The prohibition of possession of smartphones and the authority of the elders of the generation

Even if, according to those rabbis, this is a complete law and not just a recommendation, my understanding is that no rabbi has the authority to determine anything. He can only express a halachic opinion as an expert. Therefore, if there is no prohibition on possessing such devices (and the truth is that there is not), no rabbinical invention can change this. Only the Sanhedrin can create new laws and we are obligated to it by the law “do not deviate.” The exception to this rule is the community rabbi, since the community has accepted his authority and leadership. Therefore, he has the authority to determine and guide, not just recommend. And even if you belong to a community whose rabbi forbids it, I still think that this is not a barrier. If you need it for a living or see it as important, then go for it. In cases of great necessity, the authority of a community rabbi should be permitted to be violated, without detracting from any other rabbinical prohibition. Especially since you probably did not participate in his ordination as rabbi of your community, but rather it was forced upon you. The rules of halakhah are always guidelines, not hard and fast rules, and this attitude towards rules can already be seen in the Talmud itself. Happy and sweet New Year —————————————————————————————— Non-extreme Haredi: I was very surprised to read your firm statement, “The truth is that there is no prohibition on possessing these devices.”
The issue is not to prohibit the device by prohibiting the hafza per se. Rather, any intelligent and experienced person (or one who learns from the experiences of others who examine the subject in depth) understands that there is a presumption of a complete offense here regarding “and you shall not turn aside” both in the sense of minut (cf. brachot) and in the original sense of pimping for a transgression (books). Isn’t it forbidden to possess minut books even if one does not look at them, or looks at them only in “clean” sections? I am sure that the issue of “Isn’t there a place where evil events will happen later!” has not escaped his attention. And at the very least, it would have been appropriate in your response to the judge to note that an unprotected device is certainly considered a pimp for its accessories, drugs, and the like. Since so many people have died from it, I wonder what you are relying on to determine that there is no prohibition? And if in matters of the body, the danger is worse than the prohibition, isn’t it in matters of eternal life that there is no need for rabbinical authority to prohibit the possession of such a device. And one more point to conclude, with your permission. Do we need rabbis with authority to prohibit a person from approaching someone who is sick with a contagious and dangerous disease (such as Ebola)? Isn’t the affirmative “and you were protected” sufficient? All that is required is an expert (a doctor, in this case) who testifies to the danger involved. And so on. —————————————————————————————— Rabbi: Hello. First, just a parenthetical note: for some reason there are quite a few statements that indicate that this is a real prohibition on hafza. And for good reason, because without prohibiting hafza, there is no prohibition here, as I will explain.
Secondly, Mr. Peshitah, there is a prohibition against using a non-kosher phone (although I am not knowledgeable, but I have experience). I do not see a significant problem with a non-kosher phone, and it is certainly impossible to understand the nonsense of text messaging, which has been turned by people who have never seen what it is, into a tool and a means of prohibition. What is the problem with text messaging? It is crazy hysteria. Therefore, stop talking about Ebola and other nonsense and ridiculous examples. Before banning those who own a non-kosher phone, ban all the people who ban people for owning a phone and other ultra-Orthodox perpetrators of violence and discrimination.
Third, see on the issue of Pesachim Ka (as well as in the well-known words of the Chach) the majority agreement among all the Rishonim that when there is a difference between the paths (even a small difference in length), consider it as a Darka Akhirina. This is not about rape or great necessity, as is well-known. Rather, they differ in how much difference there is in them (somewhat, or a little beyond). But with the phone and SMS, it seems simple to know that everyone is faded as if there is no Darka Akhirina, since SMS makes life very easy (even for others who are looking for you and are unable to make contact due to too much “kashrut”), and in general, the smartphone allows for many important things that are not even a bit forbidden, which a regular phone does not allow. And it is simply that such a difference is as if there is no Darka Akhirina. And indeed, the same is true for the books of the Minut and immodest books that you mentioned in your words.
Fourth, one must take into account what a person does not intend, since it is impossible and impossible for a person to intend, and this is the last thing, as explained in the Pesach there.
In short, this is simply nonsense for the sake of justice, that some activists managed to convince some rabbis who had never seen what it was about to prohibit it. Indeed, there is some degree of concern, as with many other things, but it does not justify this crazy hysteria in any way. This is the world and that is how it is run, and the Torah was not given to the ministering angels. Before the prohibition on non-kosher phones, I would have demanded that people live each one alone in caves so that they would not talk to the Lord, offend the Zedekiah, or violate the prohibitions of incest. But what? That this is the world and the Torah is supposed to function within it and not in its place. After that, driving in cars should be banned, because hundreds are killed and thousands are injured every year, and is that easy in your eyes? Except that the Torah was not given to the ministering angels, but to those who come to this world. And simple. —————————————————————————————— Non-extreme Haredi: In response to your response to my words, first, I find your harsh language and expressions of disdain towards rabbis who are at least as knowledgeable and responsible for all of Israel as you are, to be more indicative of you than of them. To be honest – you are creating a straw man named SMS and attacking the opposition to it. Under the guise of important uses of a smart phone – which can also be done on a well-protected phone!! – you want to allow a device that anyone who uses it will most likely access, willingly or unwillingly, obscene images and worse, and to read obscene and heretical words. Do you really not know how many families have been destroyed and how many tragedies have been caused by the use of such devices?? I find it hard to believe that you are that naive, or do you not feel enough responsibility towards those who decide to play “Russian roulette” with their spiritual lives and the lives of their families? I do not mean to attack, I only asked out of genuine bewilderment. Your answer, saturated with contempt for the rabbis and ridiculous examples such as “going back to the caves and the Stone Age” seem inappropriate to me, an intelligent and knowledgeable Jew like you. In my opinion, this type of demagogy is not included in the ability of the Sanhedrin sages to allow the creeper in the Book of Tastes. And out of nowhere, I return to my question – should people really not be separated from such a terrible spiritual danger (and this is backed up by tragic facts and alarming numbers) even without rabbinical authority? —————————————————————————————— Rabbi: As for what this indicates about me, everyone will judge for themselves. I suppose it is indeed correct to conclude things about a person from what he writes.

