Thinking Talmudist Podcast · Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe

00:00 - Intro (Announcement)
You are listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of Torch in Houston, Texas. This is the Thinking Talmudist Podcast.

00:13 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
Here we go. Welcome back everybody, welcome back to the Thinking Talmudist. We are on 13b in Tractate Eruvin and the reason we're going to be learning this Talmud together is because our prayer podcast this week discussed a very interesting and important conversation about why in our blessings, in our morning blessings, we give the negative. Thank you, hashem for not making me a Gentile. Thank you, hashem for not making me a Gentile. Thank you, hashem for not making me a servant. Thank you, hashem for not making me a woman. And the Talmud goes and discusses this. It was a two year long argument between the house of Shammai and the house of Hillel about this and I thought it would be very important for us to discuss it and know what's really going on. But before we get to that piece of Talmud, I think we need to see a piece of Talmud before this which is so incredibly important, and that is again. We're on the top of 13b in Tractate Eruvin. This Talmud is now talking about Rav Meir. Amar of Acha, barchanina of Acha, the son of Hanina, said the following it is revealed and known before him, meaning referring to Hashem, who spoke and the world came into being. It's a very beautiful term used when we talk about Hashem, creator of heaven and earth. How did Hashem create the world? With ten utterances, hashem spoke and the world came into being. Okay, so that's. By the way, if you want to know the secrets of Kabbalah, you don't have to pay membership fee to the Kabbalah Center. You got it all here for free and that is that, the entire world. You got it all here for free, and that is that the entire world. The entire world is constructed of a combination of letters, which is why the names of Hashem are not pronounced in their written form. We say Hashem to say the name, but we don't actually read out the name, because those names have powers and they have a force behind them that is potentially damaging and hurtful. The world was created through utterances, certain combination of letters that led, if you want to know Kabbalah Kabbalah is those combination of letters and understanding the secrets of the letters of the Alephbet.

02:49
When I was walking with my grandfather many, many years ago this is now over 33 years ago, 34 years ago, maybe 35 years ago I was walking with my grandfather on Shabbos to my brother's bar mitzvah celebration. So we had in shul, we had the aliyah, and then we were walking to where the kiddush was going to be where the celebration was going to be, and we were walking. I was walking with my grandfather and I asked my grandfather who is your rabbi? My grandfather was at the time, I believe, almost 80 years old, was, at the time, I believe, almost 80 years old. His rabbi at the time was a very, very great Torah scholar who was at least 15 years younger than him. So I really asked the question. I knew the answer for. I said who's your rabbi? See, he tells me who his rabbi was. So I said to him he's your rabbi. I said you're much older than him. He said, yeah, but he taught me my Aleph Beis what, aleph Beis? You know how to read.

03:56
My grandfather was already a prolific writer. He wrote and authored many, many books. He was an incredible lecturer, an incredible scholar in his own right. What are you talking about that? This rabbi taught you your Aleph Beis. What did he teach you, aleph Beis? He taught you the letters of the Aleph Beis. They just tell us that Kabbalah is all the wisdom of the letters of the Aleph Beis, all of wisdom in Judaism, all of the secrets and the hidden department of Jewish wisdom, the mysticism is in the letters of the Aleph Beth.

04:31
So this is just where, when the Talmud here is talking about, and Reb Acha, the son of Reb Hanina, is talking about the Almighty, what does he say? He says it is revealed before him who gave utterances, who made utterances and created the world with them, so that God, creator of heaven and earth, knows that there is none in the generation of Rebbe Meir like him. There's no one as great as Rebbe Meir. So why then did they not fix the halacha in accordance with his view? If Rebbe Meir was so great, all the halachas should follow him. Why? Because his colleagues could not fathom the depths of his reasoning. His reasoning was so incredibly deep, was so unreachable for the ordinary, the halacha didn't follow him. The gemara then says so he would say on something which was, was impure, he would say that it was pure or something that was, and make it seem plausible. And he would assert that something that was pure was impure and he'd make it seem plausible. So people were totally confused by his rulings. Because he was able to.

06:27
And it's very interesting what the Talmud says here. Why? Because the Halacha says a very interesting thing. If you have a court and the entire court finds someone guilty, they're innocent. If everyone finds them innocent, they're guilty. What do you mean?

