The Friends We Made Along the Way (Eruvin 53b)

This series of short tales, told in the voice of the Talmudic sage, Yehoshua ben Chananya are typically presented (by standard commentaries and in the regular Sefaria translation) as tales where this notable Sage of Israel loses three debates to three seemingly unworthy opponents (an ordinary woman, a young girl, and a little boy!). In this sheet, however, I will attempt a reading based on the view of Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad (author of Ben Ish Chai and Ben Yehoyada). Rabbi Yosef Chaim does not view these stories as debates but as parables about three broad stages in life. The "debate opponent" represents a kind of guide that offers a valuable lesson concerning each of these stages in life.

According to Rabbi Yosef Chaim (see sources section at end of sheet), the three incidents below seem to clearly point to a deliberate construction and organisation. As Rabbi Yosef Chaim was trained in the Jewish mystical tradition, he not only explains these stories/parables as moralistic teachings, but he also suggests they may refer to the various aspects of the divine soul. In this framework, the woman corresponding to the Neshama/Intellect, the young boy to the Ruach/Emotions, and the young girl to the Nefesh/Behaviour.

Another possible approach would be to insist that the parables offered by Rabbi Yosef Chaim seem forced and seem to be offered only on account that the plain reading seems to indicate a fault on the part of the Talmudic sage. Additionally, the parable approach does not explain why these stories are prefaced with the statement that Yehoshua ben Chananya never lost an argument except in these three cases. If they are individual parables, it would not be necessary to make that statement. Instead, we may read these stories to align with the reflexive critique of the rabbis. This style of critique appears in other Talmudic tales like those of Rabbi Elazar ben Shimon and the ugly man (Taanit 20a) or the tale of Rabbi Yannai and the well-dressed man (Vayikra Rabbah 9:3). In this case, the sage is outside of his domain (the House of Study) where he would normally be the expert debater. Instead, he finds himself in three different domains (inn, field, road) where individuals from other strata of society who are involved in work or other menial activities (woman/hostess, girl/farm worker, boy/crossroad worker*) who demonstrate that they too have much wisdom.

Note that according to the opening line, the order of the characters and the order of the stories do not align. The opening line lists (1) Woman (2) Boy (3) Girl, while the stories list (1) Woman (2) Girl (3) Boy. A simple approach would be to insist that this is merely stylistic. The words "boy and girl" in Hebrew (tinok v'tinoket) seems simpler than the more awkward tinoket v'tinok. Or, the order of stories in the opening line reflect the succession of "debate losses". First the sage loses an argument with a woman (adult, non-sage), then to a male child, and finally to a female child. But this does not explain why the stories are out of order. Perhaps, in the original tale, the boy was working in the field (story #2) and the girl was sitting at the crossroads (story #3). What does this explain? Perhaps, due to the sensitivity of a later editor, the roles of the boy and girl were exchanged. If this is the case, this hints to the limits of reflexivity on the part of the Talmudic authors who are unsure if insisting that even a girl at the crossroads* can win a debate against a sage is one step too far. Alternatively, the third tale involves the sage showing affection for the young child, and the later Talmudic editor may have wished to not make the sage appear "immodest" by showing affection for the girl.

Similar to this last point of discussion, Rabbi Yosef Chaim considers why the young boy received praise while the woman and girl did not (see source below).

*The designation of men sitting at the crossroad is sometimes a reference to bandits (see for example, Bereishit Rabbah 22.6). The designation of a woman at a crossroad is a reference to prostitution (see for example, Jerusalem Talmud Taanit 1:4).

One short Sefaria-linked commentary displayed below. Plus, links for secondary sources that cite Rabbi Yosef Chaim's interpretation can be found on HebrewBooks: