How the sages put their faith in creative argument

The Snake at the Mouth of the Cave

STUDENTS OF Talmud often skip over the aggadic (non-legal) sections. But as Moshe Sokol demonstrates in this illuminating book, these are often rich in meaning and ripe for philosophical investigation. Sokol takes key talmudic characters, piecing together aspects of their lives and ideas from different places within rabbinic literature, to bring out some core themes. In this way, he illustrates the profundity of rabbinic thought, which uses narrative and symbolism to make its points, rather than philosophical analysis.

In one famous talmudic story, Rabbi Eliezer relies on several miracles and a heavenly voice declaring him to be correct in a debate about the ritual purity of a clay oven (the “oven of akhnai”). The rabbis were unmoved by such pyrotechnics declaring that “Torah is not in heaven”. That is, practical halachah is for the rabbis to decide by majority not for heaven to dictate. Rabbi Eliezer loses the argument and is excommunicated from the community of scholars.

Sokol looks beyond the (misplaced) tendency to view this story as favouring human autonomy over objective truth to link it to Rabbi Eliezer’s life and a wider debate about halachic creativity.

From other sources, we know that Rabbi Eliezer’s landowning father expected his son to become a farmer, but Rabbi Eliezer embraced the life of a scholar, identifying himself with the approach of Shammai, whose focus was received tradition, over Hillel’s more interpretive methodology. Rabbi Eliezer’s stand in the oven debate was shaped by his approach to halachah generally.

Hegel, the philosopher, saw the clash of opposing sides in an argument as tragic because each side can only establish its correctness by negating the other. Sokol argues that this tragic element is lacking from rabbinic argument, like the one here, because neither side completely negates the other. Rabbi Eliezer does not resist his excommunication and Rabbi Akiva, his prized student, visits him on his deathbed and eulogises him. Each side recognises something of value in the other.

Sokol brings his sharp insight to bear on several other rabbinic characters, each time laying out the primary sources in Hebrew and English, and then exploring their meaning and connection. This is an enjoyable read and relevant to understanding both ancient debates and modern discourse.