Timeless Torah

The universe is shrinking. I don’t mean in the physical sense. Indeed in that matter, science has finally caught up to the Midrash that explains how the constellations and the planets are expanding. What I refer to is how the world-at-large communicates. Until recently, humans in different parts of the globe could not speak to one another. Then, just over a century ago, the first telephones were connecting families and distant communities. Then the Fax machine brought us even closer together. What followed were CNN and its instantaneous on-the-spot reporting, the World Wide Web, then the latest Pony Express, E-Mail, and now cell phones that make us accessible 24 hours a day.

With all this talking going on, you would have thought that peace and harmony would reign supreme. Unfortunately, we're talking at each other rather than to each other.

That’s not to say that every conversation turned argument should be tuned out. This week’s teaching of Yosay Ben Yoezer in Ethics of our Fathers reminds us that disagreement does not always produce stress. In the Rabbi’s words, “Let your home be a meeting place for the Sages; dust yourself in the soil of their feet, and drink thirstily of their words.”

To fully appreciate this Mishnah, an historical lesson might be in order. The Jerusalem Talmud in Chagigah relates that until the time of Yosay ben Yoezer there were no disputes among the Sages: For the Torah, together with its interpretation, had been handed down from teacher to disciple in an unbroken chain of tradition. But as the generations grew more distant from Sinai, the phenomenon of the Torah dispute made its appearance with various schools of thought arriving at different and even contrary conclusions.

So why did the era of prophecy and untainted transmission of Torah cease? Why did the age of argument rear its ugly head? Because G-d desired that His Torah should be accepted not only on blind faith, but that it be filtered through the human mind. This is so, regardless of the caliber of a particular generation’s intellectual and spiritual prowess. What is crucial is that mortal man apply his intelligence to the principles handed down from Sinai.

But when the era of opposing opinions began, there were those who felt uncomfortable. Arguments, disagreements, factions, what has any of this to do with Torah, the revealed word of G-d, they wondered? Maybe the Rabbis should first work things out among themselves and only then should we invite them into our lives to hear their agreed upon conclusion. Thus it was in the days of Yosay ben Yoezer that he felt compelled to say, “Let your home be a meeting place for the Sages.” For until Yosay’s time, who would hesitate to make his home a center for Torah scholarship?

Still there were others who, though not quite as disapproving had their reservations. “The old Rabbis are always welcome,” they said. “Their motives are pure, and even when they disagree, they do so in a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect. But their students, those brash young men at their feet, who argue with a single-minded ferocity, they can stay outside. “

It was this attitude that Yosay ben Yoezer addressed with the phrase, “Dust yourself in the soil of their feet, and drink thirstily of their words.” For if in the quest for truth some dust and soil gets tracked into your home and the carpet becomes a little soiled, so be it. It is our human selves, imperfections and all, which G-d chose to be the processors of His truth. And if you drink thirstily of the Torah, even in the age of uncertainty, you will discover life-giving waters, regardless of the shortcomings of the water-drawers.

 So if the discussion grows heated, and the dust begins to swirl about the debaters' feet, don't walk out the door. On the contrary, invite them into your home, let them have it out in your living room, and drink in every word. A bit of dirt never hurt the truth.