Q&A: Methods of Exegesis
Methods of Exegesis
Question
Hello Rabbi, regarding the methods of exegesis. Some time ago I read that, in your view, the methods of exegesis were transmitted through a certain kind of intuition, until over the years they crystallized into organized interpretive rules. My question is: if so, how did two such different schools of study develop, like the school of Rabbi Ishmael and that of Rabbi Akiva? Does that mean that in practice something very specific was not actually transmitted at Sinai? Or were several interpretive possibilities given? I would be happy to hear a fuller explanation on this. Thanks.
Answer
I expanded on this at great length in my book on General and Particular and more. Briefly, I think they were given at Sinai, but they underwent conceptualization and interpretation, during which disputes and different schools of study emerged. I compared this to a language that comes into being, and within the process of conceptualization, rules of grammar are formed. By the way, they really are not all that different. Expositions based on general and particular, or inclusion and exclusion, are not very different. As for deriving from the crowns on the letters, that may be different, but there we do not have very concrete information.
Discussion on Answer
A. In all matters of the Oral Torah, there was an explosion then. I assume that before that it was simmering on a low flame. Why? Maybe because prophecy had come to an end and the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) was completed.
B. Whoever knows how to take that into account should do so. The foundational professions are always useful. Skills and vocational training are another matter.
A. If so, why was there suddenly a halakhic explosion in the Second Temple period that had not existed earlier? Or perhaps there was, and it simply was not documented?
B. And in a completely different direction: do you think that when choosing a field of study, one should take artificial intelligence into account? According to the estimates, about 60 percent of today’s professions will be irrelevant in the future, from designers to pilots.