Monday, September 20, 2021

If you have time on your hands.

The "Great Books of the Western World" is prefaced with a volume describing "The Great Conversation." Some of the writers are arguing with each other and coming up with better ideas (and worse ones), others descibe people using plays or novels (and what they regard as important to explain varies a lot over time), and others come up with new approaches to science. One of the things their approach emphasizes is that while math may have a right answer, what makes a good king?

Or a good writer of constitutions? FWIW, they've had arguments about what should go in the list of Great Books too, and made changes.

There's an ancient parallel tradition of debate. The section linked is 8 chapters discussing the ramifications and limits of the rule that one must leave the corners of your field ungleaned so that the poor can harvest something. (The corner is the "peah".) The first teacher says:

These are the things that have no definite quantity: The corners [of the field]. First-fruits; [The offerings brought] on appearing [at the Temple on the three pilgrimage festivals]. The performance of righteous deeds; And the study of the torah. The following are the things for which a man enjoys the fruits in this world while the principal remains for him in the world to come: Honoring one’s father and mother; The performance of righteous deeds; And the making of peace between a person and his friend; And the study of the torah is equal to them all.

"No definite quantity" The very next teacher wrote:

They should not leave peah of less than one-sixtieth [of the field]. But even though they said, “there is no measure for peah,” everything depends upon the size of the field, the number of poor people, and the extent of the yield.

"Great Conversations" involve a lot of "wait a minute, you forgot about X," don't they?

Another text, a midrash on Genesis, interpolates a great deal of speculation into the sacred text about Abraham and Isaac and Mt. Moriah. Perhaps this is "what if" to illustrate different possible ways to interpret the simple text. Another set of analyses on the creation of man has Adam naming God!

Just a note: the formatting at sefaria.org is not always ideal. In the same paragraph you can find an opinion, and then another author citing the opinion in order to clarify it--without indentation or different fonts to help guide the eye.

No comments: