The influence of Chazal’s moral tendencies and views on the shaping of Halacha
Hello,
In the Mishnah Tractate Sanhedrin, Chapter 4, 10 differences in judgment are explained in the laws of property and the laws of life, and in all 10 differences, the judgments are always harsher with the clear goal of avoiding and making it more difficult for the judges to issue a death sentence.
The question is whether these laws are the product of Chazal’s moral tendency towards the value of life, and therefore there are these laws that are the law regardless of the moral tendency and outlook – of course, the Gemara provides “proofs” for all these laws from the verses – but I’m a little afraid that the verses are a bit of a game, and in truth what gave rise to these laws is Chazal’s moral attitude, and therefore there are these laws even if there were no verses… but I’m not sure, that’s why I’m asking.
thanks
This question is relevant to many other laws, especially those taught in lectures. Specifically here, there is a general policy that is learned from “And they saved the congregation,” and this reflects the general halachic approach regarding the laws of life. But it is clear to me that the Sages did not play games with the verses to reach the desired result. Otherwise, it is just a game and they essentially do whatever they want (or think). If there is a law that is based on a sabbath, they know how to say it, and are not ashamed. When a source is cited (unless it is a reference), then the source has meaning. The sabbath accompanies the sermon, or directs us what to teach. For example, in the verse “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God,” the “thou” comes to include something. The sabbath says that scholars of Torah multiply. There is a trigger in the text and the sabbath directs us what to do with it. Sometimes it is the other way around, the sabbath directs us to look for a textual trigger for the sermon.
Yossi might be interested in the book by Del Moshe Halbertal
Interpretative Revolutions in the Making
which discusses exactly these issues
most of them from Tractate Sanhedrin
Leave a Reply
Please login or Register to submit your answer
