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#Post#: 3--------------------------------------------------
Kuzari and Iggeret HaRamban
DIR By: mrsgold
Date: December 11, 2012, 2:21 pm
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What are some similarities you can find between the way the
Rabbi in The Kuzari describes an "Ideal Jew" to the advice the
Ramban gives to his son?
What does this teach you for your life?
#Post#: 9--------------------------------------------------
Re: Kuzari and Iggeret HaRamban
DIR By: riversong
Date: December 14, 2012, 11:04 am
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they both talk about being nice to other people, and how you
shouldn't be isolated, be a community person, be active in the
society, but i wonder, what if you like being alone, what if
your anti-social, or not anti-social but, draw your strength
sort-of from being alone? what do you do then to be the 'ideal
jew'?
#Post#: 12--------------------------------------------------
Re: Kuzari and Iggeret HaRamban
DIR By: TheOnlyMrsEfron
Date: December 14, 2012, 1:17 pm
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Well, Riversong, i think that if you like being alone that's
fine but you shouldn't isolate yourself in your house because it
is unhealthy to not experience the outside and different sense.
It is very hard to get your strength from being alone you need
to be with people and do things. To be the 'Ideal Jew' you need
to have many experiences to understand what it truly means to be
a good Jew. The Ramban told his son to be nice to people and
speak kindly to people and most importantly not to get angry. I
think when your cooped up in your house it is, not only, hard to
be the 'Ideal Jew' but is also very easy to get angry. You are
all alone so you get frustrated with little things and when you
eventually see people you will be very aggravated.
#Post#: 13--------------------------------------------------
Re: Kuzari and Iggeret HaRamban
DIR By: battmentthesky
Date: December 14, 2012, 3:58 pm
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Both Yehudah Ha'Levi (who wrote the Kuzari) and the Ramban say
that the "Ideal Jew" is someone who goes out in the world, and
works on being social and helping others rather than cooping
yourself up in a house all day learning Torah. In response to
you, riversong, everything is based on your capabilities. If you
are not the most social of people you should try to push
yourself to help people in your boundaries. I think the point
Yehudah Ha'Levi and Ramban were trying to prove is that we can
not just think that we're just going to stay back, learn Torah,
and not acknowledge and learn how to behave in the advancing
world around us. It is still important to learn the laws of the
Torah, but if you do not apply them to yourself and make the
world a better place, than you're not the "Ideal Jew".
#Post#: 21--------------------------------------------------
Re: Kuzari and Iggeret HaRamban
DIR By: Patrick5678
Date: December 15, 2012, 10:32 pm
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I think they are both similar mainly in one way: Both say that
the ideal Jew is someone who goes out in the world, doing
mitzvoth, and helping others. The Ideal Jew doesn't only care
about himself, his health, his life, his money, but he cares for
other people as well. He makes sure that every person who he can
help, he does. And he does spend time learning Torah, and
davening and such, but he still makes as much time as possible
for other people in the world who need the help. He acts as a
leader, but not just any kind of leader. Not a leader who says
he has more privileges because he is the leader, but one who
makes himself equal, or lesser to the people who is following
him. And he tries to make sure he is being a good role model,
not a bad one. This teaches us that we should always try out
hardest to make sure we don't act like we're worth more than
other people. Even if you are, try and act humble, not like a
person who feels more worthy than other people, because he may
have something they don't.
#Post#: 28--------------------------------------------------
Re: Kuzari and Iggeret HaRamban
DIR By: spongebob1234
Date: December 16, 2012, 6:31 pm
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Riversong I think there is nothing wrong with being an
anti-social person but it does not mean you need to be completly
exiled from society. The ideal Jew is about being a good person
and helping others while it might be easier to be an ideal Jew
if you were more of a social person theres nothing wrong with
being a little anti-social. Now to answer the question, I think
in Iggeret HaRamban The Ramban is basically describing the ideal
Jew to his son but in a little more detail. Ramban is giving his
son all the instructions to become a kind and caring person
along with being the ideal Jew.
#Post#: 59--------------------------------------------------
Re: Kuzari and Iggeret HaRamban
DIR By: bob21
Date: December 18, 2012, 5:47 pm
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The advice that Rambam gives to his son is saying how to be an
ideal Jew. He's saying to be an ideal Jew you have to not be
angry, be humble,and to be happy what you have. and the Rambam
whats his son to be an ideal Jew and Kuzari tells us that an
ideal jew is nice and NOT SEPARATED FROM OTHER PEOPLE, and
simular things the Rambam says to his son in the letter. :)
#Post#: 71--------------------------------------------------
Re: Kuzari and Iggeret HaRamban
DIR By: louisbiebs15
Date: December 20, 2012, 7:45 pm
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i am sorry riversong but i am also have to agree with many other
people and say that yes people might find peace in being
anti-social but nobody would be perfectly happy being away from
people forever. there are times when we all need to be around
others. being the ideal jew isnt all about davening to hashem
and being isloated from everybody else. it is also knowing your
strengths and weaknesses and knowing how lead other people. how
can you be the ideal jew when there is no way to test your
leadership skills when you isolate yourself from everybody else.
this relates to the ramban's letter to his son. he explained in
his letters what it mean to be slow to anger and to have
humilty. and again how could have ramban's son done that if he
isolated himself from everybody? the answer is he couldnt have.
in order to be the ideal jew you have to be able to adapt
yourself to other sucessfully.
#Post#: 77--------------------------------------------------
Re: Kuzari and Iggeret HaRamban
DIR By: AuspiciousWind
Date: December 20, 2012, 9:22 pm
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The rabbi's explanation of the ideal is similar to the advice
Ramban gave to his son because they both talk about how a person
can be good. The Ramban does this by saying to be slow to anger.
The rabbi in the Kuzari does this by saying what a ideal Jew is
and how they act. This teaches me many things like not to be
angry, to be humble, and to do my best. To answer riversong's
question the way I think of how a anti-social person would have
to be if he was happy with being alone is they would still have
all the other things that make the ideal Jew an ideal Jew.
#Post#: 82--------------------------------------------------
Re: Kuzari and Iggeret HaRamban
DIR By: cphs
Date: December 23, 2012, 5:15 pm
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In both the Kuzari and Ieegerrett HaRamban they both say that
you shouldn't be isalated and study Torah 24/7 :). They both
say that you should blance out being secular and Jewish :-\.
And not have too much of any ::).
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