In my opinion, the destruction of families, to the extent that it actually occurs, is caused more by the prohibition and hysteria than by the actual possession of the device. After creating hysteria and fear of the impure devices, it is no wonder that conflicts arise in families on this basis. This is usually what happens with pointless prohibitions of this type. These prohibitions have destroyed and are destroying quite a few different families and societies, and I can only guess what the quantitative ratio is between those destroyed by the prohibition and those destroyed by the phone.

In my opinion, these restrictions and reservations create more problems than they solve. The restrictions on relationships between the sexes create a thousand times more problems, and this is backed up by numbers (regarding domestic abuse and sexual violence in Haredi society, and anyone who deals with this will tell you). But this is the accepted Haredi thinking, and I probably won’t convince you of this.
The Haredi policy builds and increases the problems instead of dealing with them, and every prohibition creates more problems, and then more prohibitions will be created. And all of this, of course, proves how dangerous the world is, and therefore the walls must be raised even higher. In engineering, this is called “positive feedback” which ultimately leads to an explosion. And then, of course, they will explain to us that the evil and stupid secularists are building a hospital under the bridge.

I also have a few quibbles about your reading comprehension. Here’s one of them: I didn’t write to go back to the caves and the Stone Age, but rather I gave an example that is not required of people (to live in caves in order not to risk severe prohibitions).
And while we’re on the subject, I don’t think I saw in your words any reference to the arguments I raised, both the examples of living in a cave and traveling in a car, and the issue of the latter. You prefer to focus on what is supposedly “obvious to everyone” and on the fictional numbers about Ebola “that everyone knows from their own experience.”

As mentioned, there is no terrible spiritual danger here, but a reasonable risk that must be dealt with like many other things. This is not Russian roulette or Ebola. These old wives’ tales about fictional numbers that no one has ever checked really do not impress me. I remember that Amnon Levy’s book about the Haredim begins with the fact that there is nothing minor about them. Everything is a catastrophe and a holocaust or immediate salvation. A stone from a wall will cry out against any nonsense, and old wives’ tales become verified facts. If for once the Haredim are honest and willing to check things in the light of day and then present numbers, perhaps we can talk about facts. In the meantime, these are mikveh stories, or worse: Yated Ne’eman stories.

