[Avodah] Adam 1 and adam 2

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Jun 04, 2025 at 06:33:26AM +0300, Joel Rich via Avodah wrote:
> Adam 1 and adam 2 -- did the rav think that the dialectic was resolvable or
> that one would continually oscillate between the two poles? Sometimes I
> think it may just be an issue of semantics.

I think R YB Soloveitchik made the unresolvable dialectic a central
theme in his hashkafah.

It would be very Neo-Kantian AND very Brisk of him.

Hegel expected thesis-antithesis-synthesis. Kant and his legacy, not so
much.

And what is the chaqira is not an explanation of how both sides of a
dialectic are both valid and distinct?

But he often speaks of how bechirah between right and wrong is important,
butbechirah between which value to pursue, when you have to choose between
right and right, which is really critical.

Going beyond RYBS to the subject as a whole... I am reminded of the
generation, like the Maharal, that pushed back against the Shulchan
Arukh and the whole idea of codification. And the SA really only got
accepted once the standard page included nosei keilim that keep
the dialog going. (I was going to say "discussion", but "dialog" and
"dialectic" share the same shoresh.)

And similarly, we continue to learn Shas after the publication of the Rif.

In his introduction to Aruch HaShulchan, R YM Esptein observes that while
a single melodic line is beautiful, when many instruments play together,
there is a special beauty. Torah is called "divrei hashirah hazos"
(Devarim 31:19) because opinions have the property that eilu va'eilu
divrei Elokim Chaim. The Torah has many voices saying different things,
but they come together with the elegance of a symphony.

Torah is inherently dialectic.

Similarly people are usually experiencing multiple, often conflicting,
emotions. And we can hold conflicting ideas in our heads (Is Hashem
in heaven? Is He everywhere?) even if we are usually only paying attention
to one of them at a time.

People are creatures of contradiction. To use Kant's word, our
perceptions produce "antimonimies". The Torah canot work for us unless
it speaks to both sides of our conflicts.

As I wrote recently in a reply in another thread: Life is about navigating
dialectics. You don't want to be in a hurry to reach their resolution!

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 The Maharal of Prague created a golem, and
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   this was a great wonder. But it is much more
Author: Widen Your Tent      wonderful to transform a corporeal person into a
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF    "mensch"!     -Rav Yisrael Salanter