Moreh Nevuchim (01:71) KNOW that many branches of science relating to the correct solution of these problems, were once cultivated by our forefathers, but were in the course of time neglected, especially in consequence of the tyranny which barbarous nations exercised over us. Besides, speculative studies were not open to all men, as we have already stated, only the subjects taught in the Scriptures were accessible to all.
Monday, July 13, 2026
Metaphysics is Difficult
Moreh Nevuchim (01:34) THERE are five reasons why instruction should not begin with Metaphysics, but should at first be restricted to pointing out what is fitted for notice and what may be made manifest to the multitude.1) The subject itself is difficult, subtle and profound, 2) The intelligence of man is at first insufficient; for he is not endowed with perfection at the beginning, but at first possesses perfection only in potentiâ, not in fact. 3) The preparatory studies are of long duration, and man, in his natural desire to reach the goal, finds them frequently too wearisome, and does not wish to be troubled by them. 4) It has been proved that moral conduct is a preparation for intellectual progress, and that only a man whose character is pure, calm and steadfast, can attain to intellectual perfection: that is, acquire correct conceptions.5) Man is disturbed in his intellectual occupation by the necessity of looking after the material wants of the body, especially if the necessity of providing for wife and children be superadded: much more so if he seeks superfluities in addition to his ordinary wants, for by custom and bad habits these become a powerful motive.
‘Islamic Republic of Japan’: Trump’s verbal flubs are piling up
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/12/politics/trump-gaffes-recap-nato
While recounting a clash in Iran, Trump inadvertently referred to the “Islamic Republic of Japan” — which isn’t a thing.
While seated next to Zelensky, Trump asked the reporters assembled if they had “a question for President Putin.”
Dangers of Metaphysics
Moreh Nevuchim (01:33) You must know that it is very injurious to begin with this branch of philosophy, viz., Metaphysics: or to explain at first the sense of the similes occurring in prophecies, and interpret the metaphors which are employed in historical accounts and which abound in the writings of the Prophets. On the contrary, it is necessary to initiate the young and to instruct the less intelligent according to their comprehension: those who appear to be talented and to have capacity for the higher method of study, i.e., that based on proof and on true logical argument, should be gradually advanced towards perfection, either by tuition or by self-instruction. He, however, who begins with Metaphysics, will not only become confused in matters of religion, but will fall into complete infidelity. I compare such a person to an infant fed with wheaten bread, meat and wine; it will undoubtedly die, not because such food is naturally unfit for the human body, but because of the weakness of the child, who is unable to digest the food, and cannot derive benefit from it. The same is the case with the true principles of science. They were presented in enigmas, clad in riddles, and taught by an wise men in the most mysterious way that could be devised, not because they contain some secret evil, or are contrary to the fundamental principles of the Law (as fools think who are only philosophers in their own eyes), but because of the incapacity of man to comprehend them at the beginning of his studies: only slight allusions have been made to them to serve for the guidance of those who are capable of understanding them. These sciences were, therefore, called Mysteries (sodoth), and Secrets of the Law (sitre torah), as we shall explain.
Wisdom and Prophecy
Bava Basra (12a) Since the day when the Temple was destroyed, prophecy has been taken from the prophets and given to the wise. Is then a wise man not also a prophet? What he meant was this: Although it has been taken from the prophets, it has not been taken from the wise. Amemar said: A wise man is even superior to a prophet, as it says, And a prophet has a heart of wisdom. Who is compared with whom? Is not the smaller compared with the greater? Abaye said: The proof that prophecy has not been taken from the wise is that a great man makes a statement, and the same is then reported in the name of another great man. Said Raba: What is there strange in this? Perhaps both were born under one star. No, said Raba; the proof is this, that a great man makes a statement and then the same is reported in the name of R. Akiba b. Joseph. Said R. Ashi: What is there strange in this? perhaps in this matter he was born under the same star. No, said R. Ashi; the proof is that a great man makes a statement and then it is found that the same rule was a halachah communicated to Moses at Mount Sinai. But perhaps the wise man was no better than a blind man groping his way through a window? And does he not give reasons for his opinions
Bava Basra (12b) Since the Temple was destroyed, prophecy has been taken from prophets and given to fools and children.