I do not have much faith in the rabbis who are considered great in the Haredi world. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I have lost it. I assume that these are good people with good will, and some are also great religious leaders (although I usually do not appreciate their way of thinking very much), but unfortunately they do not know the world in which they live and are led to their decisions by small, self-interested businessmen who are looking for employment for them instead of studying in a kollel (which is quite boring for them). Due to a separate bus and other ridiculous inventions (this was still invented when I lived in Bnei Brak. Line 1 Mehadrin that everyone died laughing until it became a core belief against the will of the rabbis who signed the ban).
In the Haredi world, sitting on the throne of the Lord and determining policy for the public is considered a step up. For me, it’s a step down. In order to determine something for the public, you have to know it, and it’s not enough to know all the katsuvah by heart. Sometimes it’s even a hindrance. A rabbi who has never seen a sams cannot determine a prohibition on it. He simply doesn’t understand what shah is, and if he doesn’t understand that he doesn’t understand – it’s even worse.
By the way, this doesn’t mean that I don’t have faith in the sages. I certainly do (of course, moderately and to a reasonable extent). But it is faith in the sages, and the question of who the sages are who deserve this trust is the important question, and this is probably the crux of our argument.

And I will end by dismissing the hysterical attitude you have towards the SMS (as if there is no such thing). This is nothing but part of the usual Haredi propaganda by Haredi spokespeople who represent Haredi society to the outside world. I have had enough of this lie. What can I do, I know the situation well and know that this is indeed the attitude towards the SMS in its true form. It is worth knowing that telling the truth, even if it is unpleasant, is usually both more beneficial and more morally appropriate. There is no need to constantly represent and embellish, since in such a situation it is very difficult to correct what needs correction. —————————————————————————————— Non-extreme Haredi: It seems that what I wrote was deleted again due to the page refresh, so I’m writing again. If there is duplication in this, I apologize. I decided to add another reference to your response.
At the end of your words there is a claim that is logically unfounded, and in my opinion it is nothing more than a spiteful claim that is not appropriate for a person of your caliber. And I will explain my words – you write with sharp cynicism that before banning smartphones, cars should be banned because hundreds of people die using them every year, etc. To that I would say, “Fuck, let God do it!” Has the abysmal difference really disappeared from you? After all, it is not a ban on smartphones, but a ban on unprotected smartphones. As I already wrote, I have a smartphone protected by Nativ and it is not banned at all. On the contrary – it is recommended. For the example you gave to be appropriate, one needs to draw a reality in which there are two types of cars. Regular cars that cause many deaths, and protected cars in which there are no deaths (the intention is accidental. There is no regulation for the mischievous). In this hypothetical case, isn’t it clear that one doesn’t have to be a generational giant to ban the use of unprotected cars?? Your claim turns out to be unfounded not only for the aforementioned logical reason, but also because it exudes – at least to my nose – a distinct smell of mockery and contempt for arrogance. I believe that it is capable of casting aspersions on the level of objectivity of your judgment on the subject, and that is a shame. A simple and final example can illustrate this: a person needs professional information that he can find in a professional issue that does not contain any articles with heretical opinions (that he does not have enough knowledge and critical sense to notice their mistakes) and that does not contain any immodest pictures or worse. The second option is to find the article in a weekly magazine that is mostly devoted to stimulating passions and pleasures of a certain kind, and also contains scientific articles. As a rabbi in Israel, would you calmly rule that one should ignore, and even disdain, the ruling of rabbis that one is forbidden to read a leaflet of the first type, but only the second type?? – This is clearly an example that suits the subject, as opposed to moving to live in caves. —————————————————————————————— Rabbi: You’re evasive again, because for years they banned every smartphone, as well as text messaging, and the Internet (and radio). It’s possible that now there’s a new invention of a protected phone that they’ve allowed. I don’t follow all these innovations.
It is not true that one can always find professional information in a newsletter without heretical opinions or without pictures. This is again a distortion of reality. If it were possible – I would support this (at least regarding modesty. Not really regarding heresy, because in my opinion it is important to recognize other opinions, even those that are considered heretical, certainly when usually those who determine what is heretical and what is not – do not understand what chess is). —————————————————————————————— Non-extreme Haredi: Apparently, it’s not just love that spoils the line. You doubt my reading comprehension, since your example of returning to the caves was only Hawa Amina. But, as we know, Hawa Amina also has to stand the test of logic. But that’s not the main problem, in my opinion. In complete contrast to the thoroughness and accuracy reflected in your theoretical articles – in your last response, I was amazed to see your approach. You attack the Haredim with “grandmother’s tales and fictional books that no one has ever checked,” and you yourself write: “The restrictions on relations between the sexes create a thousand times more problems…” Maybe it’s only 12 times? Is that your area of ​​expertise? Or are you relying on rumors? At the end of my speech, I will present a letter (in English) from Rabbi Professor Avraham Twarsky – a great scholar and professor of clinical psychiatry who not only has one of the best professional authorities in the Haredi world in the US, but also a public figure who sits among his people and has treated hundreds of people for many years (this number has been verified) and also within the framework of an organization established in 2007 specifically to treat people who have been spiritually harmed as a result of exposure to the world of the Internet. You will be able to see data from a first-rate professional in the field, and not what you write: “In my opinion, the destruction of families, to the extent that it actually occurs, is caused more by the prohibition and hysteria than by the mere possession of the device…” What wise man will compare your personal opinion with the accumulated data. (I personally have met three families in recent years that were destroyed when the father, who was exposed and carried away by pornography on the Internet, abandoned his wife and children, broke the yoke of the mitzvot and left). I have not met or heard from professionals about a family that was destroyed because of the hysteria against the hacked Internet.
Throughout your entire response, you are led in the direction of “in my opinion and hypothesis… compared to the Haredi hysteria” without having a single piece of data or study to back up your perception that the prohibitions are the source of the problem, not the exposure to the content.
You did not address at all a very important point that I raised: Since there are protected phones that are accessible for technological needs while containing the danger to a reasonable extent, how is it that you do not agree to uphold “from what is good, let no evil happen”?!! After all, the holy sages abolished the commandment of blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah from all of Israel out of the fear – remote!! – that someone would blow a shofar in the Lord’s Supper. The right of the people of Israel to blow the shofar is not worthwhile if a Jew commits an offense. This is the extent of the responsibility of the sages for the offense of one person. And where in your approach is there any concern for those who commit terrible offenses? I believe that this is a question of fear of God and not of examining reality. I believe that the great men of the generation who fight against devices with the loophole of pornography and heresy are the ones who reveal the true responsibility for the souls of the people of Israel, and not those who equanimously propose taking risks because “this is life.”
A Jew named Kobi Levy, who is involved in publishing books and articles on the subject, is in contact with many elements in the Haredi community who are trying to save as many as possible, and in particular, he is personally involved in problems of the type I mentioned in hundreds of families. He has accurate data of names, addresses, and all the details. If you are equipped with a little love of truth – please contact him and ask him for solid and factual evidence of the extent of the problem. You will be able to see firsthand whether this is hysteria or facts. I feel that if you had come across a single family (and I am willing to give you a name and phone number) that was destroyed because of a child who had such a device and the terrible consequences for the family – you would not have written what you wrote. You would clearly see how incorrect the assumptions you constantly make are.
The fact that there is much to fix in the Haredi public does not make it the ridiculous public you portray.
But, I suppose that, as I wrote in the opening: it’s not just love that spoils the line, pride too.
I am quoting Rabbi Professor Twarsky and attaching his email address so that you can request verified numbers and an accurate factual description of the dimensions of the pandemic from him, and professional analyses from some of them who are not philosophers but first-rate professionals in the field:
Abraham_J._Twerski@mail.vresp.com

