Q&A: A Rationale for a Halakha Given to Moses at Sinai
A Rationale for a Halakha Given to Moses at Sinai
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I wanted to ask whether there are rationales for the principles behind the halakhot given to Moses at Sinai? (Not for the precise definition, but for the principle itself.)
(For example: a bent wall — because walls tend to bend; lavud — because we are not the best builders and there can be gaps; gud asik — the wall declares its direction, and I already understand on my own where it continues, etc.)
Answer
I think so. Though in the case of a halakha given to Moses at Sinai such as measurements, for example, there is no need for a rationale, because the measurement is simply a quantification of the prohibitions in order to define the Jewish law. There does not have to be any essential reason for that. Each law has to be considered on its own. A bent wall is a very logical law. Why shouldn’t we define a wall in the shape of the letter resh?
Discussion on Answer
It doesn’t really parallel them; that is rejected in the conclusion. But even on its own, I don’t see a rationale there.
Bent wall really does need to be explained carefully. [Regarding the dispute between Rav and Shmuel, etc.] I wrote about it at length. If you want.
I’ll just note that in Yeshurun (the latest issue, I think) they brought a strange view from Rabbi Yosef ben Chachmon (one of the medieval authorities), who wrote that up to four cubits the wall can remain standing even when bent…
Thank you very much, Rabbi.
Still, regarding measurements, there is a midrash that parallels them to “a land of wheat and barley…” — doesn’t that indicate an intention to give a rationale for the measurements?