On the other hand. . . I get a feeling that the Rabbis are aware that THEY'RE the ones doing the categorizing -- that this is a form of order that they are imposing on reality.
There are Laws, which are a form of order which G-d imposes on reality, and then there are Rabbinic interpretations of Laws, which are a form of order which humans create. And I think that the Rabbis are aware that all of their lists of four and lists of three and judgements of whether a particular stove is kosher or not are exercises of human activity.
But, yeah, Judaism dichotomizes quite a bit: tamei/tahor is the most obvious example, and a Rabbi's main job, historically, would have been making judgements about whether a particular object or activity was tamei or tahor in a particular circumstance.
Then again, Judaism measures and quantifies, in a way that discourages absolutism: "How MUCH maror must be consumed in order to fulfil the mitzvah or maror?" And it recognizes levels of observance -- an action may be forbidden, discouraged, neutral, required, or meritorious, for instance.
So, in general, I see Judaism as a religion that is really big on categorizing, but which recognizes the artificiality of such categorizing.
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Re: Well it's just so much EASIER to ignore the [confusing] facts
Date: 2003-07-01 04:33 am (UTC)There are Laws, which are a form of order which G-d imposes on reality, and then there are Rabbinic interpretations of Laws, which are a form of order which humans create. And I think that the Rabbis are aware that all of their lists of four and lists of three and judgements of whether a particular stove is kosher or not are exercises of human activity.
But, yeah, Judaism dichotomizes quite a bit: tamei/tahor is the most obvious example, and a Rabbi's main job, historically, would have been making judgements about whether a particular object or activity was tamei or tahor in a particular circumstance.
Then again, Judaism measures and quantifies, in a way that discourages absolutism: "How MUCH maror must be consumed in order to fulfil the mitzvah or maror?" And it recognizes levels of observance -- an action may be forbidden, discouraged, neutral, required, or meritorious, for instance.
So, in general, I see Judaism as a religion that is really big on categorizing, but which recognizes the artificiality of such categorizing.