[Avodah] history

[Michael Makovi]

> Avraham was a tzadiq. Moreso, Avraham as portrayed in the Torah is an
> archetype used to illustrate positive values. Narratives that are
>  perpetuated about Avraham avinu can not include activities we consider
>  wrong, even if wrong because of halakhos that didn't yet exist.
>  Because if they did, they would water down rather than enhance the
> usability of Avraham as an archetype of serving HQBH through chessed.

> SheTir'u baTov!
> -micha

I believe one of RSG's Hirhurim blogs compared Avraham's keeping the
613, to a mural he (RSG) once saw of the Levi'im singing in the Beit
haMikdash wearing streimels and kaftans- how do you show a little
Chassidic boy that the avot were good frum Jews? They wore streimels!
And so how do we know Avraham was a good Jew? He was so good that he
kept the Torah before G-d even told him!

It's evidently very possible that it is anachronistic and was never
intended to be anything but.

Now, I wonder, to what extent did Chazal realize when they were being
anachronistic? Is that they didn't care about historical accuracy, but
nevertheless knew when they were being anachronistic, or did they
genuinely lack a real historical sense b'klal? Now, since ancient
people in general were less historically critical than we are
nowadays, my question boils down to : given Chazal had less critical
historical sense than we do, to what qualitative sense was this the
case, between 0 and 100 percent of ours.

Mikha'el Makovi