Chasam Sofer (Orech Chaim 1:208): Bava Basra (12a) even though prophecy was taken from the prophets but not from the sages. However, your understanding of this gemora to be that wisdom was not taken from the sages is incorrect. Rather it is that prophecy was not taken from the sages. In other words, that type of prophecy which is attainable through the wisdom of one who studies Torah for pure motivation merits many things [Avos 6:1] with his intellect and his wisdom even though he doesn’t have the natural ability for it. The gemora wants to prove this from the common fact that a talmid chachom comprehends something on his own which in fact is according to the understanding of Rabbi Akiva. We know that this person’s level is not up to Rabbi Akiva’s heels. This proves that it happened by the prophetic ability we mentioned. Moreover, we also find that he says things which in fact are Halacha L’Moshe m’Sinai. The gemora questions this proof by saying that perhaps this occurs by chance like a blind person groping through a window. However, the gemora concludes that it is not by chance since he gives justifications for his views and thus it is like a prophetic form of wisdom.
Chasam Sofer (Orech Chaim 1:208): This idea can explain the gemora in Megila (16a): “Whoever says wisdom even if he not Jewish is called a wise man.” The obvious question is why shouldn’t he be called a wise man? Don’t we in fact even say a beracha on the wise men of the non Jews “who gives of His wisdom to human beings” (Berachos 58a)? The answer is that without this gemora we would have mistakenly thought that Divinely inspired wisdom only comes to Jews while if a non Jew said something brilliant that seems to transcend his intellectual capabilities - we would have thought it was just blind chance….
Golden Opportunities To Save Neshomos In E"Y!
Untold numbers of girls in EY are crying out for help in fighting off the Army
Draft Office and Courts seeking to force them into the exploitive Army environment!
As Rav Yosef Altman Shlita writes in a letter, when you save a girl from falling into the Army, besides הצלת נפשות - you;re also saving their zivug*! Middah-Keneged Middah, thats a tremendous zechus to for Shidduchim (and childbirth, and success in raising children as Yirei Shomayim)!
{* their ideal match)
Sunday, July 12, 2026
LevinAt11 Matos: Identifying Da'as Torah
Sun., July 12, 2026
Linked below is this past week's LevinAt11 radio broadcast of July 9, '26.
תכנית ראדיו הרב יהודה לעוין, מטות מסעי תשפו
Topics covered include:
• מושג דעת תורה - DA'AS TORAH IDENTIFIED - see Chiddushei Rav Michel Feinstein ZT"L on Negayim 11:7.
• Wicked legislation
ומלחמת התורה נגד גזירות רציחה והשחתה
• Perfidy In NJ: Are we not better off without Aguda INTERFERING in efforts to combat anti-Torah antireligious edicts?
~~~`
Contact Information to urge the Governor of NJ to veto the antireligious abortion-at-whim/transgender-tyranny edict S2260/ A2218, ASAP: Gov. Mikie SherrillGovernor of New JerseyV: 609-292-6000 (9-5PM) {in case you manage to actually get through...}E: constituent.relations@NJ.gov W: www.NJ.gov (go to contact page)~~~~~~~• The 250th Anniversary of America should direct national attention to this prescient warning of Rav Shamshon R. Hirsch OBM (D. 1888CE) --"... Woe to the time when sexes do not keep themselves holy! Countries and states in vain seek for the cause of their decline and do not see that they cease to be states as soon as their homes are ruined."
(-- Rav Shamshon Refoel Hirsch (Germany, 1808-1888 CE), "Horeb" (translated by Isidor Grunfeld, 1962, Soncino Press, Eleventh impression 2016), Section 4, "Chukim," Chapter 65, p.307, paragraph 1)• Here's a pre-passage Open Letter to NJ Pediatricians, still relevant to said legislation:
Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,
Executive Director,
Help Rescue Our Children
Email: torahjewsfordecency@
845.642.1679
Direct: 771.215.8892
Israeli Helpline: 03.721.3337
Heard weekly on New Jersey's WSNR Radio 620AM, co-hosting the renowned Levin At Eleven program, every Thursday evening, 11pm to midnight (ET).
