Bet Midrash and Divine Law (pages 18-19 in Course Reader) characters involved: Rabbi Eliezer ben [son of] Hyrcanus and Rabbi Joshua are the antagonists Rabbi Akiva is a student of Rabbi Eliezer Rabban Gamliel, who was the patriarch (the leader of the Jewish community in Palestine and the authority over all of the rabbis) 1. What is the important issue at dispute here between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua? (not the technical legal issue about the purity of the oven). Who wins the argument, and why? 2. What type of arguments does Rabbi Eliezer bring to support his view [is it actually an argument]? What type of argument does Rabbi Joshua, on his side, bring to support his view? Why does Rabbi Joshua’s argument win out? In order to answer these questions you need to pay attention to the biblical verses that Rabbi Joshua is quoting and how they’re interpreted: a. Deut. 30:11-14: “Surely, this Instruction which I [God] enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, ‘Whom among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Whom among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it.’ No, the thing is very close you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.” b. Ex. 23:2-3: “You shall neither side with the multitude to do wrong – you shall not give perverse testimony in a dispute so as to pervert it in favor of the multitude.” Commentary on this verse from the Jewish Study Bible: So as to pervert it in favor of the multitude: The ambiguity of the Hebrew permitted this to be constructed as a separate, positive command meaning, “follow the majority” in determining the law. As a jurisprudential principle this meant that, in general, judicial rulings and legal questions are decided not simply by invoking the literal interpretation of the Torah nor by invoking new revelations, but by flexible interpretation (loose construction) of the Torah, based on the circumstances, as determined by a majority of competent sages. 3. Why does God say, “My sons have defeated me”? 4. Why do the rabbis excommunicate Rabbi Eliezer? (The rabbinic practice of excommunication is a kind of shunning that they inflicted on each other to indicate extreme disapproval. It included staying away physically from the person a distance of at least 4 cubits, which is about 6 feet). 5. What is the meaning of the powers that Rabbi Eliezer appears to have? Why does Rabban Gamliel cry out to God in that particular way when the boat is about to be swamped by the uge wave? |