06:47
Unanimous decision? Unanimous decision in Jewish court means that nobody was able to be sensitive enough to see the other perspective. If nobody was on the other side, you had no opposition. He goes free. There's no unanimous decision, which I think is so important. We see in our Supreme Court very, very rare that you'll find in the Supreme Court a unanimous decision. We take unanimous as being like wow, it's overwhelming evidence. It's overwhelmingly supportive of one side.

07:24
But according to the Torah, that's a weak case. You need to be able to see the other side. And if you cannot see the other side, even a law student for two years who didn't graduate law school can understand this Right. So the Talmud here makes it very, very clear to us that because no one was able to see the other side of Rebbe Meir, that's a flaw in a way. You have to be able to see both sides of the coin.

08:04
Now we, prior to going live here on our interwebs with all of the social media networks and recording our class here on podcast, we had a very robust conversation about the hostage deal and obviously there are more than two sides to the story. It's not only the Palestinian, hamas terrorist side, there's also the Israeli side, and then you also have other sides. That and it's important when you have such a conversation, particularly, I think, with children. Children need to learn to be able to see things from the other perspective, not necessarily that they agree with them, not necessarily that they vote like them, but you have to be able to see the other perspective, which I think is the gift of the Talmud, because the Talmud teaches us to see another perspective. You have to be able to understand the other side before you have a conclusion.

09:03
Rebbe Meir would argue both sides of an issue convincingly, and his colleagues could not find flaws in his reasoning. Thus they realized that he was able to reason to depths that they could not fully comprehend. Consequently, they were unable to evaluate whether his final line of reasoning was correct or incorrect. He would give such a good argument. He was such a great lawyer. He'd be able to fight for both sides convincingly. So now, what are you going to do? It's a stalemate. What are you going to do?

09:39
Tana lo, rabbi Meir, shmo the Brasser taught his name was not actually Rabbi Meir, his name was actually Nehoroi. Why was his name Rabbi Meir Because he would make their eyes, the eyes of the sages, shine in the law. He would open up their eyes. He was meir, he would bring light, he would illuminate their perspective on Jewish law. The Bresson now continues. His name wasn't either Rabbi Nohoroi, but rather he was Rabbi Nehemiah Shmau. His name was really Rabbi Nehemiah, and similarly others would say Rabbi Nehemiah Shmo, his name was really Rabbi Nehemiah, and similarly others would say Rabbi Loza Ben Aroch Shmo, that his name was really Rabbi Loza Ben Aroch. Why was his name Nehori? Because he would light up the eyes of the sages. Nehori is the Aramaic of the name Meir, so his name wasn't Nehoroi, he wasn't Meir, but rather he was Reb Elozer ben Aroch, and some say he was actually Reb Nehemiah.

10:51
Omar Rebbi Hay, michadrono, michadrono, michadroy. Rebbi said the reason that I am sharper than my colleagues, rebbe said, and if I would have seen him from in front I would have been even sharper, because the verse tells us in Isaiah that your eyes should behold your teacher. You should see your teacher If you have an opportunity to listen to a class on a podcast or to look at a class on a YouTube video. The Talmud teaches us in the verse in Isaiah 30, verse 20, says you should see your teacher. It's better to see your teacher with your eyes, because that gives you greater wisdom. So now, because you learn things by the way you learn things, I'll give you an example.

12:06
I've asked thousands and thousands of questions to my rabbi. I'm talking, I have notes all the way dating back to 2006. I've been asking my rabbi almost weekly questions and I have meticulous notes of the questions and answers that he has given me. And I can guarantee you that many of those answers that I have, I would know so much more if I was able to see his face and not be talking over a telephone. Why? Because sometimes a question can come in and you give like this face. I'm like what Right, it's weird. Like you'll give the answer so you'll hear audibly, you'll hear the answer in its final version, but you weren't able to put a face with it, to see the cringe or the distaste or the admiration, the displeasure or the pleasure of the question. You're able to learn a lot by the facial cues that are given by your rabbi. That's right and this is something which is so important for us to understand that, although you may have gotten the literal answer to the question you've asked, but you're not getting the full understanding of their liking or disliking to the question. That's number one. But there's another piece here is that he says here that I am sharper than my colleagues because I sat behind him. But you just said later on that you would have been even sharper if you would have been in front of him. Well, the other students were in front of him, so what does it mean that you were behind him? So I don't think the Talmud here is telling us that he sat physically behind him, but rather he was able to understand the reasons behind his rulings, meaning I was able to look behind why he was saying certain things. Now, if you're able to see the front of his face, so you're able to get another perspective, that would add so much more. He says that part I missed out, on, that part I didn't have Okay. So this again, this is understanding.

