[Avodah] attitude to agadot

[Eli Turkel]

The current issue of Hakirah (vol. 4) contains an article entitled "Al
HaYachas HaRaui LeDerashot Chazal".

In the same issue there is another article about the Maharl MiPragueand aggadot.
He points out that virtually EVERY Gaon and Rishon took aggadot with a big
grain of salt many stating explicitly that they are no binding
especially when they
have no direct halachic portion. The first person to insist on their
complete validity
was the Maharal and he reinterpreted them so they were not to be taken
literally. Until our times they has been almost no one that takes the
position of
R. Feldman that denying aggadot is kefirah.

A list of rishonim/geonim that allowed that one need not accept every aggadata
is lead by R. Shmuel bar Hofni Gaon followed by R. Shmuel Hanagid, R.
Sherira Gaon,  and later Rambam and R. Avraham ben HaRambam, also R.
Yechiel of Paris, Ramban, Rashba, Ritva,Ran,Ibn Ezra, Radak,Meiri
One of the few taking aggadot literally were R. Shimshon of Sens
(Rash) and R. Moshe Tako of Regensburg

The claim of the author, R. Eisen, is that there is little commentary
of the rishonim on
aggadata because it was not of interest. Thus for example Rif and R.
Chanel skip all
aggadata. Even the works of Maharal fell into disuse and his books
were not republished for several hundred years after they were
written. Rambam writes explicitly that he
intended to write a perush on aggadah but finally abandoned it because
it would not accomplish anything!

When one quotes gedolei yisroel one always has to keep in mind "which" gedolei
yisroel. R. Feldman follows R. Elyashiv but not everyone agrees.Many
others state that one can certainly rely on the overwhelming majority
of Rishonim that state that Aggadatot have no binding effect on
halacha or haskafa.
R. Yechiel of Paris states "If you desire - believe them; anf if uou
do not deire - do not believe them, for no law is determined based
upon them. Abarbanel lists 6 types of derashot that do not obligate us

On a slightly different topic the articles mention the story of the
"one" large frog
in Eygpt. Rashi brings the aggada and then says it is not peshuto shel mikrah.
What does that mean - that Rashi does not necessarily believe that
that happened?
In fact in the gemara that opinion is brought by R. Akiva. Then R. Eliezer be
Azaryah tells R. Akiva that aggadat is not his expertise and that is
not what happened.

kol tuv

--
Eli Turkel


-- 
Eli Turkel