ZESTY DIQDUQGEEKETTE, OH MY

Bad news, rabbosai: the Rabam, who is the Rosheshiva of Yeshiva Chipass Emes - West Coast (YCE - WC) soll sein shtark und gazunt, is back in the klink after righteously behaving Sunday morning. The toy store will probably not press charges provided he pays them for the window and the fifteen Hamas rats he destroyed. Negotiations continue. Classes at the Yeshiva are consequently cancelled for the remainder of the week.


Just so that you have at least a minimum shiur of YCE-WC lomdus this week, the following lecture (written on cocktail napkins) has been forwarded from the pokey.

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NON PERVERSE HALOCHO FUNDAMENTALISTS

A mechallel shabbas b'farhesia is davka defined by the gemora, and the Rambam, Shulchan Aruch, Mishna Brura, and the Aruch HaShulchan as having the status of a non perverse halocho fundamentalist.

This accords with the position of the Aruch HaShulchan, who states that when it comes to shabbes observance the status of the individual in question is explicitly that of a non perverse halocho fundamentalist, if done in public.

Contrariwise, the Rambam, who was either not a perverse halocho fundamentalist OR possibly the very epitome of a perverse halocho fundamentalist, in Hilchos Shabbes perek 30 halacha 15 writes "takka, shabbes is a sign between Him and us forever. Therefore, one who violates other mitzvos has the status of the wicked of Israel, but one who is mechallel shabbes befarhesia, vahine, he is (also) like one who worships idols, and both of these are like a non perverse halocho fundamentalist in all respects".

The Lechem Mishna disagrees with the Rambam, because the Rambam at the end of Hilchos Teshuva perek 3 states that anyone can do tshuva (including a non perverse halocho fundamentalist), and suggests instead a rather farkrampte resolution to the stira, which he admits appeals to him on a deeply personal level, rather like the zesty mental image of a hypothetical diqduqgeeqette reading haftaros on qelaf, or chasvesholom, the Shir Ha Shirim (asher li Shlomo). Riezig. Er shreibt that it is indeed possible to do tshuva for aveiros of this nature, but they are of such a gadlus that anybody who truly did tshuva for them would kick the bucket in that endeavor, as we see from various stories in the Gemoro, where some people did aza tiefe und gevaldige teshuva that they bought the farm.

From which we know that tshuva is like a voyage. Some people take a long cruise on loving boats, with bridge and bingo nights and dancing under a tropic moon with women not their own, others slog through the badlands eating aphid crap for forty years.

The Lechem Mishna adds "not that there's anything wrong with that".

It's all good, little butterfly.

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An interesting question is whether perverse and halochic don't contradict or exclude each other. But the meaning of "perverse" is probably not really "perverse", but rather, as Chazal (al pi der Bazler) have written, "very strongly". Thus the key concepts are perverse halocho and fundamentalism, as represented by a fundamentalist of perverse halocho.

Is it Relativistic Trans-Masoreticism? We don't know. None of this applies in any way to a Mishnaic Karaite.

Questions? Comments? Be sure to give the Yeshiva your feedback. They love hearing from all of you menuvlim. You can also communicate your thoughts to the MAGAB in Yerushalayim, whose birthday is on the eighteenth of May. He too loves hearing from menuvlim.