14:23
A piece of Agadata, a piece of Agadic Talmud, is very different than plain Talmud. The Talmud says like this, you rule like this and you do like this and you do like that. When you learn Agadah, you have to understand that it's just a parable to a whole other story that's behind it Am have to understand that it's just a parable to a whole other story that's behind it Amar Rabi Avahu, amar Rabi Yochanan, rabi Avahu. Was said, in the name of Rabi Yochanan, talmid Hayalol Rabi Meir. Rabi Meir had a disciple and his name was Sumchus, that he would state that for every item of impurity. He would state that for every item of impurity he would give 48 reasons that it should be Tameh, 48 reasons why it should be Tameh that he would give for something which was ritually pure, he would give 48 reasons to back up his ruling.

15:26
Now I want to tell you something. The Gaon of Vilna, when he was a child, he was learning Talmud and our sages tell us of that generation that by the time he was nine years old finished the entire Talmud multiple times. He knew it by heart when he got into the commentaries of the Talmud. So there are abbreviations and one of the abbreviations are Kuf Kuf. Kuf, kuf is the two times the letter kuf and the correct translation to those that abbreviation is ktsas koshe. Anybody who learns talmud and learns the commentaries knows that kuf kuf means it's a little difficult, means it's not a big deal, it's a little difficult. But the little Gaon of Vilna thought that that meant v'kuf kushios, that there's a hundred questions to be asked about this. So the Gaon of Vilna came up with a hundred questions on what was going on here. But then someone told him and corrected him. He says no, no, no, it doesn't mean a hundred questions, it means that it's not so difficult, it's not so complicated, it means it's not something you need to be worried about. So he now had 100 questions on the docket. He needed to give 100 answers to those questions and he came up with 100 valid answers to the 100 questions that he came up with To understand the brilliance of the Gaon of Vilna that's why he was called the Gaon was a Gaon.

17:01
By the way, is the numerical value 60. 60, why? Because there are 60 books in the Talmud. It means someone who has Talmud on the palm of his hands, not physically, but understanding with such clarity the Talmud, and that's something we all aspire to, hopefully gain such a knowledge of the Talmud. So now the Talmud continues.

17:33
Tana the Bryce taught Talmud Vosik Hoya B'Yavne. There was a elderly Talmid, an elderly student in the academy of Yavne, someone who was very conscientious, someone who was very thoughtful, someone who was very understanding. That would purify a Sheretz, someone who was very understanding that would purify a sheretz which is a. A sheretz is an animal, it's a small creature, a creeping animal that is known to be impure, and he would have 150 reasons to purify such an animal. Omer Avino Ani Adon Va'atah Arenu Ravina said I will present an argument and declare the Sheretz ritually pure, meaning I will provide a reason that would argue in favor of this creepy crawler being Torah.

18:44
If a snake which kills and thereby proliferates Torah impurity is ritually pure, then a sheretz, which does not kill and thereby proliferates Tumah, should it not surely lack the capacity to convey Tumah upon its death? So what is that? Referring to? A poisonous snake kills humans and large animals, whose corpses then convey Tumah, resulting in many objects that are Tumah, that are Tameh. Nevertheless, the corpse of a snake does not convey Tumah as it is neither one of the eight Shrotsim, one of the eight creepy crawlers, nor one of the larger animals and therefore, because it does not constitute its corpse, does not constitute an impurity, but it kills. It's an aggressive animal.

19:44
A sheretz, a creepy crawler that does not kill, shouldn't either need to be Tame, and the Talmud rejects this, he rejects Ravina's argument and he says that's not the consideration that's used to decide whether something is pure or impure. But it is not so. The argument is flawed. Why, mishma seh kotz be'alma ka'avit? The snake performs the mere act of a thorn, just as the thorn can kill and proliferate Tumah, and yet it is not Tahar. It doesn't become pure because it doesn't make something Tameh, it doesn't make something impure. So, too, the snake does not produce any Tameh, any Tumah, it merely kills, and the Torah decrees that Tumah on the corpse of the thing that was killed.

20:41
Now again, a human, that is a human corpse, is the highest level of impurity. The Aviyavos HaTumah and anybody who comes into contact with that corpse needs to purify themselves. And they're impure. For seven days they can't eat from Truma. There's things that they can't do, which is why a Kohen doesn't deal with a corpse. A Kohen does not go into a cemetery. Right, kohen? We have an in-house resident Kohen and he would not do such a thing. He wouldn't go into a cemetery. Okay, so now we get to the meat of the Talmud. We're a little bit over time, but we got this. We got this. Okay, here we go.