I believe that in our generation, the single greatest danger to Klal Yisrael is that of immorality. The plague of illicit material on the internet has affected the type of people we would never have suspected vulnerable: yeshiva bachurim, kollel yungeleit and shomrei mitzvos lemehadrin. The Satan has won a battle, hurting so many individuals and families.
But in every generation, Gd in his kindness, sends down someone to sustain Judaism such as the Baal Shem Tov with Chassidus, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter with the Mussar movement and the Chofetz Chaim with Shmiras Halashon. We are extremely fortunate that several dedicated people have developed a network to help Jews who are caught in this trap: GuardYourEyes.com . It’s one of my absolute favorite organizations and I have been involved with them in many ways since their founding (in 2007).
In my 40 years of psychiatric experience I can testify that traditional psychiatry and psychology are not effective on their own. GuardYourEyes provides a variety of anonymous tools, counseling and support for affected people, allowing thousands of Jews to get help. I get an average of five calls a week about this issue, and before GuardYourEyes was around I didn’t have anywhere to send people. Their success rate is phenomenal. I am personally aware of many, many people who have been saved.
The GuardYourEyes project is extremely important for Klal Yisrael today – it is truly a pikuach nefesh. Please open your hearts and give generously to help them continue their holy work. All of their services are free of charge and it’s a great mitzvah to support them. —————————————————————————————— Rabbi: Hello.
There are so many failures and oversights in your latest words, too, that my conclusion is that this discussion is leading nowhere.
A good signing for all of us. —————————————————————————————— Rabbi: I feel that my previous response seemed evasive. So I will explain my intention further, although I really do not intend to open a debate. So I will just mention a few of the failures here (and there are several more).
Before I explain, I will just make a general comment: Is the impermissibility of the testimony of such phone holders and their disqualification from all sorts of other things really halachically based, as you wrote? Not to mention their persecution in many other diverse forms. I will not return to the rest of your oversights that I have already commented on and the problems that this persecution itself causes.

