Gd Sovereign: Bringer of Sickness or Health

It may seem that any given thing can happen, but it is not true!

It is always a good time to have hope, as G-d has the power to annihilate disease, as will be explained.

Gd desires unconditional love – first, from his people no matter what condition we are in - He wants us to accept that our condition is relative to how He feels about us and/or our ancestors. Diseases, like cancer, may be formidable, yet Gd sometimes allows them to be.

However, we know cancer is a disease, so there must be a cure!

If we take care to observe Torah, then we pass His heart honesty test. Once we love Gd and His people, it is only a matter of time before improvement.

A righteous soul learns that Hashem leads His loved ones to practice Torah - charity, study, not to boil a kid in the mother’s milk, etc. - these behaviors He loves!

Lastly, Hashem wants us to love all of His creation in its entirety. Everything of creation is thus an enactment of His will including creation’s unknown variables, as in physics like degrees of freewill and apparent decisions mixing with some of creation's apparent determinism.

Philanthropy - Should We Give Money to Charity? – Yes! - Every One of Us!

Even a pauper should give to charity.  The eminent capitalist philosopher Adam Smith believed that monetary systems would somehow be guided by an “invisible hand.”  According to Adam Smith, free market existence would essentially provide the same goodness for us that Gd provides.  He might as well have said that money is like God because the invisible hand, god which is money, has done away with the basic principle of religion; that it is necessary to give to charity.  Thus, Adam Smith believed that just given laissez faire capitalism, then charity would not be necessary.

From - http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/invisiblehand.asp - quoting from Adam Smith’s book "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations"

"Every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it ... He intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for society that it was no part of his intention. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good."

Adam Smith was wrong.  The monetary system of the world can be likened to the plumbing system of a vast building.  The belief that an invisible hand fixes all the plumbing isn’t true.  Real hands and active participation are required to fix both plumbing and monetary problems.  In order for the system to run, maintenance is often required.  The belief that laissez faire capitalism will take care of problems is akin to believing drains never clog.  We all know that in a given plumbing system, the drains can clog, so why would anyone conclude that the world’s monetary system isn’t similar?

Torah takes charity even further, suggesting that not only is His justice a part of this world, but that we are an extension of the hand of justice.  Ethics of Our Father's 3:13 (courtesy of www.chabad.org)

Rabbi Akiva would say: Jesting and frivolity accustom a person to promiscuity. Tradition is a safety fence to Torah, tithing a safety fence to wealth, vows a safety fence for abstinence; a safety fence for wisdom is silence.

To one whom has been given wealth, charity is paramount to keeping it!  Hashem commands us to participate in justice, such as charity because He likes it when we imitate His just and upright ways (Deuteronomy 28:9).  God sees to it that justice occurs, but we should hope for betterment greater than that through participation in religious activities, such as charity.  It is 

Hashem’s will that we give to charity, and this is what is promised in return (from Ethics of Our Fathers 4:9):

“Rabbi Jonathan would say: Whoever fulfills the Torah in poverty, will ultimately fulfill it in wealth; and whoever neglects the Torah in wealth, will ultimately neglect it in poverty.”

MASS Health, ACA, charity, Science Funding, Talmud, NGO, Environment, Zerah, Esau, Freewill, Soul, Jews Have Torah

I come from MA. I know about Mass Health. This is a fact. If you apply for it through any other means than being in person, then whatever papers you have filled out for snail mail are tossed in the trash. Folks don't have the time for stuff like website applications even in my state, which is orders of magnitude smaller than the scale of trying to achieve socialized health care. A much better way to do this has been pointed out by Robert Reich, and that was to extend Medicare to include health for all. In addition, I believe that trying to insure the entire country will be a difficult if not impossible task, especially since it requires more bureaucracy than Mass health, and believe me, it is no easy walk in the park to get health care here. Many providers often complain that Mass Health doesn't pay them, even though it should. Really, the best way do do this would be Medicare and via separating the union with respect to health care as places like New England, Mid-Western, etc.

One thing that I don't get about ACA is why so many folks that comment also can pay out of pocket are more concerned about second tier Americans than third and underclass tiers? I myself pay out of pocket for my psychological care. I would guess anyone who trusts regular health care for psych would be nothing but a disaster, such that out of pocket psychiatrists that do not accept health care is the only way.

