Thursday, 13 May 2010

Perfect Mis-Understandings #4 - Bowing down on mats


Let's call this Wolpoe's Law #1 for Torah Sheb'al Peh [TSBP]
  • We often know WHAT to do
  • We often do not know the correct reason WHY we do it?

Historically, Jews migrated transporting mimetic customs, but due to persecutions and to uprooted communities the rationales did not always survive these migrations. For a REALLY good illustration of this, see the Original Star Trek Series Star Trek Episode 54 - season 2 - the Omega Glory - about the "Yangs" and "Coms" where Capt.Kirk corrects the corrupted Mesorah of what's holy to the Yangs...


I once asked by "yekkishe" Kehilla- why do we use mats. or towels or other coverings when we bow Kor'im on the Yamim Nora'im?

Their virtually unanimous Answer was:
"Why - to keep our pants from getting soiled from the dirt on the floor!"

Spoken like True Yekkes -smile-, their highly rational answer matched their life-style to remain neat and clean; but it ignored the Halachic significance of this practice. [viz. It is prohibited to bow down on stones outside the Beis Hamikdash.] Well, no one had taught them properly, so I was not surprised; and this post is withou malice to these relative innocents. It's just that people project and perpetuate rationales and justifications without being aware of the original facts that triggered the process in the first place.


We need to be careful here. To Paraphrase R. Avraham Ben HaRambam's comments on Aggadita: There are 3 possible positions we can take:

  1. Cynical: Since the REASON is silly, therefore the practice is silly.
  2. Fundamentalistic or Pietistic: Since the Practice is proper, therefore the reason given is somehow correct or infallible.
  3. Rational but Religious Skeptic: The practice may make sense, but the rationale is suspicious. PERHAPS a better rationale can be gained from proper understanding of the sources and the history. Let's throw out the "klippah" and preserve the fruit - as R. Meir did with Elisha ben Avuyah.
The 1st position is contrary to being a seriously faithful religious persona [Rav JB Soloveichik's homo religioso.] The 2nd position is a kind of knee-jerk "no-nothingism" that would portray Torah followers as a group of mindless automotons. The 3rd position proposes to continue to use mats & towels, etc., yet to seriously question the idea that it is a device to keep our pants clean and to research the matter further. Then we would find the Halachic consideration of not prostrating on stone floors outside the Mikdash, etc.


Perhaps this investigation of rationales is an integral part of Nishma. We can pietistically presume that the practice is somehow correct; yet upon reflection, we then rationally question the rationale in order to find a more elegant solution to our curiosity. This 3rd position is a form of the "Golden Mean" between mindlessness and cynicism.

More Mis-understandings later.

Previously Posted: 9/17/07


Garnel Ironheart said...

> where Capt.Kirk corrects the corrupted Mesorah of what's holy to the Yangs...

Lousy, lousy episode. The scene where Kirk recites the declaration of Independence always makes me cringe.

Rabbi R Wolpoe said...

This episode is probably the best illustration of how an Oral Culture can hav a Holy yet corrupted sets of texts and principles that are in need of Superior Insights to fix.

This is the work of all those trying to magiah texts and maybe the single gtreatest avodah of EG the GRA