end has to make
sense or at least you register where it
you can't make sense out of so then you
learn all of heaven for the way toys
just attacked learning that's the way in
which this material this part of the
tradition is
is communicated its learned from
interaction with the people who have it
just like the other not unless language
elements of human life the last point
that I want to make is how are the two
parts related to one another this is
crucial and it's not at all immediately
obvious you have the linguistic which is
written the oral on one side and you're
the non linguistic on the other side how
are they related to another is it just
the two parts of the tradition and I
guess to get all of it you'd have to get
both of them because otherwise something
we're missing sort of like sports and
Chinese history sports is a study
Chinese history study if you know if you
left one of that you know everything but
you wouldn't expect your study Chinese
history to affect the way you understand
sport nor vice versa it's not like that
at all sound like that at all truth you
can't have one without the other or you
can't have a deep grasp of one without a
deep grasp of the other they are
interdependent i want to show you that
in both directions imagine a person who
says i'm into virtue I mean to sainthood
and I'm going to a culture the culture
and I'm watching people isn't seeing you
know how they live how they act or how
they did with people I deal with
problems I want to understand what it
means to be a saint and imagine that
person observing great Jews yes people
who are great revered Jews and close to
observe them I think he inevitably is
going to get wrong impressions for
example this is an incident that's a
place once about time a woman came in
town if I told you this story I thought
some of the sheer reasons it a woman
came in on Friday morning to the rabbi
with a chicken a dead slaughtered
chicken and she was concerned that maybe
the chickens
kosher there are happened to be teaching
his students at the time so he said to
her I understand your problem of the
chicken please wait until I finish the
class this year chuckle fine she's
sitting there and how it goes by RAF
close by she says the rabbi look it's
getting late and if there's a prob with
the chicken it's gonna be hard for me to
get a chicken in the in the market so I
really need you to look at the chicken
man places oh oh oh we look at chicken
now okay Hey look says the chicken says
it's kosher thank you very much it goes
on the students say the rabbi what
happened here you never did that before
he kept awaiting an errand here she was
worried the rabbi said when she walked
in I could immediately see there was a
problem with the chicken it's a problem
about which the authorities are split
some say Scotia slope sideStrafe and the
overall policy is if it's gonna cost a
lot of money and effort then you could
say it's kosher but if it can be easily
replaced then you have to say it
straight okay this woman is a poor woman
if i gave her a decision at the
beginning the market was open for
another two hours she can easily get
another another chicken I would have to
say that his trait she'd had to go and
borrow the money it would be a hardship
turn I waited till the market was
closing I'm very difficult to find out
the chicken now because it's very
difficult I could Lu leniently and say
that it's kosher that's why you did now
I imagine this Saint collector watching
this woman comes soon wait hour and a
half she's in distress she asks he
finally gives her an answer she goes out
he's gonna say that's being a saint I
don't Lee so I think that's being cruel
I don't think this is you did anything
nice in order to understand the actions
of a person when he is in bad he's
living a tradition you have to know the
rules of the tradition if you don't know
the rules of the tradition you don't
know what he's doing it's like watching
two people playing chess without knowing
the rules was that a good move or not I
know maybe they're setting up a japanese
rock garden what are they doing with
these pieces of ditches you know moving
them around thought it was a good move
or not if you don't know
linguistic if you don't know the rules
that they're operating with you're not
going to be able to understand the great
actions of people the sainthood of
people on the other hand if you don't
have access to the experiential you
can't understand the rules either I'll
tell you an incident I was told by the
person happened to many years ago as a
young woman who was a student and you
never see in the Boston area Kevin on
religious home didn't know any religious
Jews she's Jewish um somehow she got
hold of dying Greenfields book the
Sabbath Thank You field netbook goes
through the 39 block of the 39 forbidden
activities on Chavez she read through it
and she told me when she read it her
reaction was horror look at all the
things you can't do you can't take a
shower you can't answer Mike a phone
call you can't open your mail you can't
write a letter you can't cook your
breakfast can't carry things outside she
said I'm sure she was sure that living
shabbos would be just waiting for the
next mistake sort of neurotic sense of
when am I going to trip it took her
months to get up her courage to keep her
first shop it's now she's all alone
there's a totally negative shoppers no
shabbos songs and communal meals and
diving with songs and sarah study just
negative but she got a pro courage and
she did it and the result was that she
didn't feel neurotic she felt relief she
said I realized how much of my life is
based on interruptions taking telephone
calls and answering letters and various
chores that have to be done with this
one now another ten o'clock at
ten-thirty have to be there and some of
the so on she said I had a 24 hour
period where I could stop and think
where am i where am I going what am I
trying to achieve who am i exactly she
said she found it to be a
precious experience and then and here's
the point of the story she said I went
back and reread the book she now read
the book in the light of an entirely
