[Avodah] history

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, March 10, 2008 8:07 am, R Michael Makovi wrote:
: Now, Rav Hirsch explains all this saying that we had a TSBP of
: history, not only halacha.

So, would you argue that RSRH would therefore ignore archeology-based
arguments for anything other than a global flood? I'm not discussing
the idea of a local flood, I am raising the question of whether the
notion that history can be mesorah would mandate a mesoretic argument
to defend changing our understanding of the history.

Still, there is much in the Torah about how Rivqah was found for
Yitzchaq, and nothing about how a boy became an Avraham avinu or Moshe
rabbeinu. Even from a role-model perspective this is odd, never mind
from a historical one.

I would therefore argue that while there are historical claims
embedded in the mesorah (maamad Har Sinai, for one), that doesn't mean
that it's a focal topic for TSBP, or that engaging in the study is
included in talmud Torah. Rather, that a fact is of relevant to two
distinct fields of study.

I am also not deprecating the study of history. The history of
halakhah is no less noble of a goal than studying telecommunications
(my own field, back when I was an academic).

But we were talking about what imparts to the studier a Torah
weltenschaung, the indescribable part of TSBP that can't be described
formally and is developed through extended exposure and shimush. My
argument was that academic study, because it cultivates objectivity,
is inherently ill suited for that development.

And thus I was arguing that someone could be a fine frum Jew who is a
great academic in the study of Judaism, but not have any more of that
Torah culture than the rest of us. Certainly not equipped to argue
with rishonim without always holding onto the possibility that there
is something overlooked. (Of course not on halachic matters, as the
authority structure of how law is created gives few acharonim such
gravitas. But even on aggadic, it is presumptuous.)

TuM and TIDE don't mean that mada or derekh eretz are Talmud Torah.

SheTir'u baTov!
-micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "Man wants to achieve greatness overnight,
micha at aishdas.org        and he wants to sleep well that night too."
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