A comment on "strange and bizzarre" problems discussed in the Talmud

A COMMENT ON "STRANGE AND BIZARRE" PROBLEMS DISCUSSED IN THE TALMUD



Those readers who are unfamiliar with the Talmud may feel that many of the issues in the Talmud might seem "strange and bizarre". This reaction is certainly understandable, but the contents of the Talmud are quite explicable if one understands its nature. The following article may be of help in this regard. David S. Maddison (maddison@connexus.net.au) 30-Aug-99

From "The Essential Talmud", Adin Steinsalz, 1976, Bantam, ISBN 0-465-02060-7

Chapter 29

Strange and Bizarre Problems

ACQUAINTANCE with the basic talmudic methods furthers our comprehension of an ostensibly odd phenomenon - the bizarre and outlandish issues sometimes debated therein. The problems that are clarified with great thoroughness and seriousness are largely of practical and prosaic interest, and in some cases their solution has practical implications. But the Talmud also relates to questions that are extremely unlikely to arise in everyday life and to some that may not be totally unrealistic but appear absurd because details of infinitesimal importance are discussed with a gravity out of all proportion to their significance.

Those cognizant of the Talmud's patterns of thinking are aware that hypothetical elucidation of an elemental problem can never be regarded as insignificant. Some questions may be insoluble within the talmudic text, but in seeking an answer the scholar presents a certain case, a model, with whose aid he tries to clarify the nature of the problem. There is yet another argument in favor of these discussions. Since the Talmud in general is not primarily concerned with practical application, almost all problems are granted equal weight. It is not the urgent need of a solution that counts, but the intrinsic interest of the issue. Thus the claim that a problem is unrealistic would bear little weight in rabbinical circles. We sometimes find constructions so dense and convoluted that it is almost impossible to envisage their implementation. But what of it? "It is Torah and therefore deserves to be studied."

The sages commented that several halakhot "never existed and never will" because of the numerous restrictions on practical implementation. "Why were they written Study and you will be rewarded." This approach implies that even the Torah laws may be understood in such a way that the possibility of implementing them will be extremely remote. At the same time, there is no restriction on detailed examination of these laws and their implications not merely as an intellectual exercise but as true study, which is its own reward. For example, the Talmud contains an extremely complicated discussion of a mouse that brings bread crumbs into a house cleaned of hametz for Passover. The sages launch into an analysis of the mouse, the number of crumbs in the house before and after his entrance, the possibility that a rat might enter after the mouse, and other potential developments. This discourse on rodents takes up almost an entire page of the Talmud and is rich in interesting theories and basic evidence, all aimed at solving the problem of the crumbs deposited by the mouse. There is also an involved debate on childbirth relating to the question of birthrights, in the course of which the sages ponder the problem of the fetus transferred from one womb to another. Elsewhere the text takes up the mythical golem and asks whether such a being is entitled to participate in a minyan.

Many of these bizarre and imaginative issues fire relevant even in the sphere of practical halakhah because the principles and rulings derived from the discussion are applicable elsewhere. Since the discourse on mice or on the golem is as thorough and precise as the analysis of more practical problems, the conclusions will always be applicable, in some degree, to other cases. The most prosaic problems could sometimes only be resolved in this, way. The talmudic stand is reminiscent of pure theoretical research; there too the solutions to marginal or implausible problems are applied to practical issues. Talmudic scholars and students have long known that it is sometimes impossible to anticipate the outcome of a certain study, although it has shown no indications of pertaining to reality.

Other practical consequences of investigating these strange and remote questions are not always immediately evident. A certain question may appear absurd and meaningless in one era and become vitally important in a later age, when technology has made great strides. From this point of view, since the Talmud is open to every type and level of query, it is not surprising that many discussions that once appeared theoretical and unrealistic seem amazingly perceptive forecasts of now-current issues. One of the subjects of talmudic debate, the "tower floating in the air," was cited for centuries as an example of the degree to which the human imagination can run riot. The sages certainly never dreamed that mechanical methods of constructing flying towers and fortresses would someday be developed, nor were they particularly intrigued by the problem. But since one of their number happened to raise the question of what would happen if a tower should float in the air, they settled down enthusiastically to clarify all possible aspects of the problem. These visions no longer appear far-fetched and absurd, and in fact the discussion now helps us solve some very real problems.

Similarly, the talmudic scholars and codifiers devoted considerable attention to the question of the artificial insemination of women and the ensuing complications over the legal and moral status of mother and child. It took almost 2,000 years for this problem to take on practical significance, and many other discourses on subjects that still appear implausible may someday provide answers to important questions. The debate on the golem, for example, is only one of many references to the problem of defining the nature of man and his limitations, and some of the discussions touch on extremely bizarre questions. The Jerusalem Talmud, for example, analyzes the case of a man with the head of a beast and a beast with a human head and suggests - partly as an intellectual exercise - the complications that might ensue from this type of "split personality." This particular problem has not yet taken on topical relevance (except to a limited extent in halakhah relating to malformed births, which the Talmud discusses at length), but the possibility that it may someday be cited in relation to a modern issue cannot be discounted.

Nonetheless, the sages did not concern themselves with the pragmatic aspects of problems, since their objective was not the resolution of human questions but study for its own sake. They always employed models based on the world around them, even if such constructs seemed unreal in their day. One of the most frequent queries in the Talmud is hikhi dami? (how, exactly, can this state of affairs be depicted?). The question is posed when the sages wish to clarify a certain matter with greater precision and depth because the basic ruling is too generalized or too abstract and only the construction of a certain model can help them ascertain the truth. Such models often reveal that a ruling that appears simple and effective in the abstract is actually implausible or anomalous or calls for elaboration.

The advantages of employing models become even more apparent in the course of such elucidation. Even when the models are constructed through the combination of two methods (in accordance with the theory that differences of opinion should be reconciled as far as possible) or through the incessant attempt to solve abstract problems by citing concrete examples, the result, however cumbersome or strange, is more effective than any abstract analysis. Construction of a model makes it possible to examine all the components of the question and the interaction between various issues.

There is nothing surprising, therefore, in the weirdness of some of the more unrealistic explanations. Within the context of talmudic thought, they are vitally important and sometimes produce the most satisfactory solutions. The many practical consequences, some of them astoundingly relevant to posterity, should be regarded as the product of this unique way of thinking.


Return Home