Q&A: I believe… “He knows their thoughts,” as it says, “He who fashions their hearts together, who understands all their deeds” — and did the author of Ketzot also believe this?
I believe… “He knows their thoughts,” as it says, “He who fashions their hearts together, who understands all their deeds” — and did the author of Ketzot also believe this?
Question
Ketzot, in the introduction, cites Derashot HaRan, discourse 7, which brings the Talmudic passage in HaSokher: there was a dispute in the heavenly academy about a case where a white patch preceded the white hair — that is impure; and if the white hair preceded the patch — that is pure. In a case of doubt, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: pure; and the heavenly academy said: impure. They said: who will decide? Rabbah bar Nachmani, for he is unparalleled in the laws of impurity of tents…
But is it really possible to have an argument after the Holy One, blessed be He, has already ruled?
The conclusion is: the Torah was given over to human understanding, and as human beings decide, so the Jewish law is determined — not necessarily according to the absolute truth, but according to what appears to human understanding [when people have seriously invested themselves in that topic] to be the truth; that is how the Jewish law is established.
[And in the heavenly academy there are righteous people who studied… but maybe they didn’t invest enough… whereas Rabbah bar Nachmani, may the memory of the righteous be a blessing, specialized and invested in that field, etc.]
My question is: the Holy One, blessed be He, knows a person’s thoughts and intentions, and certainly knows Rabbah bar Nachmani’s view on this topic. And if the Holy One, blessed be He, nevertheless ruled that it is pure, apparently He knows that this is Rabbah bar Nachmani’s opinion…
And doesn’t He know the principle that the Ran knows — that it depends on human decision? Presumably He does. And according to our faith, it also makes sense that He knows Rabbah bar Nachmani’s view. So then what dispute could there even be in the heavenly academy? And why would there be any need to turn to Rabbah bar Nachmani and ask him?
Answer
It was not for nothing that our sages said that one does not challenge a homiletical teaching. Do you really think this aggadah is describing something that actually happened? And even if it did, how exactly would we know about it? This is an aggadah that the sages created in order to teach us various lessons. So there is no point in questioning whether it is plausible. See Maimonides’ introduction to the chapter Helek about the three approaches to aggadot. Those who see all aggadot as factual descriptions belong to the camp of fools.