Torah and Jewish Idea > Torah and Jewish Idea
Asking advice of Tzaddik (* What NOT to do)
Tag-MehirTzedek:
--- Quote from: Ephraim on October 23, 2012, 09:05:47 PM --- The reason I ask is... Using astrology to tell the future is inappropriate, I understand that, but in a simple form it can be very useful. You kind of can tell the future with astrology, by paying attention to the moon phases and the seasons, represented by the Stars. You can tell the affects on the earth, and the habits of animals and their movements.
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I think your describing ASTRONOMY, this is talking about ASTROLOGY. These are different things. In fact Astronomy and the movements of the stars etc. is highly praised and actually needed and used in Jewish law. Astrology on the other hand (those who say that this and this is going to happen because the stars are positioned in a certain way is wrong).
muman613:
--- Quote from: Ephraim on October 23, 2012, 08:00:30 PM --- Tag, Could I get some more resources on this please?
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That is from the Rambam... Look it up on the Chabad site...
Ephraim Ben Noach:
--- Quote from: muman613 on October 23, 2012, 09:50:51 PM ---That is from the Rambam... Look it up on the Chabad site...
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No, I want the original teachings! I want to know where the Rambam got it from!
muman613:
Regarding Astrology there is some support for it in the Talmud. I have also posted this before...
A Jew must never put his trust in Astrology because a Jew is above nature. This is the reason we must not consult the stars...
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It is fascinating to note that the rabbis of the Talmud gave considerable credence to astrology. The Talmud states that “upon entry into the month of Adar one should become increasingly joyous. Rav Papa said: ‘Therefore a Jew should avoid litigation with gentiles in the month of Av, because his mazal is bad; and he should move the court case to the month of Adar, when his mazal is good.’”1 The Hebrew word which Talmud uses here, mazal, is usually translated “luck” but literally means “constellations.”
Astrology is not only a factor to be taken into account when planning future events—it also influences human nature. According to the Talmud, one born under the constellation of the sun will achieve eminence, and one born under Venus will become wealthy and immoral. One born under Mercury will be wise and have a retentive memory. One born under the Moon will suffer evil. One born under Saturn will suffer frustration, one born under Jupiter will be righteous, and one born under Mars will become either a surgeon or a slaughterer.2 A birthday is therefore viewed by the rabbis as a day on which personal astrological fortune is at its most potent.3
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2. Talmud, Shabbat 156a. Although rabbinic consensus holds that Jews are not affected by mazal, the great medieval Talmudist Ritva (Rabbi Yom Tov ibn Asevilli, circa 1300) suggests that in this context the word mazal is to be understood as a generic term for “decree” rather than constellations. He thus suggests that when the rabbis of the Talmud say that Jews are not affected by mazal, they mean that they can subvert divine decrees through the performance of good deeds (Taanit 29a).
3. See Jerusalem Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 3:8, regarding the Amalekites: in their war against the Israelites they used soldiers who were celebrating their birthday that day, so that they would have an astrological advantage over the enemy.
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muman613:
--- Quote from: Ephraim on October 23, 2012, 09:55:23 PM ---No, I want the original teachings! I want to know where the Rambam got it from!
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Thank may be difficult... Rambam died many centuries ago...
He also, regretfully, did not source a lot of his halachas...
Read this for some background on Rambams writings:
http://www.tzemachdovid.org/gedolim/rambam.html
--- Quote ---OPPOSITION TO YAD HACHAZAKA
In Yad Hachazaka, the Rambam cites only halachic rulings, without presenting the sources from which he derived them, or the shakla ve'tarya surrounding them. His purpose was to enable all Jews, even those who were not outstanding scholars, to learn how to conduct themselves in daily life.
Even though the sages of the Rambam's time were aware of his intentions, some still opposed the Yad Hachazaka, fearing that many scholars might lose their initiative to probe the Gemara in depth.
The Rambam, however, stated that he never said that Torah scholars should refrain from engaging in deep Gemara study, and that Yad Hachazaka was meant for those unable to probe the Talmud's depths.
Still, gedolim such as the Raavad staunchly opposed it. He published his comments on Yad Hachazaka in a special book called Hasagos Haraavad.
Despite his opposition to the Rambam's approach, the Raavad held the Rambam in high esteem. In turn, the Rambam was not offended by the Raavad's opposition to him.
Although the Rambam didn't respond to the Raavad's claims, his student, Yonasan of Lunil, wrote a treatise in which he proved that the Rambam's rulings, as opposed to the Raavad's, were correct. Rav Yosef Caro also defended the Rambam in Kesef Mishneh.
Despite the criticism, Mishneh Torah was accepted all over the world, in all generations, as the seminal sefer of Halacha.
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--- Quote ---http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/75991/jewish/Maimonides-His-Life-and-Works.htm
In this area, Maimonides was more than a trailblazer; to this very day the Mishneh Torah remains the only work of this scope. No other work – authored beforehand or afterwards – covers the entire corpus of Jewish law. (Even the commentaries on Jewish law authored before Maimonides omit the laws that were not germane at the time.)
Maimonides also placed great emphasis on making his works available and understandable to all Jews, scholars and laymen alike. He also omitted sources, for brevity's sake, though later scholars compiled sources for every statement in the Mishneh Torah. Because of his unique style and clarity, he became known as "The Golden Tongue."
Since Maimonides, many subsequent scholars have analyzed every word and even letter in his volumes. They discuss at length why Maimonides chose to include certain laws, wrote one law before another, and why he chose to include laws in one volume but not the other. Some have speculated that the body of commentary on Maimonides' volumes could reach the same quantity as Talmudic commentary.
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