Q&A: The People of the Book Walking Among Those Who Stand
The People of the Book Walking Among Those Who Stand
Question
Hello and have a good week, Rabbi,
On the Sabbath I read your introduction to the book “Walking Among Those Who Stand,” and I saw the amazing historical account of Rabbi Joshua’s reversal, the excommunication of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabban Gamliel, etc., presented in a completely different way from what I had known until now (and I have to say, it was amazing).
If I may ask: first, is this an original idea of yours in your explanation of the Talmudic passage there (not that there would be any problem with that), or did you take it from somewhere else (or perhaps also based on other sources)? Or maybe it is simply the straightforward meaning…
If it really is based on other places, could I get a source? Just because I’d like to look into it.
I just have to say that it really fit amazingly well with the straightforward reading of the Talmudic passage, and it seems to me very close to the actual truth of the matter.
Thank you very much for this introduction! It helped me understand a lot.
Answer
Hello. In principle, this is my own approach. There were two people who hinted it to me, and I mentioned them there: Rabbi Meir Tuiber, in a conversation I had with him about the disputes between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, and Prof. Menachem Fisch, in his book To Know Wisdom, about that day and the Oven of Akhnai.