Elu ve-Elu: Contradictions in the Oral Torah
Shavuot is the holiday which marks our receiving the Torah and we believe God gave two Torahs to us. He gave us the written Torah and the Oral Torah, the latter considered the authoritative interpretation of the written text. A very important question is if the Oral Torah is so authoritative why is the Talmud full of different opinions as to what the written Law is? The Talmud says about these opinions, “אלו ואלו דברי – Both these and these are the words of the living God.” Join Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman as he explores ways of understanding this enigmatic explanation to an age old question.
Elu ve-Elu: Contradictions in the Oral Torah: Elu ve-Elu: Contradictions in the Oral Torah
Hello Everyone,
When a person studies the Talmud for the first time she or he immediately encounters a swirling sea of opinions. Guilty or not guilty, forbidden or permitted , impure or pure; agreements in the Talmud are few and far between. Why is this so? Why are there so many opinions?
The Talmud itself wonders about this state of affairs and today we will study this important question ( which of course cannot be completely explored in one hour, but I hope to present the basic ideas).
Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman graduated from Yeshiva University in 1980 and the dental school of Columbia University in 1985. In 1989 he began studying and teaching at Yeshivat Hamivtar and now studies and teaches at Yeshivat Machanaim in Efrat. He has rabbinic ordination from Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg.