[Avodah] nes niglah

[Richard Wolpoe]

On Wed, Aug 6, 2008 at 7:31 PM, Eli Turkel <eliturkel at gmail.com> wrote:

> > kennethgmiller at juno.com wrote:
> >> We often hear varied stories about this tzadik, or that gadol, and
> >> frankly, they are sometimes difficult to believe. I have often heard
> >> this as a common reaction to such incredulity: "If you think all these
> >> stores are true, then you're a fool. But if you think they're all
> >> false, you're an apikores. The message of these stories is that they
> >> *could* be true."
>
> I thought the original was from the Maggid who said that one who
> believes all the stories of miracles from the Baal Shem Tov is a fool
> OTOH one who believes he couldn't have done the miracles is an apikorus
>
> --
> Eli Turkel
> _______________________________________________
>

I've heard this stated in many forms
But Actually the Rambam and his son R. Avraham say pretty much teh same re:
Aggedita

If you take Aggadah literally you are a fool - and actaully make TORAH look
foolish
But if you are cyncial re: Aggadah, you are also a fool - and maybe a letz.

The point is that Agaddah is out to tech truths but not LIERAL truths
If you see the stories as literal you wil miss the point.
If you take the story as literal and think it is STUPID it is perhaps even
worse.

I think the Netziv explained it thusly.  In a 1,000 years the statement:
"The 2-headed eagle has spread his wings over thousands of miles.." will
face the same mis-understanding.

But as we still know NOW, the 2-headed eagle wa the herald of the Tsar so it
made perfect sense as a metaphor in the time of the Netziv..

I once showed [or had to show] some RWO relatives that if you take Midrash X
literally, then Rashi in Humash will come out to be an apikoros!

Did the Rambam and R. Avraham get this from an even earlier source? I do not
know.  Perhaps R. Sa'adyah or others have said the same.


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