Yesterday, post was well received, but by negelecting to provide sources, I inadvertenly opened the gates of denial,. This oversight is corrected below:
DB: The universe is very old
TFM: Is not! Now excuse me while I use my cell phone,computer and car, all of which are based upon some of the same principles used to determine the age of universe.
See: Doppler Effect and JS's explanation of how our cell phones wouldn't work if the universe was young
DB: The universe is very old, according to official card-carrying gedolim such as the Ramban, the Ibn Ezra, the Sforno, Yitzchak of Acco, and the Tiferet Yisroel.
TFM: Yeah right. [eye roll]
See this collection of quotes from Sages who embraced the idea of an old universe.
DB: Well, the Ramban agrees that Hebrew wasn't the first language.
TFM: La, la, I can't hear you. Anyway we don't pasken like that, he was wrong, in the grips of Greek science, and some kind of sinister Spaniard besides. Now, hush while I meditate over the final instructions he left for his son. And did you see that neat-o thing he said about magic and kabbalah that I bearly understood?
See this post about the Ramban's view of the subject
DB: Additionally, the Ramban, together with every one of the Geonim, and most of the Rishonim say that we're free to accept and reject midrashim as we see fit.
TFM: See la la la above, and how dare you disrespect Chazal by attempting to understand their teachings as they were likely intended to be understood. I suggest you go to a mussar shmooze on emunat chachamim, so you can finally learn which chachamin deserve our emunah and which do not.
See this post about how the Geonim and Rishonim actually viewed Midrashim
TFM: Oy vey! A child of Cham has become president! Let us pray. Let us cover our heads with ashes. Let us tear our clothing. A law of nature has been violated!
DB: Well, don't get carried away. The ibn Ezra, Samsom Rephael Hirsch, and the Solivetchik brothers all read that famous verse in a way that would not preclude a black man from acquiring that authority; moreover, R' Hirsch didn't think the verse had anything to say about the black people alive today. So put away the sackcloth.
TFM: How can that be? My biases and prejudices are deeply felt, and confirmed by years of narrow-minded living. I find it impossible to believe that any great Torah authority might have thought otherwise.
See this post about a more polite, and certainly more accurate way of understanding the verse in question.
TFM: The Torah is completely divine, and every word and every letter in the MT is exactly as Moshe received it!
DB: Well, actually, that's a relativly new idea and one the evidence suggests wasn't accepted by every godol in every time and place. The Talmud, the Tosfot, the Ramah, the Ibn Ezra, and others dispute it to varying degrees. There are even a few censored Rashis that suggest he disputed it.
TFM: [Gasp of astonished disbelief] Well, none of you are Orthodox! None of you! Now, get lost. I want to shuckle, hum, and sway over this disagreement between Rashi and the Ramah regarding this Tosfot. I have no time for your claptrap!
See this post about
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Buy my book. (please)
DB: The universe is very old
TFM: Is not! Now excuse me while I use my cell phone,
See: Doppler Effect and JS's explanation of how our cell phones wouldn't work if the universe was young
DB: The universe is very old, according to official card-carrying gedolim such as the Ramban, the Ibn Ezra, the Sforno, Yitzchak of Acco, and the Tiferet Yisroel.
TFM: Yeah right. [eye roll]
See this collection of quotes from Sages who embraced the idea of an old universe.
DB: Well, the Ramban agrees that Hebrew wasn't the first language.
TFM: La, la, I can't hear you. Anyway we don't pasken like that, he was wrong, in the grips of Greek science, and some kind of sinister Spaniard besides. Now, hush while I meditate over the final instructions he left for his son. And did you see that neat-o thing he said about magic and kabbalah that I bearly understood?
See this post about the Ramban's view of the subject
DB: Additionally, the Ramban, together with every one of the Geonim, and most of the Rishonim say that we're free to accept and reject midrashim as we see fit.
TFM: See la la la above, and how dare you disrespect Chazal by attempting to understand their teachings as they were likely intended to be understood. I suggest you go to a mussar shmooze on emunat chachamim, so you can finally learn which chachamin deserve our emunah and which do not.
See this post about how the Geonim and Rishonim actually viewed Midrashim
TFM: Oy vey! A child of Cham has become president! Let us pray. Let us cover our heads with ashes. Let us tear our clothing. A law of nature has been violated!
DB: Well, don't get carried away. The ibn Ezra, Samsom Rephael Hirsch, and the Solivetchik brothers all read that famous verse in a way that would not preclude a black man from acquiring that authority; moreover, R' Hirsch didn't think the verse had anything to say about the black people alive today. So put away the sackcloth.
TFM: How can that be? My biases and prejudices are deeply felt, and confirmed by years of narrow-minded living. I find it impossible to believe that any great Torah authority might have thought otherwise.
See this post about a more polite, and certainly more accurate way of understanding the verse in question.
TFM: The Torah is completely divine, and every word and every letter in the MT is exactly as Moshe received it!
DB: Well, actually, that's a relativly new idea and one the evidence suggests wasn't accepted by every godol in every time and place. The Talmud, the Tosfot, the Ramah, the Ibn Ezra, and others dispute it to varying degrees. There are even a few censored Rashis that suggest he disputed it.
TFM: [Gasp of astonished disbelief] Well, none of you are Orthodox! None of you! Now, get lost. I want to shuckle, hum, and sway over this disagreement between Rashi and the Ramah regarding this Tosfot. I have no time for your claptrap!
See this post about
.---------
Buy my book. (please)
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