And as for the “data” you brought here. The use of “experts” and “data” in these fields, especially those who report personal experience (such as “I saw three cases myself. I can get you a phone”) rather than systematic research, is notorious. I think that’s what alternative medicine is mainly built on (my grandmother had a miracle after the doctors gave up on her. That’s why in the case of colon cancer, Czech acupuncture should be done. Tried and tested).
This is why, in my lofty pride (after the line was spoiled), I cast great doubt on all of this. Such statements are more the result of prejudices and preconceptions than of data.
In general, it is very difficult to conduct research on such issues in general society, and in ultra-Orthodox society it is literally impossible. Such research, even if conducted, is biased from so many angles that it is ridiculous to even consider it quantitatively.
This is the reason I will not take advantage of your generous suggestions to examine the situation, as this requires lengthy research and because of what I will now explain, I have great doubt whether I will even be able to reach results. I will add that my trust in psychologists and psychology is quite small, even in more established fields, and I will report here.

Here are some comments that make it very difficult to examine data and decipher its meaning:
1. Have we examined how many of these cases are saved by banning non-kosher phones? Is it even possible to completely block people from contact with the world around us?
2. Have we examined how many problematic cases and what types are there as a result of this ban and the persecutions that followed? Incidentally, I personally know of several of them. But I do not pretend to cite data that I do not have because of some personal experiences.
3. Has the influence and contribution of the Haredi attitude itself to these results (the society that imposes taboos on them and demonizes them) been examined? What was the number of cases of destruction in a more open society? Due to the use of sperm for nothing and the ramifications. And due to conscription into the army, which, as is known, causes terrible secularization (and disqualifies them from witnessing and marriage), but for some reason this almost never happens among the students of the Rabbinical Center who enlist.
Allowing such impulses to catharsis also has a positive value. A complete ban could lead to these impulses venting in other, more harmful directions. Cases that professionals encounter every day, and according to some of them I spoke to, are much more common in Haredi society.
The opening up to psychology and a more orderly approach to these problems is also a change for the better in Haredi society. In my opinion, the concealment and ignoring also contribute to the formation of the problem. Not to mention the lack of press reporting and public discussion about all of this. There is only preaching and the use of unknown “data” and demonization that does not stand up to public scrutiny.
4. Have we examined how many of the people would have abandoned their family or their mitzvot even without the non-kosher phone? For some of them, did this take on problems that they had harbored before and were sublimated due to social pressure? After all, there are quite a few abandonments even without this. From time to time, it is worth admitting that our world is not perfect, even if it appeared ideal.

And yet, of course, there is room for impressions, and I do not intend to say that there is no point in the discussion. But it seems to me that there is a strong dependence on the basic assumptions and starting points of the debaters and less on the data. I will admit and not be ashamed that my starting point is that an open world is better than a closed world.
Here I will add that I do not know what is filtered on the kosher phone, but according to your testimony, it is also about heresy and other opinions and not just modesty. Therefore, it is clear to me, as it has always been clear to me, that this prohibition is much more related to the fear of the Haredi leadership that people will start thinking and hearing other opinions than to exposure to pornography and prohibitions. It has always been this way, even when I was still more informed about what was happening there. This is the main fear of the Internet, and abominations and pornography are only a tool of external propaganda and war (not that it does not exist, but in my opinion this is not the truly serious problem in the eyes of the Haredi leadership).
By the way, you could do a neat experiment on this. Offer the Haredi leadership two options: 1. A neat pornographic channel with no connection to the Internet. 2. A connection to the Internet hermetically filtered from pornography but not from opinions (even from rabbis, not to mention secularists and various heretics). What would they prefer? I have a suspicion, but as I said, I haven’t done any research.

