Make Judaism Great Again? A discussion on the Validity of Yeridat HaDorot

(1) Moses received the torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly.

(16) You are familiar with the statement in Shabbat 112 that if "former generations could be compared to angels then we nowadays are merely like ordinary mortals; if, however, even the earlier generations were comparable only to ordinary mortals, then our generation is comparable to donkeys." This only underlines how much and how hard we have to strive to fulfil the commandment the Torah has legislated in our verse. ... The Torah uses the word דבר when introducing this commandment to alert us to the extraordinary demands this commandment makes upon us; on the other hand, the Torah continues with ואמרת, to remind us of the extraordinary spiritual benefits that accrue to people who take observance of this moral directive seriously. The words אל כל עדת בני ישראל are necessary so we should not say that a commandment demanding such stature could only be addressed to the elite of the people. The Torah stressed that everyone is included in this commandment to teach us that every single Israelite could become a potential Moses if he tried (compare Tannah be bey Eliyahu, and Maimonides hilchot Teshuvah chapter 5).

(2) If a Supreme Court issued a decree or enacted an ordinance or introduced a custom, which has become widespread throughout Israel, and a subsequent court desires to abolish the instructions of the predecessors and to eradicate that particular ordinance, decree or custom, it cannot do so, unless it is superior both in wisdom and in number. If it exceeds the other court in wisdom but not in number, or in number but not in wisdom, it cannot annul its instructions. Even if the reason for which the predecessors introduced the decree or ordinance exists no more, the successors cannot revoke anything introduced by the predecessors unless they exceed them. But how can any Supreme Court exceed another in number when each Supreme Court consists of seventy-one members? The reference is to the number of contemporary sages who have agreed to accept the decision of the Supreme Court, or have not opposed it.

(5) The Rishonim (the Torah sages from the 10th to the 15th century) were adept at interpreting the Torah. However, when more recent interpreters confronted the words of the early and later sages of the Gemara, their fondness for their own intellects led them far afield in their understanding, and they departed from the proper explanation of the Torah. It was an, “every man for himself” kind of interpretation. Then it became easy for them to say whatever suited their minds when they simply did not understand the words of the sages. They said things that the sages would never have said, and interpreted in ways that are, God forbid, not arriving at the truth of their words. See how we are sitting in the dust before His pride and calling His Great Name, He upon whom all honor depends! A sycophant cannot come before God, and does not even take interest in the words of the Tanaim and Amoraim. All of his admirers agree to his words and proclaim his holiness, and feel they are justified in their agreement. For a sycophant cannot come before Him, and will not even take note of awesome wisdom of the early sages, not even realizing that the sages were speaking against him. Do we not find the halacha instructing us that even concerning one’s Rabbi, even if he is not greater than him but whom he simply learned from, that when he sees the Rabbi transgressing a rabbinical commandment it is forbidden for him to say that the action is forbidden, but should rather say, “I learned it this way, Rabeynu.” This is as is codified in the Tur (Yorah Deah, 246), where if his Rabbi made a clear mistake, even concerning a verse, you should simply say, “this is the way the verse goes in the Torah.” So too have we found it said several times in the Gemara, (rather than contradicting him), “read to him this verse,” since he does not want to correct him overtly. How much more so when later generations are confronting earlier generations. We find a great difference between each generation – the Acharonim are far from the Rishonim, as are the Rishonim from the Amoraim and the Amoraim from the Tanaim. But all together they build the corpus of the Talmud. Concerning this difference it is written (Yoma, 9b), “a fingernail of the early sages is worth more than the belly of the later sages.” So too is it said (Shabbat, 112b), “If the early generation of sages are sons of angels, then we are sons of men. And if you say that he early sages are men, then we are as donkeys, but still inferior to the donkey of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair! (who, though he was a donkey, was careful to refrain from eating untithed fodder.)” And how much more so in our own generation, what is our life, what is our power? We are as ivy on the walls. We are like a mosquito before Seraphim! It is only in the light of the Rishonim that we see light! And in a place where we do not understand their words it is incumbent upon us to know that the deficiency lies within us and the great limitations of our minds. The deficiency and guilt is upon us.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The fingernails of the former are preferable to the belly of the latter. Reish Lakish said to him: On the contrary, the latter were superior; even though there is subjugation by the kingdoms, they are engaged in Torah study. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to Reish Lakish: The Temple will prove that the former were superior, as it was restored to the former. The Second Temple was constructed after the destruction of the first. However, after the destruction of the Second Temple, it was not restored to the latter. Apparently, the former were superior to the latter.

He explains: The term early Sages is referring to Rabbi Akiva, and the term later Sages is referring to his student, Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua. Some say that the term early Sages refers to Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua and that the term the later Sages refers to Rabbi Oshaya the Distinguished. And we are like the eye of a fine needle. On the topic of the steady decline of the generations, Abaye said: And we, as far as our capabilities are concerned, are like a peg in the wall with regard to Torah study. Just as a peg enters a wall with difficulty, our studies penetrate our minds only with difficulty. Rava said: And we are like a finger in wax [kira] with regard to logical reasoning. A finger is not easily pushed into wax, and it extracts nothing from the wax. Rav Ashi said: We are like a finger in a pit with regard to forgetfulness. Just as a finger easily enters a large pit, similarly, we quickly forget our studies.