Conservatives often give to fund their priests, but that is all. Ever heard of a conservative give no an NGO (Non governmental organization) like Heiffer International? Probably not. I do admit though that the shoebox charity of Christian is quite good. I, myself, have done missionary work in the Dominican Republic doing things like pouring cement to build a hospital. Often I am very suspicious of Christian charities like the Salvation Army because really their assistance is often motivated by Jesus and is not humanistic. (This is probably more like what Christians are like in the Bible belt.  I have evidence that Christians are not like this where I live, Cape Cod)

I don't buy that. I live in Massachusetts, sometimes called the blue-est state. Far fewer people in my state go to church and still far fewer are zealous about their religion here. And, guess what, our water is clean and through legislating charity we have one of the most robust states in the union. Boston has weathered the financial storms of economic demise far better than many other USA cities.

One fact is, if you give many but not all people a sense that Zeus is watching the behavior of men, then, the majority of men will use belief in Zeus as a reason to behave, and they will behave just as well for Zeus as they will for Jesus.

There is ample evidence to suggest that Zeus was Zerah son of Judah, born by Tamar, and brother of Pharez.

If Jesus was the Messiah, then please explain to me why after his coming here life expectancies decreased. Also, that Jesus walked the earth reminds me of a silly old song my mom used to sing, "And, he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me that l am his own."

Thanks ... for not praying for me. When Christians say that to me (That they are gonna pray for me), I take it as a common passive aggressive cheap-shot.

Exactly, when Isaac blessed Jacob, he gave a lesser blessing to Esau. In the Bible Isaac represents justice. Thank you for at least trying to show some discretion over who and what you pray about. Indeed, you are trying not to caste pearls to swine (why it is written "before" beats me. Its almost like poor English, as if the pearls turn men into swine). It should be, don't caste pearls to swine, if you are concerned with parsimonious English.


Thank you for taking time to address this with me. I am not Christian. I believe that the religion of Judaism is correct though I am not a Jew, meaning I do not have Jewishness that one supposedly gains through ritual conversion.


First, let me address the issue of free will. I believe G@d knows us, and controls our destiny to a certain extent, but that we also control our own destiny because we have souls. These souls give us purpose, and individuality. Most Bible's include this in the creation account where G_d say, "And let them rule." "Let" separates our souls from being G-d's automatons. "Them" is plural indicating our individuality. To "Rule" over creation is the purpose of humanity. Also, several times in Torah we read that if we do good things, then eventually good things will happen to us, and that if we do bad things we will eventually fall from grace through the evil of G!d. A couple of time in the histories of the Jewish kings in Tanach G:d is called evil. In addition, G=d is the ruler over Satan, the Angel of Death, and so on. So, because we have souls we can choose to a certain extent how we are to live, and G$d may or may not punish or reward us, according to His perfect wisdom. Thus, as the rule of karma applies, if we do good, then eventually good things will happen to us, and if we do evil eventually G-d is probably going to multiply our afflictions.

I do agree with you that the Christian message is quite muddled. To believers, however, to be a Christian is secretly defined as doing what is morally upstanding, while shunning evil.

I do not have a good answer with respect to radioactive dating and the Bible. So far as I can conceive, there once was a time where humanity became nearly extinct due to an ice age, according to the fossil record. The entire world is thus thought to have been repopulated by 70 individuals, according to science. I believe that Noah's flood was actually due to global warming and thawing a glacier, and that the 70 individuals that scientists say repopulated the world, are the 70 nations of the Bible following the flood.

I believe that it is possible that we have miscalculated the age of the birth of Hebrew. There is ancient Hebrew (no vowels, only consonants), as our human ancestors probably could only speak with consonants (see The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins), and there is modern Hebrew, which of course has vowels. Modern Hebrew was created through isolating a child in Jewish culture, and deigning the words he came up as Hebrew. Please keep in mind that no one had spoken perhaps middle Hebrew or Ancient Hebrew for roughly 2,000 years before Modern Hebrew was created. Talmud and Torah through the Middle Ages etc were studied in the vernacular, but the Hebrew was only read, not spoken. This is one reason I believe Hebrew is very similar to old French according to Rashi, meaning that Rashi had adopted old French into a Hebrew creole. Rashi is best known for writing what is often called the most important commentary on the Torah.

