<div class="gmail_quote"><br><br> <br>
<div><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Dear Readers: </span></span><br><br>"Y<span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">ediah" quotes the Rambam re: aggedeta. Yet, this same principle may be applied in all kinds of situations - Namely that at times being naively literal makes the Torah read as silly and similarly being a mocker/scoffer and taking the Torah to be also silly albeit by means of rejection also demonstrates the lack of wisdom</span>.<br>
<br><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Only the wise realize that the Aggedita [and other Torah passages] are neither meant to be overly literal nor downright absurd, but are actually communicating profound truths that require reading between the lines.</span><br>
<br><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Some Fundamentalists [mostly on the right but not necessarily so] are K'sillim- fools. </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Some cynics [mostly on the left but not always] are heretics [kof'rim] masquerading as morally superior somehow.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">While those who are mattunim badin - who patiently judge the requisite passages through the lens of intelligent analysis w/o naivite and also without cynicsm will arrive at the underlying truth.</span><br>
<br><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Read More:</span></span><br><blockquote><span style="font-size: 130%;"><br><span style="font-size: 100%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: trebuchet ms,sans-serif;">Having introduced the literalist groups, the fundamentalists who shame the Torah with their ignorance and the mockers who jump to conclusions and accuse the rabbis of being ignoramuses, </span><br>
<br><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><br><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms,sans-serif;" href="http://yediah.blogspot.com/2008/01/rambam-on-aggadeta-correct-approach.html" target="_blank">http://yediah.blogspot.com/2008/01/rambam-on-aggadeta-correct-approach.html</a></span><br>
</span></span></blockquote><br>--<br>Kol Tuv / Best Regards,<br><a href="mailto:RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com" target="_blank">RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><br></a> </div>
<br><br>--<br>
Posted By Rabbi Richard Wolpoe to <a href="http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/2008/01/rambam-neither-a-literalist-nor-mocker.html" target="_blank">NishmaBlog</a> at 1/25/2008 03:09:00 PM</div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>
Kol Tuv / Best Regards,<br><a href="mailto:RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com">RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com</a><br>see: <a href="http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/">http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/</a>