Q&A: Mistakes in Torah Study
Mistakes in Torah Study
Question
Hello Rabbi,
When does Torah study that is based on a mistake stop being Torah study? There is the well-known saying of Shimon HaAmsuni that one receives reward both for the exposition and for recognizing the mistake.
If I studied Torah and made an error in my reasoning, did I still fulfill Torah study?
And if, in my view, my friend is talking nonsense but does not retract it, has he neglected Torah study? And what about “these and those are the words of the living God”?
Answer
Good question. I don’t have the tools to answer it. In the accepted view, there is no such boundary. Anyone who studies according to his understanding is engaged in Torah study (“Everything that a seasoned/young student will one day innovate was said to Moses at Sinai”). That sounds reasonable to me, because you can never know for sure whether you have hit upon the truth, and it is not reasonable that all the blessings over Torah study should always be of doubtful validity and perhaps in vain.
Why are you asking about the friend who does not retract? If he did retract, then it would be even clearer that earlier he was talking nonsense.
Shimon HaAmsuni says that one receives reward, but I’m not sure that this is reward for Torah study specifically (although he equates withdrawal with exposition, and this requires further analysis).
As for “these and those,” search here on the site. In my opinion, it is not pluralism (multiple truths) but tolerance (the possibility of legitimate mistakes).