Responses to some commentary I have offered online....

I am a physician and thus I view my job as one who fixes problems as well as one to challenge others.  When I entered medical school, our slogan was "accept the challange".  This is a very imporant slogan and one must accept challenges and thus become one who presents challenges.
I find that my commentaries are very challenging for many of my readers, especially those of a practicum of beliefs that are unswayable or built on the dogma or practicality of previous thinking or other experiences.  Thus, I found myself today at the end of a bitter finger from a fellow Jewish writer on a forum.

To his commentary which accused me of the following:
Hi. Reb Basket.
I'll phrase a response the only effective way I see.
If I were a baal tshuva (I really wish I were, I have A LOT to do t'shuva for), I'd put away my great mind, dump it's secular influence and knowledge in the nearest dump, and go to learn by a Rabbi. Of course a Rabbi you're choosing has to have recommendations, but after that one must follow him BLINDLY. We are commanded in the Torah לא תסור מן הדבר אשר יגידו לך, to follow our Torah leaders even if our arrogant selves see otherwise. That is the ONLY WAY to know a little of Torah, or to know what must / must not be done. To decide by yourself & act upon it, is foolishness. Nothing Jewish at all. Just because one 'feels pleased with himself' does not at all make it a fulfillment of the word of G-d.
A lot of things you wrote here are pure foolishness to one who knows a bit of Torah. Why am I pointing it out? To show you - one cannot do it alone. See where it got you.
I should really make a macha'a, a condemnation (if that's the right translation) for disparaging our holy Rabbis etc. Iv'e read your site too. You do that there too. Actually more so. You equate yourself to Tanaim (Shamai, Hillel), judicially deciding one's wrong here, right there... Rabbis rulings make problems, don't make sense etc. You solve your problems yourself with 'Jewish principles'. So to date you're the biggest expert in true knowledge of the word of G-d. Which one of our holy Tanaim (Malachim - angles of G-d) are right..
Seriously you must quickly find a competent qualified Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, willing to guide you at this stage, if you really want to be a Ba'al Tschuvah
I generally do not write so strongly or pointedly, your comment necessitates it. (If not for you, then for others)

To the above I have written the following entries on the discussion forum.
I am adding this to discuss the relevance of whether a Jew of little station in the Jewish community can offer intelligent and insightful ideas and thoughts regarding Torah and our Learning. I suggest that we can.


Thanks xxxx. I am curious what site you mention as I do have a few blogs, but I have not offered them here. But that said, I am confident that if HASHEM wanted me to be with a rabbi on a usual basis, he would have put me in a place where that is possible. I have not been confident in some of the rabbis I have met or know about to date, but that said, I am an avid reader of some of the rabbinic writings from art scroll and feldheim. That said, no one has offered me a response to my inquiry about why a woman might wish to cut all of her hair off and what significance i may or may not have. That said, I am a medical doctor and I do not feel that I can blindly follow any rabbi until I personally know that person and he personallly knows and works liberally with me on a matter. I do welcome such a relationship, but I will tell you that at the present time, that is a very unlikely relationship due to logistics and other matters. But that said, your points are with your clear leannings and I appreciate though do not agree wholehearted with a pure "the rabbi is the only way to God" approach. So thanks but I will keep letting my soul and workings be guided by A True Guide as I believe it is possible. If you take 2 steps towards HASHEM, he will take 5 or more towards you. So for a ba'al tschuvah, perhaps we have a slight advantage over the religious since birth since we had to really make a big decision and it is not always what one might think he would do given his current circumstances, family relations, occupational lifestyle and other things. Hashem is our Guide and I am quite sure that when it may become time for a special rabbi to be my partner and aide, that this relationship will exist. But until then, I must rely on my own intropection, intelligence, insight and hard work to get me to be a Jew who has merit, worth, diligence and hopefully if it be the will of my friends and our Creator, honor as well. Thanks.


Next entry:


Xxxx, while you may suggest that one of my low esteem and dare I say in your eyes it appears little merit would have no right to offer insight and thought of my own voice regarding the jewish thought and opinions of esteemed rabbis or others from the past, I argue that our place as Jews is indeed to think through issues and in fact, if we can make a logical and rational argument, present a case for or against a particular philosophy of previous interest and learning. That means if I wish to give my thoughs on the Hillel Shammai argument I am well in my rights to do so. Then one can either agree with me or disagree. To say that I have no right to discuss the orthodox views becuase I am either not a rabbi or because I am a simple Jew who was not orthodox from birth robs the universe of the contributions of any other person who does not meet your most stringent and "holy" criteria for being a Jew with an opinion. I may not be your rabbi and I can assure you that is not likely my life aspiration, but I am a Jew who is endowed with intellect and truly if you believe the Shemoni Esrai that you pray daily, we are given intellect to gain insight. Do you suggest that a simple jew can have no insight or have no position to discuss the issues that really are relevant to his or her life? I suggest that this is a fallacy of modern ultra orthodox thinking and that those who we are putting our trust in to make decisions as well as guide us are not always the true Guides of our Creator.
Just a thought. I expect you to vehemently disagree.

But that said, we pray for G-ds guidance. Baruch Hashem.

So I hope that being a physician, I am allowed some leeway in my thoughts and introspective dialogues and interests in my own religion.  I realize and anticipated that many of the more religiously based persons will take great objection with many of my comments here on this blog.  I personally hope that this blog will be of help to those who are not religious and wish to find their way to Jewish learning and observance.  I think I am a start.
But that said, I must say that much of our faith has been with much controversy over the years and thus I am certain that I will be no more or less what those of any Jewish leaning might be in terms of how we interface with the rest of our communities.

Be it the will of our Creator to guide all of us in our daily lives and help that we improve our own minds, souls and being.