Q&A: Casuistry in Jewish Law
Casuistry in Jewish Law
Question
Hello Rabbi,
In several of your articles you pointed out the fact that the Mishnah and the Talmud are formulated in a casuistic way, and in the notes there you mentioned that that was not the place to elaborate on why this is so.
Could you expand on this, or direct me to a recommended article on the subject?
Thank you,
Answer
I don’t currently have a well-organized article in mind. I’ll explain it more fully in the trilogy. In general, it seems to me that this structure reflects a lack of confidence in the positivist method (top down), from rules to applications. That is the German method, which believes in the “science of law.” The Talmud follows the British approach, which puts more trust in cases and in the analogies drawn from them and to them. That gives an intuition that makes application possible in many other cases.