21:24
Rebbe Abba said, in the name of Shmuel, omar, rebbe Abba Omar Shmuel. For three years, beishamai, the house of Shammai and the house of Hillel debated each other Halalu omrim halacha k'moseinu. These said that the halacha follows our view. V'halalu omrim halacha k'moseinu. And these said that the halacha follows our view. Each side insisted that their own view was correct. Yotza bas kol v'amra Eilu ve'eil. A heavenly voice came forth and declared these and those are both. Both views are the word of a living God. The halacha kabes hillel and the halacha the practice follows hillel.

22:13
Now let me ask you a question. If I'm having an argument with someone and we go to a third opinion and the third opinion says look, ron is right and you're right, but we follow Ron, does that make me wrong? That should make me wrong. Why are you telling me both sides are correct, but we follow Ron, but you're both correct anyway. You see, the problem is is that in our world we're living in a world where one side is right and one side is wrong, and that's not correct.

22:45
The Talmud here teaches us that you can both be correct, but that doesn't mean the halacha follows both sides. The halacha needs to follow one of them and there are criteria that tell us according to which opinion we follow, but it doesn't mean the other one is wrong. You're right also, but we don't follow your opinion. We need to understand this is something so fundamental. You can both be right, yet we follow one of the opinions. Again, you can both be right, yet we only follow one of the opinions. It doesn't make you wrong.

23:29
Let me give you an example. You can. I mean, there are thousands of examples that can be brought. Obviously, in Judaism, we have an everyday Judaism podcast. We have a class that meets every Sunday morning here at the Torch Center and we go through halacha. Now, what is halacha? Halacha is conclusion of the Talmud's discussion, of the Talmud's discussion, but every piece of Allah. We see that there are thousands upon thousands of laws, millions of laws in Judaism telling us exactly how to bow at the Amidah, which parts to bow in, how we begin a blessing, how we end a blessing. Just because we follow one opinion does not mean that the other opinion is wrong. The other opinion can be right, it's correct, but we don't follow the halacha like them, for a different reason, and this is something we need to understand.

24:34
I want to continue this, with God willing, next week we're going to continue. Continue from this piece of Talmud where we're going to discuss this further. It's important for us to know that you can have. What does it mean? They're both words of a living God. What type of terminology is that the word of a living God meaning? It's not dead conversation, it's not. God gave us a living Torah. You understand what a living Torah is.

25:06
It's very contrary to what many, many opinions in modern day Judaism, where you have rabbis who say, well, it's a modern world. The Torah wasn't written for today. So therefore the Torah is out of touch and therefore we allow this and we allow that. And therefore there are rabbis I don't know why they are called rabbis, but they are holding the title of rabbi where they say that it is permitted for one to eat pork. Now, these are not bona fide rabbis who are Torah scholars. These are not rabbis who have learned the Torah thoroughly, who understand how to learn Torah, but they have the title of rabbi and they say that, yeah, the only reason that we're not. They're giving reasons already to why the Torah says you're not allowed to eat pork. They're giving reasons that they know the reasons of the Torah, but they say the reason why the Torah said that you can't eat pork is because of trigonosis. But today, where they know how to keep animals clean, therefore that doesn't apply and you can eat it Really.

26:06
Is that the reason? Why does it say that in the Torah? Because it's unclean. Right, but if we clean it, we wash it down with a hose that's going to make it clean. Does unclean mean that? But if we clean it, we wash it down with a hose that's going to make it clean. Does unclean mean that? Trigonosis? That's what unclean means. But that's what happens when we're compromised in our Torah knowledge Is that we start making rules saying Torah's outdated.

26:39
The Torah doesn't know what's really going on in our modern day world. That's heresy. That's heresy. The Torah that was given 3,330 years ago is the same Torah that applies today and is relevant today. Why? Because the words of Hashem are living today as they were then. It's a living document. A living document doesn't mean that while it's ancient and they have no idea of what our generation is dealing with, a living document means that it applies today and is relevant today exactly the way it was relevant 3,300 years ago. So next week, god willing, we're going to continue this conversation of how two opposing opinions can both be correct, even though we only side with one of them. My dear friends have a marvelous, magnificent, beautiful Shabbos. I look forward to continuing our study next week.

27:38 - Intro (Announcement)
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