different experience these are rules for
protecting something precious in life
that's not just an obsessive-compulsive
text forcing you to to live up to myriad
of difficult rules it's creating
something that's precious now a great
deal of understanding the Torah is
experiential you cannot create for a
person the feeling of shabbos by
describing the loss of shops even
reading for the songs of showers if a
person doesn't experience its Percy's
present with a family see the
interaction between parents and children
are the parents with one another go to
to dive inning and see how the davines
conducted to the children there you have
no idea what shabbos is and the same is
true with many many aspects of Jewish
life of course a pesach seder the
holidays in general suck especially
cellco Starro the dancing the singing
the celebrating a funeral when someone
great passes on now they have funerals
and here the funerals have tens of
thousands of people sometimes hundreds
of thousands of people folia Shiva goes
there is an impression you come to see
Shiva and sit here in this little hill
and you study think okay so about three
or four hundred people that's it go ad
you see this the streets black with
people as far as the eye can see in both
directions and you know round the corner
that's another black seen around that
corner is another black see you realize
you're part of a big community it's not
one little corner over here that's an
important thing to realize is important
thing to experience so the when you do
that and then you come back to read
about the lives of the patriarchs to the
matriarch of the prophets and the Talmud
of the rest it's experienced in an
entirely different way the linguistic
and the non linguistic are
interdependent they're intertwined with
one another and i think this observation
is a critique of at least the jewish
study programs that i'm aware of not all
the ones in the united states
or other countries but if you have a
Jewish Studies program that's only books
and lectures then it is crippled if it
doesn't have programmed Jewish
experiences then it's crippled and if
somebody says yeah but look if I take
someone to a shabbos experience or to uh
to a holiday experience isn't it sort of
like doing religion but then isn't
you're using religion and why would that
be wrong in psychology and anthropology
you have field trips why can't you have
Jewish field trips ok leave that for the
academics to sort out I'm just pointing
out that intellectually it's deficient
because if you don't have the
experiences you cannot possibly
understand the written and the written
and the oral the linguistic part that's
why it's crucial if someone's
experimenting with Jewish life it's not
enough to come to achieve it and attend
the classes i'm not talking about
commitment now i'm not talking about
pledging allegiance not even talking
about believing in God but I'm talking
about experiencing a shabbos
experiencing a holiday I say for men and
for women experiencing classical models
of Jewish study and they're different
men studying Sheba's women studied
seminaries and they should try yes it's
very heart official why the all men and
all women separately yes yes try it I
know one one incident that happened but
it's unfinished a man was from fella was
riding on a bus in Israel and another of
these fell sat down next to it and he
knows that the fruit fellow had a book
and it had lots of numbers in it and he
was writing numbers so this is Israel so
the name of this I said what are you
doing and I did you lose yourself and
man we're all brothers under the skin
yes I'll tell you I run a free loan
society we give out money without
interest and their schedules of payments
and I'm just checking his schedule for a
paper if not religious man system I
don't believe you nobody gives out money
without it just people don't do that you
asked me right I'll tell you what for me
you want to see it
come to my synagogue such and such a
time we do this a certain hour of the
day come and you'll see the guy came and
he saw them people coming to pay people
coming to take out money contracts being
signed you read the contracts and is no
interest he was floored his fluid so the
froom fellow thought this guy came and
he saw maybe I could build a bridge with
him he said listen I'm going to a
hassana wedding why don't you will your
wife come and see what a Jewish weddings
like of all the experiences for a non
religious person a wedding is probably
the most accessible so he said yes I'll
come give me a battalion invitation from
where what it was now so this from
fellow said he put me posted someone at
the door when they'll come to sort of
greet them and I should live in they
come to the door obvious by the way they
dress you could tell who they were and
they look in and they see a divider all
the men on his side and all the women
and that side at the vibe they weren't
prepared for that so they either talking
to each other turning around they're
gonna leave but the person who is posted
the door saw them came over 20 how do I
see you nice of you to come I hope
you'll enjoy hope you'll join us and
enjoy you know the man was taking the
bad side woman was taken to the woman
side they had the time of their lives
they never dreamt that wedding could be
like that we have getting drunk without
men dancing with other members other
men's wives and some of those are they
never dreamt there could be that kind of
joy they learned something that's a
bridge some of what you need to learn is
what it's like to experience life as it
you what it's like to live like a Jew if
you don't have that all the lectures and
all the books will be missing a crucial
element and you won't understand the
lectures in the books either so the two
dimensions that I've been described in
sefton are crucially intertwined with
one another a person has to go after
both I know saying this to you I'm
preaching to the choir to the converted
you're here and you're doing it but
there are three recordings here and
maybe and you'll tell other people that
sound enough to from time to time
website read something as much more that
needs to be done than that