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is anything reallly...unfair?

I was in a carpool the other day when one of my passengers mentioned something to me

"Michael, you are so incredibly intelligent, yet you have the worse command on the english language".  This should be an utterly devastating comment, but I believe it would've been much worse if I was an academic failure.  I'm not sure why I link it to academia but I do.  If I was an academic failure than I would feel like a nobody in this world since I'd expect that my intellect was nothing but a bowl of mush.  

Although I've spent a lot of time telling people to respect themselves and not to care about the expectations of society.  It's inevitable that we will be effected by societal judgements.  The real question is, is it fair and does it really matter?  

And I don't think either of those questions can be answered with a yes or no.  If I say it's unfair for someone to judge me based on their own standards since they never walked in my developmental shoes, than I'm simply disregarding another part of who I am; a believer in G-d.  I can't call myself a victim, since the most catastrophic victims who are considered righteous amongst the generation were (more often than not) symbolic and literal martyrs.  Why does it make them not a victim?  Because although no one can rationalize calamity of any proportion and think they know exactly what they are talking about...but if we truly believe in G-d, than what comes to us is something we must learn from and understand its implications.

Nothing is coincidental, nothing is meaningless, and nothing but nothing is...un-fair

However, that's easy for me to say in he comfort of my own home.  It makes me think only one thing...how much more meaning I should put into my prayer to G-d...so I will have the STRENGTH to understand the meaning behind all of life's challenges.  

That's....the key

The Jewish Law of gambling

This site will have tons of stuff, but to start, I'm going to include some Judaic laws I learned in "contemporry halacha (law)"  a couple years ago.  It's valuable information and I don't want to be the only one who doesn't know it.  

You truly so the empirical greatness of Torah when you learn something in the historical chronological context and derive the sources from centuries of richness and true understanding of the meaning of our holy text.

Here it is!!!

This is from Rav Hirsch in Yeshiva University, my notes from his lecture

If any words are mispelled or misunderstood, feel free to comment!

thanks!

and feel free to correct! thanks!

Rav Hirsch

We know the ראשונים discuss the terrible effects that gambling has on people.   תשובות הראש writes that people were thrown out of חברה קדישה.  The זכרון יהודה:  There was a husband who abused his wife because of gambling, and calamities with kids.  פחד יצחק in Kramona in 1576 was Terrible plague and rabbis killed and prophets said they were killed, all about gambling.  the תשובות הראש:  he didn't wanna divorce her or live with the woman, all because מתקק בקוביה.  In ספר חסידים:  it is אסור to have רחמנות on someone who gambles and it even might be permitted to embarrass one who does.  And it might be permitted to embarrass one.  ספר רשבייא:  one who gambles certain amount of money cannot take him to a בייד because he is considered a גזלן.  In תנייך the notion of games.  In תהילים פרק כו כז:  gamblers cover with their right hand and defraud each other.  יעקב told the מלאך: what are u a קוב ביוסדות which רשיי explains as a gambler because they need to hide from people since they owe money.  בייב on צב that selling an עבד כנעני and he turns out to be a מתקק בקוביה we don't consider it a it a מכירה טעות and they are gamblers.  We don't (מרדכי) tell them to take נדרים because they are a part of an addictive behavior and cannot be trusted.

The notion of מתקק בקוביה is mentioned in סנהדרין where it mentions people who are פסול עדות are only דרבנן:  he takes out עבדים.  Pigeon racers (מייק) are one of them.  One type of רשע who is פסול is חמס (a gambler).  You are פסול for even עדות אשות.  One פסול דרבנן is only from the time the בייד is מכרית you.  Depends at what time do you become פסול and are you acceptable in accordance to the category of מתה בעל.  

אסמכתה:  Definition of תוס is when you make a מעשה קנין: need the דעת מקנה and דעת קונה:  you do מעשה קנין על תנאי where you think that the condition will never be realized.  When a person made a bet and never came to the realization i would lose I will lose my money, the person who takes the money is a גזלן.  

The question is if that's the case, why are you a גזלן only מדרבן and not מן התורה.  When you are a גזלן you are a pickpocket.  When he is stealing out of gambling he is a פסול דרבנן.  Meaning the מח of בייב speaking of אסמכתה with רי יוסי רי יהודה that if you hold אסמכתה and you take my money than you are a גזלן דרבנן.  

If you add interest for a due date, where רי יהודה says it is לא קניה because the guy who owes it doesn't anticipate paying the interest, not like רי יוסי.  A גזלן דרבנן.  

Anything done בדרך כנס is not רבית (the פרי מגש while the רשבייא argues).  

However it is important to note there is a מרדכי in בייק in סימן מייו who quotes ריינ that an אסמכתה is קניה מן התורה but there is דרבנן whether the אסמכתה is מפקיע the קנין.  What's the different with קניה דרבנן or דאו:  

Ex:  The רמייא on צדקה:  if you win a lottery and promise to give a 100 dollars to yeshiva and then you decide you want to give 10, you must give 100, unlike תוס who says there is no exception to לא קניה everwhere.  

Another ניימ with a גוי owing me money in the means of אסמכתה:  If לא קניה it doesn't make a difference if a YId of a boy- owes nothing.  But if it is מדרבנן קניה then there is what to owe.  

It is very clear that these ניימ are critical.  

We should note that the ג on כייה that רי יהושע צרפון where there are two guys sitting on a bench and they are arguing who it is and one said if I am wrong I am a נזיר.  And he says he can't because he has to do it whole heartedly and it's not a good אסמכתה.  The קרן אורים in נזיר asks that you see from here is a גזירת הכתוב so how can ריינתנאל says אסמכתה קניה מן התורה while it says בפירוש אסמכתה לא קניה.  

תוס points out פשט how does ג know to extend the אסמכתה from נזירות to ממנות.  so it seems to be that we extend it to ממנות on a level דרבנן.  And that is exactly what would answer the קרן אורה's קשה.  We extend it on a דרבנן to be מפקיע.  

רי ששת argues that gambling is not an א.  Why not.  מח תוס: when there is a reciprocal obligation than you don't have an א.  Therefore when you gamble it is not called an א.  

the מרדכי :  According to רמי בר חמה is the gambling which is an א is only בחכמה a game of skill where for sure you will win and not have דעת to lose.  But if you assume like first approach in ג where it is only a game of skill, then you had no דעת מקנה.  

ריששת:  argues whenever there is reciprocal התחייבות no א.  Just like when two people get married they never thought they would pay by g-d forbid a divorce, but they have to pay because it is (if divorced) an א.  While רשיי says you don't know if you win at all and therefore when you lose it won't be a surprise so it's not an א.  

What's the reason not to gamble.  One who gambles wastes his time, and doesn't function according to society and it not trustworthy.  

The ג says what's the ניימ.  If the problem of gambling is because he doesn't hold a job than what if he holds a job, than he is כשר עדות.  

One problem is that it is גזל.  Then רשיי תוס why it's not a problem.  But why a problem is because he doesn't contribute to society.  If a guy never wins and always loses, it is good to be a loser if you hold that מהלאך.  

The סמייא says in שולחן עורך even if the guy works up to a פרוטה's worth:  in סימן שיייע סייף קטן ג: and appreciates a job and hard work- then he is מקפיע from אין עוסק בישיבו  של ....

רמבם:  completely different approach and different גירסה in out ג:  If you obligate yourself with money (wake up and say you owe somebody money), you can't sell with words you need a קנין but you can מתחייב with words.