Forgive me if I am in error in the delivery, but if I can remember correctly, reconciliation of the modern dating system science is possible through Torah. Observing the dates of the Bible, I was able to conclude that through taking Torah (non-Tanach {I think it was}) dates and connecting them with modern dates, I was able to come to an interesting conclusion with respect to the Hebrew word “Yom,” which can mean either day or age. This word “yom” is also used in the creation story, which is why some folks believe in the Day-Age Theory. At the time of the flood, G-d numbered Noah’s years, saying that man’s days are numbered 120. If you factor in Torah one of the years of a person’s life is actually 120 years of our time because of this verse, then we are accurately able to date the time of near human extinction in the fossil record in Torah. In addition, the fossil record contains 2 departures from Africa, one being that of Abraham, the other being that of the Israelites fleeing Pharaoh. Using this system, it is also possible to conclude that the Canaanites were the Neanderthals, and that for some of us our ancestors intermarried with them, as we have their DNA. There is definitely fossil record of Neanderthals in Israel, which is the land of Canaan. Additionally, I am fairly certain that while all know white people have Neanderthal DNA, it is the Jews that are Jewish via lineage that have the highest concentrations of Neanderthal DNA.

This raises an interesting question, which you, yourself, posed. Why the hell is everything with respect to the Bible so muddled, be it any religion, as though I like Judaism on paper, I still think people are people? For one, Paul and the Talmud are correct on one thing, that the Jews have Torah. However, that is not to state that the Jews fully comprehend Torah. That is, G-d gave the Torah to the Jews in a state, very similar to the way the Jews are now, and not all comprehend this Torah though many of the Jews wrestle with it in their life, and indeed some go on to become Rabbis and probably fewer become students of these Rabbis.

One conclusion is that each name of every person in Torah, or at least Genesis is actually a tribe, and not a single person.

I resent that about donating other people's money. i do give money to charity, and I am a charity case. The Bible says that the poor should not be so impoverished that they are unable to give back, and that describes my situation. There, in the play by play I did charitable a good deed by letting you know that. I used to be an electrochemist several years back, and having mental illness even I could see that I would cost tax payers less on SSI, not to be confused with SSDI, if I just take a check and stop doing science. Plenty is already known in science and people need to put that to use and not just publish paper after paper. The system is archaic. Science is supposed to be repeatable, but recorded written and moderated commentary on articles isn't done, especially since terabyte drives are commonly available. The Jews have been doing this since the Dark Ages through Talmud. Science isn't all that grand and it costs a lot of money, so I decided not to add to the problem, and see what I could do that might benefit people in the form of charity.

June 23, 2012: Alex Gets a CCBL T-Shirt and Wears It Proudly

For our family, and for so many families funds are limited.  I portioned out our money so that we would have $3 to donate for each upcoming game.  I know that it is less than the suggested donation, but June we had overspent, such that we could only afford $3 a game and then maybe some concessions.  This meant that we had to save in order to get Alex a Cape League t-shirt, which I might add: He is proudly wearing it now as we are listening to the Boston Red Sox on 96.3.  That is to get this one we had to break open the piggy bank.

Alex is a really good looking kid.  He is very social and very popular among folks in our town.  In that way, he makes for an excellent advertisement.  If people in the town of Sandwich see Alex wearing CCBL apparel or Bourne Braves apparel, then it is highly likely that they also might go to a game, even if it may not be the Bourne Braves themselves who gain more attendance.  For example, we know people that might attend a Falmouth or a Cotuit game as a result of this promotion.

Think of it this way, everything that you buy generally carries with it a label.  As someone using a product that has that label, you are representing that business, and hopefully trying to increase the amount of business or donations that business gets.

I, myself, have a CCBL t-shirt, and I often wear it specifically so that I might strike up a conversation that might make someone want to go to game.  In fact, that is exactly what happened the other day when I met someone in Buzzards Bay that when I said I was going to a Bourne Braves game.  The person I met mentioned that he might go see the Wareham Gatemen.  Often times most people that go to games donate $5 or more.  Just think, through representing the CCBL by wearing a t-shirt I helped proliferate the league.  Yes, possibly only $5 was made in this instance, but it is also possible that he went with a friend or friends that made donations and bought products, and may continue to do so in the future.  That is how the word is spread.  Before you know it $100 is made to support athletics.

Alex also has a Bourne Braves hat and it looks really good.  Whoever designed the hats for the Bourne Braves really deserves a compliment!  Alex was given his Bourne Braves hat when he was 3, as a gift.  He didn’t buy it himself.  However, this year, now that he is 4, I am trying to teach Alex the value of a dollar.  Meghan said that our friends the Broder’s where recently able to buy a shirt at a Braves game that was on clearance.  I was hoping for the same, seeing as how our funds were so limited.  However, breaking open the piggy bank, we have found we could give Alex enough to get a t-shirt 6/23/2012.

