Not infrequently, I come across articulations in Jewish writings about the need for pluralism in the Jewish world/community and listening to peoples’ views, which is fine. However, unfortunately, the writer/speaker will usually make recourse to referring to how the Academy of Shammai and the Academy of Hillel would debate, looking to them as differing, yet still viewing the other as part of the Jewish community and having valid views within that context. They typically point to the following text (Eruvin 13b):
אמר רבי אבא אמר שמואל שלש שנים נחלקו בית שמאי ובית הלל הללו אומרים הלכה כמותנו והללו אומרים הלכה כמותנו יצאה בת קול ואמרה אלו ואלו דברי אלהים חיים הן והלכה כבית הלל.
and here is a translation:
Rabbi Abba said: “Shmuel said: ‘The Academy of Shammai and the Academy of Hillel disagreed for three years; these were saying “The halakhah is like us” and those were saying “The halakhah is like us.” A heavenly voice emerged and said, “These and these are the words of the living God, but the halakhah is like the Academy of Hillel.”‘”
All of the above is fine and pretty important in considering that this heavenly voice (בת קול) emerged and said that “These and these are the words of the living God”, which is interesting. However, what contemporary writers often do is to point to these two academies as if they are the entirety of the Jewish community and that all voices were valued.
However, we know that this is certainly not the reality then. For instance, there’s a statement of Rabbi Yohanan‘s that there were two dozen different groups of heretics. We also know that there were so many other groups – whether the Boethusians, the Sadducees, the Essenes, the Early Christians, etc. (for an amusing take on groups in this time period, see here). Thus, it would really be that the Academies of Hillel and Shammai were part of the Pharisees and that the Rabbis inherited their traditions, leaving out all others.
What emerges is, as I’ve written elsewhere, that “for the rabbis, there is room for disagreements and still be included within the range of acceptable opinions, but it does not mean that all opinions that are voiced fall within the acceptable range.” Thus, when our Jewish leaders write/speak about including opinions and being pluralistic, it can be somewhat problematic to make reference to the Academies of Hillel and Shammai – they excluded many groups and opinions!
We should be more careful about how we reference the disagreements of the Academies of Hillel and Shammai when discussing the range of opinions within Jewish communal discourse.
Pingback: kejuqq
Pingback: chom sao bao binh nu
Pingback: mơ thấy ác mộng
Pingback: tải bắn cá siêu thị cuamobi
Pingback: https://junkcarsgone2day.com/usa/junk-car-removal/ar/bentonville/
Pingback: mơ bốc mộ đánh con gì
Pingback: dump credit card numbers
Pingback: นิยายจีนแปลไทย
Pingback: mơ thấy mình giết người
Pingback: buy cc dumps
Pingback: mơ thấy nhà đánh con gì
Pingback: replica rolex
Pingback: replica used ladies rolex watches
Pingback: mơ thấy giày dép đánh con gì
Pingback: DevSecOps
Pingback: nằm mơ thấy hoa sen
Pingback: mơ thấy con trâu đánh đề con gì
Pingback: Face Gaiter
Pingback: http://95.111.232.179/
Pingback: michigan state cornhole
Pingback: cbd for anxiety
Pingback: ngủ mơ thấy quả ổi
Pingback: security service
Pingback: mơ thấy nhà vệ sinh bẩn
Pingback: mơ đi xem bói đánh con gì
Pingback: kimber micro 9 for sale
Pingback: sahabatqq alternatif
Pingback: Quality engineering
Pingback: used ram 1500 winnipeg
Pingback: essay helper online
Pingback: community service essay
Pingback: writing dissertation
Pingback: college essay writers block
Pingback: custom essay online
Pingback: sexual conflict theory
Pingback: professional dissertation writing service
Pingback: quality custom essay
Pingback: pay for someone to write your paper
Pingback: cialis canadian pharmacy no prescription
Pingback: viagra cialis meds
Pingback: cialis 20mg usa
Pingback: canadian pharmaceuticals online reviews
Pingback: online pharmacy without a prescription
Pingback: buy cialis brand
Pingback: How do I become an Autism Spectrum Disorder Specialist
Pingback: what is the difference between cialis and tadalafil