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
Previous Broadcast and Wrap-Up:
https://daattorah.blogspot.
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
PS: Horrific News from UK: English MP Life- Advocate Murdered:
~~~~~~
From Agudath Israel, again downplaying anti-Torah antireligious edicts vis-a-vis government funding:
---------- Emphasis added by me, NSL
"... Schorr also thanked Senator Joe Lagana and Assemblymembers Gary Schaer, Lisa Swain and Chris Tully for their longstanding support.
"These legislators have consistently been champions for ensuring that nonpublic school students receive the services they need to succeed,” Schorr said. "We sincerely appreciate their partnership and continued commitments to these vital programs."
1) Absent is any hint that Aguda cares if the NJ Gov. signs S2260/A2218. Certainly there's no urgency - or even awareness - being conveyed to the tzibbur to call her to urge a veto.
2) Aguda's praise for some terrible reps includes supporters of said bill A2218/S2260, who seem to have atoned for their support of anti-Torah, anti-baby, anti-child, anti-parent and pro-Death legislation - by facilitating government cash flow towards receipts of preference for Agudath Israel.
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: The Agudah <news@agudah.org>
Date: Wed, Jul 8, 2026, 11:46 AM
Subject: Bi-Weekly News From Agudah Update
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The LevinAt11 program is broadcast weekly over: Davidzon Radio davidzonradio.com / 718) 303-8000
Trump promotes ‘Freedom Fuel’ stations that sell cheap gas. How they’re able to do so is unclear
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/09/business/trump-freedom-fuel-stations
Station owners set their own fuel prices, and the overwhelming majority of gas stations in the country are small businesses that run on thin margins, not the major oil companies that often have their brands on the stations. Many make most of their money on the convenience store items sold inside, like snacks and drinks.
There is no way the stations can be profitable – or even sustainable – charging that much below cost, according to Jeff Lenard, spokesperson for the National Association of Convenience Stores, which represents stores that sell about 80% of the fuel sold nationwide.
“There’s no way those stations could operate the way a traditional retailer would, without at least breaking even on fuel,” said Lenard.
Elder fraud is surging. Here are three simple steps to combat it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/07/07/three-step-fix-halt-epidemic-elder-fraud/
In 2025, according to the FBI, Americans 60 and older reported a total of $7.7 billion stolen. That is roughly eight times the 2020 figure. Older adults filed 20 percent of internet-crime complaints last year but absorbed 37 percent of the losses. And research cited by the Federal Trade Commission suggests that only about one in 20 fraud victims ever even reports it.
If our ledger proves anything, it is that awareness of elder fraud is the one thing the U.S. does not lack. There is no shortage of warnings from sheriffs, attorneys general and agencies. What older Americans need — and what can make the difference — is one number to call, one rule to remember and one day on which the system moves as fast as the money does.
Saturday, July 11, 2026
Bipartisan housing bill becomes law after Trump’s signature snub
“I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, is a comprehensive measure aimed to address housing affordability by increasing the supply of homes and lowering costs by limiting major investors from purchasing single-family homes, among other aspects.
His inaction was largely symbolic. The Constitution allows a bill that has passed both chambers of Congress to automatically become law if the bill is not signed or vetoed by the president within 10 days, excluding Sundays.
Army service
Bamidbar (32:7-8) Moses replied to the Gadites and the Reubenites, “Are your brothers to go to war while you stay here? Why will you turn the minds of the Israelites from crossing into the land that GOD has given them?
Trump Brushed Off His Scandals. Here’s Why Platner Couldn’t.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/07/10/platner-trump-scandals-rules-democrats-00992633
The Platner drama, in fact, is a vivid illumination of the distinctly different ways that the two major political parties respond to an era in which prevailing standards of acceptable conduct by politicians are in a state of radical flux.
Platner is a flamboyant anti-establishment disruptor accused of a lengthy roster of personal behavior that he declared irrelevant (his swastika-like “Totenkopf” tattoo) or false (Jenny Racicot’s allegation of rape.)
