[Avodah] Idioms and ruach memalela (was: Honey)

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 17:37:50 EST, T613K at aol.com wrote:
> Reminds me of a monkey trained in sign language who referred to ketchup by
> the signs for "tomato" and "toothpaste."  It would not be so rare at all
> to find words in Tanach used metaphorically for more than one purpose (if
> it's not a stretch to call a honeycomb a forest). One example is in this past
> week's parsha, Noach, where an animal and its mate are called "ish ve'ishto" --
> "a man  and his wife" -- the words "man and wife" being used metaphorically
> to refer to a bonded pair.

And the yeri'as on the mishkan are attached ishah el achosah. It's idiom. No different than "'Yad' Hashem".

However, I wanted to comment on this "monkey". RnTK is describing a Chantek, an orangutan, which figured out "tomato toothpaste" for ketchup and "eye drink" to describe contact lens solution. Does this show a comprehension of language that challenges peshat in the Unqelus that Adam uniquely had a "ru'ach memalela"? (BTW, what do people who believe that other homosapiens were around and their communities survived even after Adam do with this Targum?)

Since we're talking about combining words, note that orangutan comes from the Malay urang + hutan, man + forest. That's pretty close to the "adnei hasadeh" of Chazal. The jump from field to forest is made by the Tif'eres Yisrael in Yachin, who translates "adnei hasadeh" as "Waldmensch" (forest men). Adneh hasadeh are describing as being close enough to human that a person can be oveir retzichah for killing one of them, and for R' Yosi to hold that they transmit tum'ah like a ben adam (Kelaim 8:5).

The Yerushalmi (quoted by the Bartenura) describes them as having a stem and roots, growing from their umbilicus. AFAIK, such a thing would be a huge stretch according to today's science. Although the TY in Boaz, said they could be extinct and we could yet find their fossils.) Perhaps it's a poetic descrition of their need to live off the field, they are figuratively mechubarei qarqa in a way other animals aren't. This is true of the orangutan, which requires great skill to be separated from their habitat in a mental state where they would continue eating. Few other apes, for that matter few other animals would starve to death even when food is offered. But an urangutan taken from his "hutan", would.

:-)BBii!
-mi

-- 
Micha Berger             The Maharal of Prague created a golem, and
micha at aishdas.org        this was a great wonder. But it is much more
http://www.aishdas.org   wonderful to transform a corporeal person into a
Fax: (270) 514-1507      "mensch"!     -Rabbi Israel Salanter