A saying of the rabbis: ‘Great is human dignity, since it overrides a negative precept of the Torah’. (Shabbat 81b) To respect someone's dignity - especially a scholar - a negative commandment (thou shalt not) can be suspended. The classic case, found elsewhere in the Talmud (Menachot 37b) is of a scholar who discovers while walking down the street that his clothes have mixed materials (ie linen and wool). Normally one should remove the garment immediately even in public. But for the sake of dignity the requirement would be suspended.
This might feel obvious to us - but it is not. How does one have the right to suspend a Torah commandment? After all it says in the Bible "No wisdom, no prudence, and no counsel can prevail against the Lord" (Proverbs 21:39) which seems to require a strict interpretation of the law. However rabbinic permission for interpretation is given by the Torah command "you shall act in accordance with the instruction given you and the ruling handed down to you. . .(Deut. 17:11). So it is within rabbinic power to make exceptions.
This argument of strict law verses sympathy based on human need continues to this day. I argue for human dignity.
No comments:
Post a Comment