[Avodah] Diberah Torah

[Micha Berger]

On Fri, January 25, 2008 12:23 pm, hlampel at koshernet.com wrote:
: But the Rambam, for instance, said that this is the meaning of what
Chazal said. For example, Moreh Nevuchim (1:26):

: CHAPTER XXVI
: You, no doubt, know their saying, which encompasses
: all the various kinds of interpretation connected to
: this area. namely what they said: "The Torah speaks
: according to the language of man." This implies that
: expressions that can easily be comprehended and
: understood by all at first thought, are necessarily
: associated to the Alm-ghty, yis-aleh...

I think we would both agree the Rambam is talking about idiom, not
metaphor. Yes, that does imply an underlying concept lying beneath R'
Yishma'el's objection to R' Aqiva's "doreish tagin". But still it
doesn't make it broad enough to include many of the things the phrase
has been used to justify both here and in print in the last few
decades. The idea is still to look at the meaning of a phrase, not the
mechanics of the words used. And nothing about going beyond that
meaning to hidden meanings. (If anything, it might imply the reverse!)

SheTir'u baTov!
-micha

-- 
Micha Berger             One who kills his inclination is as though he
micha at aishdas.org        brought an offering. But to bring an offering,
http://www.aishdas.org   you must know where to slaughter and what
Fax: (270) 514-1507      parts to offer.        - R' Simcha Zissel Ziv