[Avodah] asmachta

Micha Berger via Avodah avodah at lists.aishdas.org
Thu Oct 8 15:32:18 PDT 2015


On Fri, Sep 11, 2015 at 09:47:49AM -0700, saul newman via Avodah wrote:
: see point  5   ,   on the idea  that could asmachta  be a talmudic  example
:  of , well let the reader decide
: http://seforim.blogspot.com/2015/09/artscroll-and-more.html
: 
:    According to R. Jacob Moellin, when the Talmud states that a law is
:    rabbinic but a verse is brought as an asmachta, this was done so as
:    to mislead the people into thinking that it is a Torah law so that
:    they would observe it more carefully.[13] In other words, the Sages
:    were engaging in falsehood for a higher purpose.

Actually, the Maharil's words may be understood as consistaqnt with the
Raavad that ashmachtos are Divine suggestions to the rabbis of laws they
may find useful to "turn on" some day.

In which case, it's not falsehood. Rather, the Maharil is saying that in
order to avoid zilzul and qulah, Chazal found a place where HQBH suggested
the possibility of the law and made a point of prmulgating it to the masses.

It is true that current attitudes of the relative value of intellectual
honesty to piety may not have always held in the past. Some of it because
information is so much more available, such tricks are bound to backfire
more often than aid. But not entirely.

I don't think it's mandatory that the Maharil is suggesting piety over
honesty here.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             The same boiling water
micha at aishdas.org        that softens the potato, hardens the egg.
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Fax: (270) 514-1507      but rather what you are made of.


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