Rambling, Raving, and Ranting (actually, just Ranting. Well, also some Rambling. Like this headline, for instance. But no Raving. Definitely not.)

I don't think I've mentioned this, but I feel that these two items merit being written down: the first is that it is surprisingly warm, even though it's almost December; the second is that we have consecutive "In" Shabbats, meaning that we'll be at the yeshiva for 19 days in a row. Yikes!

Anyway, the Americans had another lecture with Rav Bigman last night. Though I didn't post last Tuesday, last meeting we discussed three perceptions of God in Judaism: the Biblical Approach, in which God is "given" human characteristics so as we can relate to Him; the Medieval Approach, in which thinkers like Maimonidies postulate that God is the force, the system that powers the universe; and what I call the Einstein Approach, in which God's spiritual emanations travel as rays until they become, in our world, physical matter (I think it's like Einstein saying that energy is matter. Or something like that. Right?). All are interesting, and neither are they mutually exclusive.
Anyway, while last week we discussed these three perceptions, last night we talked about the power of language, and how the original intent of the first person is lost as (a) he puts his abstract thoughts into concrete words, and (b) the listener translates those concrete words into his own unique understanding of those words. I believe it was Rav Kook who said that language is a paradox: placing our thoughts into words automatically dilutes the original meaning, but remaining silent (and not speaking at all) means that nothing is communicated at all. I thus suggested that the next discussion be conducted in absolute silence.

WARNING: The following rant regards sports. If you are uninterested in sports, I advise you to not read the rest of this particular post. It is not often that I write a lot about sports, but this just happened to catch my eye. You have been warned.

Another thing caught my eye last night, when I was looking at some stories on CNN.com. In the sports section, one link proudly proclaimed "Ten Keys to Defeating the Colts." I was utterly perplexed at this show of self assurance. After all, the NFL's Indianapolis Colts are currently a perfect 11-0, having managed to beat all their opponents, good and bad, blowouts and close calls alike. They have the best start in the NFL since Denver in 1998, and some cautiously say that they could be the second team to go undefeated ever (the other being the legendary '72 Dolphins). The Colts were winning against every NFL opponent, and yet some online journalist has the answer that has evaded NFL coaches and players for weeks? I had to check it out, and here's what I read:
1. Run, run, run
2. Rattle Peyton Manning
3. Stuff Edgerrin James
4. Attack Jason David
5. Strong special teams
6. Press Indy's receivers
7. Don't blitz
8. Win the turnover battle
9. Don't get into a shootout
10. Play smashmouth football
Now, to me, and probably to other football enthusiasts, this appears to be both utterly stupid and obvious. To beat any team, especially a good team, the other team has to play well both offensively and defensively; it needs to play smart football and physical football; it has to have a plan of attack and execute accordingly (it doesn't hurt if you get a little lucky sometimes, too). This article just reiterates that to win, you have to do things right. And against the Colts, doing all of this at one time is near impossible. My list of how to beat the Colts, the way they are playing right now, is something like this:
1. Bribe as many referees and league officials as possible
2. Pray Manning comes down sick
3. Hope James gets lost on the way to the game
4. Allow extra defenders on the field
And, most importantly but also most obviously,
5. Score more points than they do (I surely thought this would surely be No. 10 in the article)

Oh, the things people write somtimes, just for the sake of being published...