<br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 9/7/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Richard Wolpoe</b> <<a href="mailto:rabbirichwolpoe@gmail.com">rabbirichwolpoe@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<br><br>Re: contamination it is bovious that most of Hazal were heavily influenced by the Greco-Roman culture prevalent in their day- especially in the Mishna. <span class="sg"><br>-- <br><a href="http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
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</span></blockquote></div><br><br><br>I didn't mean to say C"vS that Hazal's Torah stemmed from Greco-Roman sources.<br><br>
Aderabba, I was trying to say DESPITE being well-informed on Greek
culture that there was NOT a heave dose of Torah Contamination! [and by extension secular knowledge does not necessarily passel our unconscious Torah values] <br><br>But there was a heavy dose of Hellenistic knowledgee in their heads
<br><br><div style="text-align: center;">Illustrations of Hazal and Greek culture:<br></div><br>There is a drash IN TB Lulav Hagazul re: the word Hadar - i.e. it refers to WATER as per the Greek Hydra, <br clear="all"><br>
Plus Hazal treated Greek differently than other alien tongues WRT kisvei Kodesh.<br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>
The appeal of RSR Hirsch and of Westen European Rabbnim in general is that here in America w/o a ghetto- we need values that work well in THIS mileu! The Eastern European model imho was too organized around a ghetto society and I feel it does not harmonize well with USA's society.
<br><br>Hazal seemed toharmonize Judaism with their society - and that includes sometimes vigrous opposition when needed! But if Rabbinic leaders are CLUELESS about THEIR society and long nostrlgically for another society they will imho not deal realistically with the current milieu. Hence imho the weakness of RSBY's attitude emerging from the cave. If RSBY emerged in Tzefas at the time of the ARizal perhaps he would have been less "bothered".
<br><br><br><br>Kesiva vaChasima Tova<br>Best Wishes for 5768,<br><a href="mailto:RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com">RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com</a><br>Please Visit: <br><a href="http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/">http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/
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