[Avodah] Bavli Redux - Does it's authority stem from Sanhedrin?

[Richard Wolpoe]

Dear List,
Someone [I don't recall who] suggesteds that there WAS a Sanhedrin around
[inEY] when the Bavli was completed. FWIW the Rambam in his hkqdamah flatly
rejects this notion. [I amp osting today because I jsut reread it today]

[disclaimer: I don't buy every historical point in the Rambam's haqdamah,
but this one is imho a slam dunk]

Rather the Rambam claims the authority of the Bavli is  essentialy
"nispashet" [this is truly akin to the Catholic Israel arguemnt in that
Catholic Israel is a RATIFYING BODY not a legislatiing body]

Dislcaimer 2:
 I would suggestt that nispashet included the possiblity that in different
communites there were "hagahos" on inidivdual practices, just as with the
Mishneh Torah and the the Shulchan Aruch. Or iow. when we say the Bavli was
accepted everywhere it does not mean w/o any restirction or interpretation,
just like the Mishnah itself was qualified by the Talmudic dial;etic, so was
the Bavli itself so qualified.

-- 
Kol Tuv / Best Regards,
RabbiRichWolpoe at Gmail.com
see: http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/
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