Ḥizkiya was so impressed by Rabbi Yoḥanan’s comment that he exclaimed about him: This is not a human being, but an angel. Some say that he said: This is an ideal human being. On a similar note, Rabbi Zeira said that Rava bar Zimuna said: If the early generations are characterized as sons of angels, we are the sons of men. And if the early generations are characterized as the sons of men, we are akin to donkeys. And I do not mean that we are akin to either the donkey of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa or the donkey of Rabbi Pinḥas ben Yair, who were both extraordinarily intelligent donkeys; rather, we are akin to other typical donkeys.

Similarly, Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The hearts, i.e., the wisdom, of the early Sages were like the doorway to the Entrance Hall of the Temple, which was twenty by forty cubits, and the hearts of the later Sages were like the doorway to the Sanctuary, which was ten by twenty cubits. And we, i.e., our hearts, are like the eye of a fine needle. He explains: The term early Sages is referring to Rabbi Akiva, and the term later Sages is referring to his student, Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua. Some say that the term early Sages refers to Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua and that the term the later Sages refers to Rabbi Oshaya the Distinguished. And we are like the eye of a fine needle. On the topic of the steady decline of the generations, Abaye said: And we, as far as our capabilities are concerned, are like a peg in the wall with regard to Torah study. Just as a peg enters a wall with difficulty, our studies penetrate our minds only with difficulty. Rava said: And we are like a finger in wax [kira] with regard to logical reasoning. A finger is not easily pushed into wax, and it extracts nothing from the wax. Rav Ashi said: We are like a finger in a pit with regard to forgetfulness. Just as a finger easily enters a large pit, similarly, we quickly forget our studies.

The Gemara responds: In the context of the discussion whether or not human dignity overrides honoring God in the sense of fulfilling his mitzvot, Rav Pappa said to Abaye: What is different about the earlier generations, for whom miracles occurred and what is different about us, for whom miracles do not occur? If it is because of Torah study; in the years of Rav Yehuda all of their learning was confined to the order of Nezikin, while we learn all six orders! Moreover, when Rav Yehuda would reach in tractate Okatzin, which discusses the extent to which the stems of various fruits and vegetables are considered an integral part of the produce in terms of becoming ritually impure, the halakha that a woman who pickles a vegetable in a pot, and some say when he would reach the halakha that olives pickled with their leaves are pure, because after pickling, it is no longer possible to lift the fruit by its leaves, they are no longer considered part of the fruit; he would find it difficult to understand. He would say: Those are the disputes between Rav and Shmuel that we see here. And we, in contrast, learn thirteen versions of Okatzin. While, with regard to miracles, after declaring a fast to pray for a drought to end, when Rav Yehuda would remove one of his shoes the rain would immediately fall, whereas we torment ourselves and cry out and no one notices us. Abaye said to Rav Pappa: The previous generations were wholly dedicated to the sanctification of God’s name, while we are not as dedicated to the sanctification of God’s name. Typical of the earlier generations’ commitment, the Gemara relates: Like this incident involving Rav Adda bar Ahava who saw a non-Jewish woman who was wearing a garment made of a forbidden mixture of wool and linen [karbalta] in the marketplace. Since he thought that she was Jewish, he stood and ripped it from her. It was then divulged that she was a non-Jew and he was taken to court due to the shame that he caused her, and they assessed the payment for the shame that he caused her at four hundred zuz. Ultimately, Rav Adda said to her: What is your name? She replied: Matun. In a play on words, he said to her: Matun, her name, plus matun, the Aramaic word for two hundred, is worth four hundred zuz. It was also related about the earlier generations, that they would degrade themselves in the desire to glorify God. Rav Giddel was accustomed to go and sit at the gates of the women’s immersion sites. He said to them: Immerse yourselves in this way, and immerse yourselves in that way. The Sages said to him: Master, do you not fear the evil inclination? He said to them: In my eyes, they are comparable to white geese. Similarly, the Gemara relates that Rabbi Yoḥanan was accustomed to go and sit at the gates of the women’s immersion sites. Rabbi Yoḥanan, who was known for his extraordinary good looks, explained this and said: When the daughters of Israel emerge from their immersion, they will look at me, and will have children as beautiful as I. The Sages asked him: Master, do you not fear the evil eye? He said to them: I descend from the seed of Joseph over whom the evil eye has no dominion, as it is written: “Joseph is a bountiful vine, a bountiful vine on a spring [alei ayin]” (Genesis 49:22). “Ayin” can mean both “spring” and “eye.” And Rabbi Abbahu said a homiletic interpretation: Do not read it alei ayin, rather olei ayin, above the eye; they transcend the influence of the evil eye.