Occam’s razor is a principle that says one should assume that the simplest answer is the best answer. An example: when man thought that the sun traveled around the earth we needed many explanations to how everything made sense and every question needed pages of theory and left many more questions than we started with. Then when the theory that the earth revolves around the sun came out it answered all questions at once and left very little not understood. In other words if one simple theory answers many questions at once and leaves few problems it probably is the correct answer.
This principle can be used to explain the way a person should lead their day. Meaning, if you want to have the perfect day you need a plan that lets you do the most with the least interference.
Parents complain that they are worried that their children are out too late and hope that they are not out doing “bad things”.
People always complain that they missed shacharis (morning prayers) or maariv (evening prayes) with a minyan (group of ten men) or woke up too late for zman shema (time of reading the shema).
I constantly hear my friends say “I’m tired and can’t concentrate on… because I was up late watching a movie”.
Many husbands say “I can not learn today because work burned me out I just want to watch TV”
I wish I could let all these people know that when Hashem asked us to pray, wake up on time, go to sleep on time, stay away from bad crowds, not look at certain things, and live our life in very specific ways He knew that only if we do all (613) of his commandments will we be able to accomplish the “perfect day” without any complaints.
Let’s go through the perfect (in a religious sense) Yids day and add up the points:
6:30 AM wake for 7 o’clock shacharis (prayed on time, with a minyan, wore Tifilin, said shema, answered amen and many more. That’s at least 5)
8:15 leaves for work (has time to eat therefore said at least to brachot (blessing on food) and interacted with wife and kids. That’s 4)
6:00 PM gets home eats supper with family not in front of TV (once more talking to wife and kids not starring at TV. That’s infinity (ask your wife))
7:30 leave to shul for maariv and learning with a chavrusa (study partner). (Also infinity because learning an a shul with a partner at night according to Rav Amnon Yitzchak is immeasurable)
9:30 return home, relax (not TV) till 10:30 bedtime. (Once again attention to wife, shema, full nights rest so you can do it again tomorrow and sleeps well because the feeling of accomplishment is calming)
The bad guy:
Wakes up on time to run out the door to work (0)
Comes home hungry plops in front of the TV (-1 per min it’s a sin to watch TV ask R Ovadia Yosef)
Sleeps late with a sense of emptiness because every body on TV has a scripted life (0, if you sleep late you wake up late and you start over on a bad foot tomorrow)
One rule, keep all the rules and everything will be perfect.
Monday, November 16, 2009
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cute but obvious
ReplyDeletethanks for writing again
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