Q&A: What did the Talmud want? That we appoint a rabbi who simply doesn't know? Or a loopy rabbi who, even though he knows it's permitted, will forbid it?
What did the Talmud want? That we appoint a rabbi who simply doesn't know? Or a loopy rabbi who, even though he knows it's permitted, will forbid it?
Question
Sanhedrin 5:
At the beginning of the eighth line from the top (a fine example of “eighth of an eighth”): “And if you wish, say: because of this itself — Rav was more expert in blemishes, and he would permit blemishes that people did not know about, and they would say: ‘Rabbi permitted a blemish like this,’ and would come to permit a temporary blemish.”
So what’s the alternative?
To appoint to a district a rabbi who simply doesn’t know and will always be stringent?
Maybe a loopy rabbi who, although he knows it’s permitted, will still forbid it out of concern for a slippery slope…?
I’m serious.
Answer
I didn’t understand the question. What exactly is the problem with the Talmud here? Rabbi was concerned that Rav would permit blemishes that other people were not expert enough to recognize, and they would infer from that and come to permit other blemishes that are actually forbidden. Therefore, he preferred a halakhic authority who was not quite as expert and would be stringent in those rare cases.