Beitzah 24

Oh todays gem! Yosef asks a question I ask all the time reading the daf – why do I have to know all these ins and outs of the arguments when we all know the answer?! I love the question and the answer if also fabulous:

Yosef said to him: And what difference is there to you whether or not the Rabbis disagree? In either case the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel. Why then does it matter whether or not the issue was in dispute? Abaye said to him: Either we learn the lesson; or let it be like a song. In other words, is it sufficient to simply parrot the halakhic ruling? Rather, it is necessary to examine the issue to understand it even if it does not yield a practical halakhic difference.

LOVE THIS! And there are layers to my love:

1. I remember my childhood rabbi once commenting that he could teach a parrot to recite lines of Torah accurately, but that he wants his students to read Torah accurately. Parroting things back does not mean you understand what you’re saying – and the understanding is so important. This is crucial when we talk about school. How many little facts did we all cram into our heads only to forget a few weeks or months after the test? The thing is to teach you how to think, reason, research.
2. I love the play on the idea that, if we don’t understand a halakhic ruling, it’s merely a song. Many people do not know that we Jews sing our holy texts. Torah has one cantillation system (a system of musical notes that go with each word of Torah), Haftarah another, the megillot (scrolls such as Esther, Song of Songs, the Book of Ruth, the Book of Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes) have their own, and so does TALMUD! That’s right, we sing the Talmud. Music helps us to memorize, but if we don’t understand what we are singing, it’s merely a song.
3. I also love this because we sing our prayers, and people will often love a prayer because they love a particular musical composition (me included) – but this reminds us to not let it be simply a song. Pay attention to the words you’re saying. If you don’t understand Hebrew, read the English. You will be surprised what prayers pop out to you and have meaning for you today that didn’t last week.

Shabbat Shalom.