Q&A: Studying the Hermeneutical Rules
Studying the Hermeneutical Rules
Question
I want to study the hermeneutical rules, and in that context to look into the Rabbi's work.
Should I read Middah Tovah, or is the main thing in the books that came out through Bar-Ilan (in English?)
And a second question: (and sorry for not being fully serious) does the Rabbi feel that this research really advances our understanding of the rabbinic expositions of the Sages? Is this riddle—that of how the Sages derived Jewish laws in a way that seems to us completely arbitrary—actually solvable?
Thank you very much.
Answer
I would start with studying the baraita at the beginning of Sifra together with its commentaries (including the scholion and the illustrative baraita). The books in the Talmudic Logic series do not deal with the hermeneutical rules, except for the first two, which deal with the logical rules and with the rules of general and particular. They are definitely more comprehensive and systematic regarding those specific rules.
I think our work has definitely advanced understanding, but of course there is still much more to do. I want to believe the problem is solvable, but like any research problem that requires broad-front research: many people, each contributing his own ideas, and from me and from you knowledge increases. After all, the Sages were human beings who operated with human reason, and I assume they were not just doing whatever popped into their heads. They had some sort of method, and the solution should reconstruct it.
Discussion on Answer
Clearly there is, and Heschel already pointed this out. Even so, in my estimation it is possible to reconstruct the principles and perhaps also to distinguish between the methods.
Except that it may be that in the Talmud there is a mixture of differing and even contradictory exegetical methods (even from the same study hall), and the question is whether we have enough information to separate them and infer consistent rules.