Contribute to the stability of civilised society

http://www.come-and-hear.com/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_24.html

MISHNAH. AND THESE ARE INELIGIBLE [TO BE WITNESSES OR JUDGES]: A GAMBLER WITH DICE... 

R. Shesheth said: Such cases do not come under the category of Asmakta;  but the reason is that they [sc. dice players] are not concerned with the general welfare. 

I.e., they do not contribute to the stability of civilised society.

(Source provided by TIDESociety reader Yehuda)

Dilution of TIDE?

Professor Max Landau of the Berlin Seminary on the dilution of TIDE:

 

"What is the reason for this change of opinion on the part of German Orthodoxy with regard to Samson Raphael Hirsch? To begin with, this new attitude did not come about suddenly; much rather, it is the result of a long process of spiritual development. It received its final impetus from a deep-seated sense of insecurity which beset German Orthodoxy ever since the end of the last war. The encounter with the world of “Eastern European” Judaism and an intensive preoccupation with Jewish spiritual problems have severely shaken the former self-confidence of German Orthodoxy and its firm conviction that it had the right approach to the problem of realizing the ideal Jewish way of life in our times. As a result, German Orthodoxy is beginning to see how far removed it still is from such ideal “Jewishness”. A feeling of discontent and a yearning for self-fulfillment have taken hold of its members. Suddenly, many of the fundamental precepts which had heretofore been considered valid and unquestionable by German Orthodoxy were subjected to close analysis and found wanting in many respects. The German-Jewish concept of Jewishness was found inadequate compared to the completeness and intensity of “Eastern Judaism”."  Full article (thanks efrex for the text version)

from Pelta, R. S. R. Hirsch’s View of Secular Studies in the Thought of R. Joseph Elias

Mars

The surface of Mars. Credit NASA

Torah applies here too as does Torah Im Derech Eretz.

Unfair criticism

Along with the universal praises of Hirsch and the Frankfurt kehilla, one sometimes hears the criticism that the kehilla produced far less scholars than did Eastern Europe. The charge is a reflection of ignorance. The IRG at the time of Hirsch's passing numbered 400 families or around 2,000 people. That's the size of a single out of town congregation in the USA. And when R' Hirsch arrived there were just a handful. How many people were in Eastern Europe? There were at least 6 million. R' Hirsch's school started in 1853 with 84 students. In 1881 there were 600.  How can one draw any comparisons to or conclusions about Torah Im Derech Eretz with numbers as disparate as that?

Noble Soul

I recently reread R' Schwab's "Letter Regarding the Frankfurt Approach." It is so beautifully written, so wise and humble. Then today I came across this quote from Goethe and it made me think of R' Schwab.

"If any man wish to write in a clear style, let him be first clear in his thoughts; and if any would write in a noble style, let him first possess a noble soul." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe