Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 exptools 1/6/84; site ihuxr.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!gamma!exodus!mhtsa!mh3bs!eagle!harpo!ihnp4!ihuxr!lew
From: lew@ihuxr.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: The World of the Talmud
Message-ID: <937@ihuxr.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 2-Mar-84 18:07:22 EST
Article-I.D.: ihuxr.937
Posted: Fri Mar  2 18:07:22 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 4-Mar-84 00:22:12 EST
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 49

My five year mission: to seek out and explore strange new worlds -
"Talmud's coming up on the screen now, Captain."

Anyway, I read THE WORLD OF THE TALMUD by whom, I forget. It's a
Hillel book, aimed at bringing Jewish college students (according
to the preface) in touch with their heritage. The book is very short,
and gives a general description and background, but very little of
the flavor of it. There is a heavy dose of blather about how wonderful
and meaningful etc. etc. it is. There is also an element of "protesting too
much" with regard to traditional criticisms of Rabbinical emphasis on
legalism. It was amusing for me, having no knowledge of the Talmud
whatsoever, to find the impressions I formed as I read suddenly be lambasted
as "errors which have persisted through centuries".

Actually, I did gain some appreciation for the significance of the
rules of observance. I can almost see how a person could "get into it".
I still draw back, though, from the concept of unquestioning obedience
to a code.  I find it rankling to read that repetitions in the Torah
cannot be thought of as redundant, since the Torah is the perfect Word of
God, and therefore meaningful interpretation must be sought. I'm downright
offended when the Torah is given supremacy of nature itself as the expression
of God.

In fact, I found myself wondering as I do in these case, whether those
who profess such beliefs really embrace them. For example, the author
at one point gave an anthropological description of monotheism as an
advance over polytheism.  How can one advance to this plane of discussion
and still claim to be bound by the concepts being subjected to this
humanistic interpretation?  Oh well ...

On the other hand, I was touched by one of the few excerpts given. This
had some Rabbis arguing over who was right on some point. One says,
"What if a sign appears to prove I'm right?", at which point the river
reverses course (or something like that). The other Rabbis respond,
"What does the water know of the Torah?". A voice even comes from
above proclaiming, "The Rabbi is right!" The others respond, "the Torah
is not in heaven."

Here we have the principle of displacement. By fixing on the Torah, the
Rabbis are steeled against all sorts of superstition. This excerpt also
shows a surprising freeness and informality of expression, which was stated
to be characteristic of the Talmud.

So, I'm ready to go along with the idea of the richness and wisdom
of Talmudic scholarship, and I have come a little closer to comprehending
how people can subject themselves to all those rules, but it's
still out of my sphere.

	Lew Mammel, Jr. ihnp4!ihuxr!lew