[Avodah] Humanoids, Who Cares? What Difference Does it Make?

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Sep 21, 2011 at 10:41:53AM +0000, kennethgmiller at juno.com wrote:
: It is all too clear to me that I don't understand RMR's question.
: 
: The subtitle is "Insights into the weekly Torah portion", and it is
: written by someone who teaches at Aish Hatorah. No, you don't have
: to accept his positions, but is that enough to passul it from being
: Talmud Torah?

We aren't discussing the book, we're discussing one atypical statement
about pre-Adamic humanoids. Did the "afar min ha'adamah" evolve into a
homo sapien before HQBH hafach be'apav nishmas chayim?

I see RMR as asking what's really a compound question:

1- Is the mode by which HQBH created Adam relevant to our lives? Does
it even qualify as aggadita, or is it a historical curiosity?

2- Okay, people are curious, and so they'll explore the question. But
if the problem is thorny and might lead people religiously astray, is
the right approach to find an answer they may not find compelling, or
is it to point out that the question is (depending on the answer to #1)
either on the periphery to the religion or outside it altogether?

3- What does the mitzvah of talmud torah mean WRT learning miqra? Does the
presence of the words "Vayitzer H' E-lokim es haadam afar min ha'adamah"
mean that knowing what it is HQBH actually did to produce Adam's body
is part of understanding the pasuq?

As an aside, related to no.s 2 and 3, I suggested here more than once
that leshitas haRambam, studying aggadita is not talmud Torah, to the
extent that it's outside of miqra, mishnah and gemara. Rather, in
Yesodei haTorah 2:1-2 he places it within the mitzvah of ahavas Hashem.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             None of us will leave this place alive.
micha at aishdas.org        All that is left to us is
http://www.aishdas.org   to be as human as possible while we are here.
Fax: (270) 514-1507            - Anonymous MD, while a Nazi prisoner