Q&A: Methods of Exegesis
Methods of Exegesis
Question
I know that the Rabbi has dealt with this a lot, so I’m asking you.
Do you think there is an orderly internal logic to the hermeneutical principles and interpretive methods? After all, this is essentially the cornerstone on which our rabbis’ Oral Torah is built.
The classic problem, in my view, is the gezerah shavah, about which the medieval authorities (Rishonim) say that all such derivations were given at Sinai, and I find it hard to believe that this is really so.
Answer
Many medieval authorities (Rishonim) pointed out that even gezerah shavah did not come from Sinai. Mainly Nachmanides and the medieval authorities from his school. You can look in the Talmudic Encyclopedia under the entry “Gezerah Shavah.”
In my opinion, there is an internal logic, but it is not mathematics. In several places I have written and said that derash is a complete language, not a collection of rules.
And finally, the hermeneutical principles are only a minority of the interpretations found in the words of the Sages. Most interpretations are made in ways that are hard to ground in the list of formal principles. As I said: a language.