As for spoiling the line and pride, I’ll try to think about it in a way that will benefit us. Thanks for the rebuke.
A good signing, may it be a year of correcting standards and correcting broken lines. —————————————————————————————— Non-extreme Haredi: I understand that professionals and facts and data from the field are your failures and oversights, and only your assumptions are true? Showing responsibility for people’s spiritual downfalls is your failures and oversights? Will the readers judge and see how far the concept of “I have my truth, don’t confuse me with facts” can go? And I ask myself: If a flame fell in the cedars…?
May you be signed and sealed in the book of life. —————————————————————————————— Rabbi: I wrote a response below before I received your comment. See there. May you be signed and sealed in the book of life. —————————————————————————————— Non-extreme Haredi: I saw your comment before I wrote it.
But – I believe you will not call Professor Twarsky to check facts. You will not call Kobi Levy to get addresses of families to check personally, you will not torment your conscience over a person who falls into the web of abomination as a result of the irresponsible surfing of a rabbi who instructs his listeners to have an unprotected phone, because the prohibition is more severe than the protection. I hope I am wrong about this, and I will be willing to apologize explicitly on this platform that I have wronged you.
Good signing to you too. —————————————————————————————— Non-extreme Haredi: I was going to withdraw from the dialogue (or monologue?), but what can I do? On the evening of Yom Kippur (the day after my last post), I received a sad phone call from a man in my neighborhood. His daughter (a graduate) was tempted to buy an iPhone, and the rest is known. You disdained the exposure of heresy and raised pointed questions, who determines what is heresy, etc. Can you imagine what a lecture on YouTube by a learned, impressive, and well-respected scientist does about the theory of evolution and the conclusions he draws from it regarding religion?! And especially among people (not necessarily religious) who mistakenly identify technological successes as evidence of the truth in science.
What to say to her father? A rabbi who has an opinion on almost everything (and I really admire the scope of your words in so many areas) ruled that rabbis should not be required to use protected smartphones. That the danger is not from exposure to these kinds of lectures but from the Haredi hysteria? I would be grateful if you would agree to ask me for the girl’s details, meet with her and help her reverse the dramatic steps she took in her life?
Or maybe I should tell her that she is part of the “open and progressive Jewish victimhood”?
As an aside, I would like to express my appreciation for the fact that you act honestly and also publish criticism of your words on the site, unlike “certain” sites.
Pitaka Taba. —————————————————————————————— Rabbi: Wrong. Tell him that she is part of the victims of closed Judaism that did not give her the tools to cope, thus sending her to perdition in the first, superficial meeting she had with other opinions and arguments.
Contrary to the Haredi assumption, openness solves these problems, not creates them. It has short-term costs, but in the long term there is no alternative. It is closure that creates these problems.
I have already written here about the mistake made during the Enlightenment period when young people were given the choice of being righteous (and foolish) or wise (and wicked). It is no wonder that many chose the second option. Harediism is repeating this even today, and its victims are enormous. I meet them every day.
There are no good answers to this, and you have to be honest. But people fall for simple arguments because they are not skilled and do not know. If you allowed the arguments to be heard and dealt with, the situation would be better (certainly in the long term. The gains from disclosure are only in the short term).

I would be happy to meet with her and try to clarify the questions. Give her or her father my phone number, 052-3320543.

By the way, the fact that people who have problems ask me about them (there are many of them) means that openness is what creates the possibility of dealing with these problems. I’m not saying that I have answers to all the questions, but I at least try to be honest. This is what people usually look for, more than slogan-based and dishonest answers or condemnation as heretics (which is the Haredi way of dealing with them that prevents questions from being raised). —————————————————————————————— Yogev: Can the rabbi explain the sentence “The rules of halakhah are always guidelines and not hard and fast rules”? —————————————————————————————— Rabbi: As he put it. There is a rule that the Abiys ruled in the Ya’al Kagam, but the Rishonim rule similarly on other issues. There is a rule that is a mitzvah that time has made women exempt, but there are several exceptions. There are rulings of the Kavash against the Bat Kol. And so on. The entire Talmud expresses a view that disdains rules and sees them at most as a guiding framework and not as binding instructions. That is why they do not deal with rules that much. It is like the rules of language, each of which has many exceptions, because the rules are an approximation and not a rigid and rigid rule. The same is true of the rules of halakha. They did not come down from Sinai but were created as an approximation to intuitive thinking. And this should be expanded upon (I am doing this in the trilogy I am currently writing).