Q&A: Is Bava Batra Torah Study
Is Bava Batra Torah Study
Question
Most of monetary law (excluding Bava Kamma) is not brought with a source from the Torah, and it doesn’t seem like the Talmud is interested in that (there are almost no “from where are these words derived?”).
- What is the source of this part?
- What authority does it have?
If you’ve already written about this, I’d be happy for a reference.
Answer
Either I wrote about it or spoke about it. I no longer remember.
All the determinations in Bava Batra are interpretations of the laws of monetary matters and damages, and therefore even if they have no explicit source, this is Torah study. Just like “the burden of proof rests on the one who seeks to extract from another” or “the mouth that forbade is the mouth that permitted” is Torah study even though its source is logical reasoning. It interprets “Judge your fellow justly.”
As for the authority, that depends on which part you’re talking about. Regarding the laws of neighbors, the medieval authorities (Rishonim) disagreed whether it is Torah-level or rabbinic. But acquisitions and the like are certainly Torah-level.
Discussion on Answer
According to this, would medical studies also count as Torah study, since they are an interpretation of the commandment “guard yourselves carefully”?
No. An interpretation of the commandment “guard yourselves” means the parameters of the commandment itself. Medical studies are a factual infrastructure that enables us to implement the commandment. At most, these are preparations for a commandment. Exactly like the study of mathematics is not Torah study, even though it is used to calculate halakhic measures.
As a rule, facts are not Torah. Torah is norms. Facts are the infrastructure on top of which the norms are applied.
Thanks. If so, why are there medical instructions in Maimonides and also in the Talmud?
Why shouldn’t there be?
It should also be added that this is also an instance of fulfilling the acceptance of the Sanhedrin’s ruling (or its equivalent—accepted halakhic authority) in the area of “between one legal ruling and another.”