Haredim Urge Math Ban, Part 2: The Vilna Gaon Wrote A Book On Math

Ashkenazi haredim attacked the government again this week for trying to force them to teach their children foreign "Greek mathematics," thereby causing haredi children to learn less Jewish Torah. The attack is on the math itself, not just on teaching it. But Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kremer, the Gaon of Vilna – the 'patriarch' of much of the United Torah Judaism political party that published the anti-math ad – himself wrote a mathematics book. Here's the cover page…

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Comments

[Eliezer]

A second example of a REAL slow news day!

[Bartley Kulp]

If they do not like Euclid or geometry how are they supposed to be fitted for their hats and streimels?

[R. Wisler]

Ay'il Meshulash is an elementary and simplistic book on the most basic principles of Euclidean geometry. Its level of difficulty is surpassed by geometry textbooks used by public school sophomore high school students.

Copies of this book are available for download.

[Alter Kocker]

Institutional ignorance is unwarranted in this society. By promotion of this insanity, the Haredi leadership betrays its sole interest in maintenance of blind cult obedience. This is mind abuse. Haredism is a disease on the Jewish people and must be avoided. If they insist on this pathway, I say that they need to be relieved of their children and be de-programmed. What is next? Will they insist that their members commit suicide if they are required to assume a less-haredi lifestyle? Do they believe that all that surround them are spawn of the devil?

[DS]

Via @stavvmc — Let's not forget Ibn Ezra's Sefer Ha-Mispar

http://www.seforimonline.org/seforimdb/index.php?table_name=seforim_database&function=details&where_field=id&where_value=159

[David]

What is next?

Posted by: Alter Kocker | January 16, 2013 at 03:06 PM

I keep asking the same thing. How much more insane could they POSSIBLY get?

We know from experience that there will be another Charedi group that will try and outdo this insanity.

[Outcast Yid]

Old joke:

Mr. Smith goes to a psychiatrist. "My wife says I'm obsessed with sex. I agreed to see you so I can prove her wrong."

"OK," says the psychiatrist. "Let's try a little test."

The doc shows him a picture of a triangle. "What does this remind you of?" he asks.

"Sex", answers the patient.

He holds up a picture of a square. "And this?"

"Sex."

Next, he holds up a circle. "How about this?"

"Sex."

The doctor takes a deep breath, and says, "Mr. Smith, I'm afriad you're obsessed with sex."

Smith is outraged. "Obsessed with sex!? You're the one showing me all the dirty pictures!"

[ah-pee-chorus]

and when youre on the vilna gaons madreiga (spiritual level), you can study geometry too. until then, mishnayos and gemara only.

[Sarek]

Does it teach enough arithmetic so they can add up all the "begats" to determine the age of the earth to be 5773 years?

Or enough scientific knowledge to disprove carbon dating?

[Shlomo1]

Here's an early incomplete translation of the GRA's work http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ayil_Meshulash. It may be sophomore level but for the time and place it was level and in Hebrew it was probably quite valuable resource.

[Fleishike Kishke]

You don't need math. Just bring your government stipend (or paycheck if you are from the rare ones who get such a thing) and the gabbai will remove the tithe and give the rest back to you.

[gopjew]

orthodox also don't stfu about pi in the talmud

[danny]

(Apologies to Radiohead "Karma Police")

Frumma Police, arrest this Boucher
He studies math
He computes like Euclid
He's like a Greek Philosopher

Frumma Police, arrest this girl
Her lange sheitel is
Making me feel ill
And we have crashed her Hassanah

This is what you get
This is what you get
This is what you get when you go to school

Frumma Police
I've davened all I can
It's not enough
I've tfillened all I can
But we're still on state welfare

This is what you get
This is what you get
This is what you get when you join IDF

And for a minute there, Ich bin verklempt, Ich bin verklempt
And for a minute there, Ich bin verklempt, Ich bin verklempt...

[Sholom]

I was going to mention the Even Ezra, but I got beaten to it.

Also, the Ralbag. Look it up.

[Eli, what me messiah?]

Let's see...one protest, plus another protest... How many math protests does that equal?

[sums it up]

The haredim do not want their kids to learn that 1 + 1 = 2. They prefer them to think 1 + 1 = 3

[rebeljew]

We must oppose math. After all, it is only a theory, not a fact. Didn't the Torah itself name 69 people going down to Egypt, but it counted 70? That proves that one can hold math or Torah, but not both.

Also, the Torah says that Yaakov was in both Luz and Yerushalayim at the same time. Also, the aron kodesh was 2.5 amos, yet from wall to wall was 10 amos and from each wall to each edge of the aron was 5. Thus, the Torah tells us that this geometry theory is false.

If math is true, then we are the sum of parts like evil scientists say, but the Torah says that man is one being. Why do they teach this math nonsense in classrooms around our country? It has no logical basis since Euclid invented it out of whole cloth. Let those atheists who are merely numbers accept their heritage, and we who accept that G-d created us without numbers and math accept ours.

[Outcast Yid]

69 people going down. That's a good khap.

[chani]

until very recent times all sciences were very much respected by all Jewish scholars. Even then the Vilna Gaon was one of the most extreme in urging every learner to study all aspects of science. His pupils quoted him saying: "as much as a person lacks in knowledge of sciences, that makes him lack ten times (other source: a hundred times) over in understanding the Torah". there are many other similar things said by him in this aspect, printed by the people who heard it directly from him and from his pupils. Yet the Hareidim of today fight against it in his name!

[David]

Science! It's the work of the Devil!

[Better than you]

I gave several of these sefarim to students of mine to "open their minds"...; they loved it. I absolutely agree that it is imperative that every human being be math savvy. (It really helps in understanding finances...)

Jancsi:
How good are your calculation skills? All the time you waste on FM could have been better allocated to studying some math...

[S.]

Speaking of Ayil Meshulash (the Gaon's math book), a few years ago a new edition was published. It came with a haskamah from R. Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the rosh yeshiva of the Mir in Jerusalem.

I've posted about this sort of thing more than once, but here is one post

http://onthemainline.blogspot.com/2010/08/when-rabbis-approved-math-books.html