Michael el Chayil

I have an interesting demonstration of our inability to fully grasp infinity. Start with the set of all counting numbers, we'll call that A. So set A contains 1,2,3,4,.... Now we are going to make two new sets using A as a start and applying a rule. For the first new set, the rule is to take each element from A and square it; we'll call this set B. So B contains 1^2, 2^2, 3^2, 4^2 --> 1, 4, 9, 16, ...  Note well: for every number in A there is a corresponding number in B. For the other new set, we are going to filter elements from A. That is, we won't copy all the elements of A, we'll only copy the perfect squares. So: 1 from A gets copied to C 2 from A does *not* get copied to C 3 from A does *not* get copied to C 4 from A gets copied to C etc So C contains: 1, 4, 9, 16, ... Note well: Not every element in A has a corresponding element in C; we only copied some of them. A quite small fraction, actually, when you consider how perfect squares get more and more spre

The Torah forbids stealing. One who does steal needs to return the stolen goods (if they exist, their value otherwise) and, of course, do תשובה. How much more could there be to say about it? Yet, in the Choshen Mishpat section of the Shulchan Aruch, you will find a full 29 chapters -- from 348 to 376, inclusive -- on the topic. Let's get clarity on some of the basics. First, it is interesting to observe the organization of the Shulchan Aruch. The chapters immediately preceding 348 discuss withholding a worker's wages. Immediately after 376 begins a long section of dealing with damages. Stealing, in the system of halacha, stands between withholding wages (not quite stealing, but smells like it) and outright damage to another person's property. At its root, stealing means to have taken control over someone else's financial resources against their will. There are three ways that can happen. גניבה -- Take the money without the owner's knowledge. A cat burgl