Avodah Mailing List

Volume 08 : Number 109

Monday, February 11 2002

• Re: Segulos
• Re: halacha methodology

On Wed, Feb 06, 2002 at 04:05:41PM -0500, Yosef Gavriel and Shoshanah M. Bechhofer wrote:
: I just finished listening to Hawking's "A Brief History of Time." Mildly
: interesting, but b'nogei'ah l'nidon didan, one might think of a [segulah]
: as the spiritual equivalent of the scientific concept of the "wormhole"
: in space-time. V'duk.

The model might work, in that both the mashal and the nimshal involve the
connection of two things not ordinarily connected.

The repeated litany about segfulas is not /how/ they would work, but the
/why/. Why should there be a metaphysical causality beyond din or
"gam zu litova"? Why would HQBH create these rules by which hatavah or
pain can reach someone by changing something that doesn't change his
tzidqus?

For physical causality, the question has answers: Bechirah requires
predictable results for our choices. Also, it requires the hester
panim that predictable rules allow.

-mi

-- 
Micha Berger                 For a mitzvah is a lamp,
micha@aishdas.org            And the Torah, its light.
http://www.aishdas.org                       - based on Mishlei 6:2
Fax: (413) 403-9905          

[Was intended for "to TV or not to TV?" on Areivim. -mi]

In a message dated 1/30/02 8:40:27am EST, Akiva Miller kennethgmiller@juno.com
writes:
> This might be a good challenge for Rabbi Wolpoe's "Halacha Methodology"
> project: Compile a list of ALL mishnayos which are NOT brought
> "l'halacha". It might be interesting to see what they have in common.

There are some rules of Aggadic vs. Halachic Rulings.

Bapashtus look at how poskim treat various Mishanyos in Avos to see if
they took them as required or merely suggestions.

OTOH, let's face it, for many Aggadic Mishnayos that says X there others
that state or imply NOT X. Think about Midrash vs. Maa'seh, etc.

Regards and Kol Tuv,
RabbiRichWolpoe@aol.com

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