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The short-sighted

שו”תThe short-sighted
asked 8 months ago

Let’s say you and I are arguing. At some point you present a counterargument in favor of your position, but I can’t understand it (too deep/too long/too stupid/too short, etc. – it doesn’t really matter why). What should I do if I want to be honest? Give up my position/stay in the loop because maybe I would agree with your argument if I understood it? Or should I fortify my position because in the end, the bottom line is that I’m not convinced (due to lack of understanding)?


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0 Answers
מיכי Staff answered 8 months ago

There is no general answer. It depends on your impressions and how concerned you are that you may have missed something.
As such, I commented on the attitude towards paradoxes in columns 601-3 and in column 654.


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וואיל replied 8 months ago

This may be related to what is written in the Talmud that the law was not terminated by Rabbi Meir because they did not reach the end of his thought. That is, even if they were certain that they did not understand him, they were not afraid to fortify their position.

מיכי Staff replied 8 months ago

But there, in my opinion, it's because there is value in autonomous ruling, even if it's not the truth. I've explained this at length in the past.

וואיל replied 8 months ago

What is it?
In the case of the Deshmia, I must judge according to my own opinion, which is also wrong, but in the case of the Dema, I should give more room to the fear that I may have missed something and strive more for the truth?
Who is the priestess and who is the innkeeper?

וואיל replied 8 months ago

Just to clarify, I didn't mean "should" in any sense of obligation. It's hard for me to think of another word right now in my sins.

מיכי Staff replied 8 months ago

Nothing to do with the priesthood and the innkeeper. This is not a question of severity and tone. In the matter of Halacha, one does not seek the objective truth, but the truth in my opinion. In other matters, the goal is to reach the truth. For example, if there is a person who is smart in physics and it is clear to me that he is smarter than me, then even if I think differently from him, I would ‘rule’ like him, because apparently the truth is with him. But in Halacha, I do not conclude with a ”ruler” even though the truth is with him, because in Halacha there is value in acting autonomously even if it is not the truth.

סליפי ג'ו replied 8 months ago

Rabbi Bemcha”t If, according to your words that seek the truth, in my opinion, why would Rabban Gamliel harass Rabbi Yehoshua who disagreed with him and demanded that he come to him on his Yom Kippur and all the other harassment? Didn't he know that there is value in autonomous ruling? And why did Rabbi Yehoshua agree to violate Yom Kippur and not insist on it? Would you agree?
If you say that I am Rabban Gamliel who was the president of the Sanhedrin and all the sages are obligated to him, then why did the sages remove him from the presidency due to his coercion of Rabbi Yehoshua?

מיכי Staff replied 8 months ago

There we are talking about a Sanhedrin that has formal authority. Secondly, the calendar is under the mandatory authority of the president of the Sanhedrin and is not given to anyone. You are even joking…
Why was he deposed? Because he used his authority too wildly, and not only in this case.

מיכי Staff replied 8 months ago

And by the way, your message contains an internal contradiction. You bring evidence from a man who apparently determines the truth, but immediately afterwards you wonder why he was deposed, and bring counter-evidence from that. He was deposed precisely because he followed the truth and did not listen to autonomy.

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