Trump is a flamboyant anti-establishment disruptor accused of a lengthy roster of personal behavior that he declared irrelevant (defying the decades-long principle that presidential candidates release their tax returns, to cite one of dozens of examples) or false (E. Jean Carroll’s allegation of rape.)
Platner was forcibly stripped of the Senate nomination voters handed him just last month when a chorus of Democratic leaders loudly and near-unanimously said he must go. Trump, by contrast, has ignored and in most cases humiliated Republicans who claimed his personal and political behavior is unacceptable.
Those different outcomes in turn suggest wide differences in the coalitions and prevailing mindsets that sustain both parties. Simply put, on questions of political accountability, the parties live in different universes.
Friday, July 10, 2026
Golden Calf
Kuzari (01:97) The Rabbi: All nations were given to idolatry at that time. Even had they been philosophers, discoursing on the unity and government of God, they would have been unable to dispense with images, and would have taught the masses that a divine influence hovered over this image. which was distinguished by some miraculous feature. Some of them ascribed this to God, even as we to-day treat some particular spots with reverence, going so far as to believe ourselves blessed by their dust and stones Others ascribed it to the spiritual influence of some star or constellation, or of a talisman, or to other things of that kind. The people did not pay so much attention to a single law as to a tangible image in which they believed. The Israelites had been promised that something visible would descend on them from God which they could follow, as they followed the pillars of cloud and fire when they departed from Egypt. This they pointed out, and turned to it, praising it, and worshipping God in its presence. Thus they also turned towards the cloud which hovered over Moses while God spake with him; they remained standing and adoring God opposite to it. Now when the people had heard the proclamation of the Ten Commandments, and Moses had ascended the mount in order to receive the inscribed tables which he was to bring down to them, and then make an ark which was to be the point towards which they should direct their gaze during their devotions,[2] they waited for his return clad in the same apparel in which they had witnessed the drama on Sinai, without removing their jewels or changing their clothes, remaining just as he left them, expecting every moment to see him return. He, however, tarried forty days, although he had not provided himself with food, having only left them with the intention of returning the same day. An evil spirit overpowered a portion of the people, and they began to divide into parties and factions. Many views and opinions were expressed, till at last some decided to do like the other nations, and seek an object in which they could have faith, without, however, prejudicing the supremacy of Him who had brought them out of Egypt. On the contrary, this was to be something to which they could point when relating the wonders of God, as the Philistines did with the ark when they said that God dwelt within it. We do the same with the sky and every other object concerning which we know that it is set in motion by the divine will exclusively, and not by any accident or desire of man or nature. Their sin I consisted in the manufacture of an image of a forbidden thing, and in attributing divine power to a creation of their own, something chosen by themselves without the guidance of God.
Kuzari (01:97) The whole affair of the Golden Calf is repulsive to us, because in this age the majority of nations have abandoned the worship of images. It appeared less objectionable at that time, because all nations were then idolators. Had their sin consisted in constructing a house of worship of their own, and making a place of prayer, offering and veneration, the matter would not have been so grave, because nowadays we also build our houses of worship, hold them in great respect, and seek blessing through their means. We even say that God dwells in them, and that they are surrounded by angels. If this were not essential for the gathering of our community, it would be as unknown as it was at the time of the kings, when the people were forbidden to erect places of worship, called heights.
Lacking money and support, Trump’s Board of Peace stalls in Gaza
Seven months after President Donald Trump announced his peace plan for Gaza and more than four months since he convened his Board of Peace to implement and pay for it, the plan is stalled and expected donations to the fund it created are nonexistent.
Disarmament negotiations with Hamas, a crucial part of the plan, have remained deadlocked. The heavily armed militants still control Gaza’s 2 million people, now confined to less than half of what was, before the war, already one of the most densely populated places on earth.
Israel’s military has expanded its occupation of 60 percent of the enclave that has been cleared of Palestinians and says it intends to take more. Despite the ceasefire declared on Oct. 9, Israel’s near-daily strikes have killed more than 900 Palestinians, according to Gazan health authorities.
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