Unfortunately, the game was called when we were in the lead, and we hopefully we will win the makeup game scheduled for Monday at 6:00.

I have said it many times, and I’ll say it again.  In the Psalms, King David deplores those that accept free gifts, and while the CCBL is by donation only, to me what that really means is that we are on the honors system.  It is up to us to see that the CCBL can happen, such that I am grateful to all contributors, primarily because it is a great cause.  As I said, anytime one attends something such as a game, there should be some exchange of money, even if the game does not have vendors and there is no charge for attending.  Good people appreciate the honors system, but those that take advantage to free gifts usually end up finding out that they are not really in fact free, such that commerce is beneficial.

I was surprised that when we saw American Legion Post 188 at Doran Park there was no way to make a donation.  We had set aside $3, which isn’t much, but it is better than nothing.  The closest thing we made to a donation, where the drinks we brought with us, that I had purchased earlier on Friday 6/22/2012 for $0.20 a piece.  However, the drinks were bought specifically for the purpose of the game, and if you believe that one blessing begets another until it comes back to you, then by buying drinks for the game, we did something good!

Sometimes we have gone to games at the Henry T. Wing School, which has a concession stand.  For a few bucks you can buy a soda, some food, and help fund sports at grade school.  I am not sure if this is available at the high school.  As far as I remember, it wasn’t.  However, there is a new sports complex in the works, and hopefully buying concessions will be one way we can support athletics, whether it is at the grade school level on up through collegiate, and even the AAA level.

Charity: Make an Investment That Might Just Come Back to You

Though my dad invested some money in mutual funds for me while I was at college, not everyone can afford to play the stock market.  There are more ways of investing than stock, gold, and bond, etcetera, and one of those ways is putting some money in the charity box.  Really, no amount is too give, even a penny.  For example, if I remember correctly pennies are more expensive to make than dollars.  In fact, a penny costs more to make than the penny is currently worth, and though that is unfortunate, pennies have value.

Lately, I have been trying to teach my son about how to invest.  The type of investment I suggested that he make is via a charity box.

When one attends a Cape League game, he or she does not have to pay anything, but there is a suggested donation.  Yesterday, I got the money that I had set aside for donating to the team, the Bourne Braves, especially as a thank you for playing.  These are college players that technically aren’t receiving a check for playing ball.  It makes sense to invest in these players.  In fact, there are several Bourne Braves players on major league rosters according to this year’s booklet.  Donating a few pennies to this cause has the potential to have a return of millions of dollars.  Many of the players end up playing minor league ball after playing in the Cape League, where they serve as role models for our country which needs health role models.  Many of these players become Big Brothers.  By putting some money into the charity box, I know that if I give, it eventually comes back to me, such that I wanted the same for my son.

Before the game I scrounged up some change to give to my son Alex.  I told him that since he is a good boy and that I receive blessing from having him as a son, this was money that he had earned.  I gave him the money, and told him that he had the choice; he could either put the money in the charity box or keep it.  However, I did advise him to put the money in the charity box.  Though he was only 4yrs old, he was looking to put the money into the red bucket, but he couldn’t reach because he wasn’t tall enough.  So, I said to my son such that the people at the gate could hear, “Would you like to make a donation?”  Then, the bucket was lowered, such that he could put some money in, and at the same time possibly making money that may pay him dividends in some way.  He is well behaved, intelligent, good looking, and in so many ways he makes me proud to be a father, as I am typing this document on Father’s Day, such that he deserves to be able to make an investment.  I believe in Gd not money.  However, money is one way one can make an investment, especially if your ability to give is limited.  My belief in Gd causes me to believe that one investment is like any other investment, such that if one gives, then he or she may receive future dividends.

Secondly, I offered Alex another chance to give money today.  We don’t have a lot of money, but in my opinion, even if you can part with a penny and put it in a charity box, then you are making an investment.  I told him that I was going to McDonald’s Restaurant, and that Alex’s grandparents had given me some money for being a father.  I told Alex, that some of this money was his, and that he had earned it simply by being my son.  I told him that I was going to give some money to charity at McDonald’s when I bought a soda, and that if he wanted I could put $0.50 in the charity box for him if he wanted me to.  He seemed to think that that was a good idea, telling me that he wanted for me to donate the money instead of keeping it for himself.  Again, since at this time he is only 4yrs old, I advised him as a parent that this is a good idea.

In addition, another way that Alex can benefit is through me writing this blog, and that through Alex, I might be able to help people remember to give to charity if they can, or at least help people that might read this through explaining that giving to charity if often in one’s best interest.