(Please include header and footer when redistributing this material.)
_________________________________________________________________
THE DAFYOMI DISCUSSION LIST
brought to you by Kollel Iyun Hadaf of Yerushalayim
Rosh Kollel: Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE TO DISCUSS THE DAF WITH THE KOLLEL]
________________________________________________________________
Zevachim 113: The Re'em and the Teivah
Michael Novich <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> asked:
I was discussing the Re'em story with the magidei shiur in my neighborhood
and every one of them was wondering what chidushei agadah were written on
it? As its basically the only aggadah in Zevachim they weren't sure where
one could find another explanation for the gemara.
Michael Novich, New York, USA
----------------------------------------------
The Kollel replies:
Your Magidei Shiur are not the only ones wondering about this Agadah. The
main discussion of the "one day old Re'em" is in Bava Basra - it was one of
Rabah bar bar Chanah's observations. The commentaries there offer various
metaphorical explanations for RBBC's bizarre observations. For instance,
the Maharsha there offers a beautiful explanation for the piece about the
day old Re'em as referring to Yehoshua ('v'Karnei Re'em Karnav", see Rashi
Devarim 33:17), who stopped the Jordan with the "*Kapos* Raglei Kohanim"
and stopped the sun, such that his might was witnessed and respected by the
entire land, just as Har Tavor, the tallest mountain in the land, was
visible to all - etc.
But if the testimony of RBBC is no more than a metaphor, what bearing does
it have on the argument between Reish Lakish and Rebbi Yochanan, and why is
it discussed in our Sugya! I suppose this is what was bothering your
Magidei Shiur as well.
Let me share with you what I found on this matter:
(a) The BEN YEHOYADA concludes, because of our question, that this Gemara
is nothing more than "Pilpula d'Oraisa." The Gemara should actually have
said "That is nothing more than a metaphor!" But instead it "played out"
the question and deals with it as though it were a serious question in
order to "practice Talmudic methodology."
I found that the RASHBA in Peirushei ha'Hagados (Bava Basra 74a, p. 98 in
Mosad Rav Kook edition) makes a similar observation (regarding the
discussions of the Leviathan there). He notes that once the Gemara makes a
Mashal to teach a certain concept, it often follows through on the Mashal
as though it were actually describing a reality.
(b) The MAHARAL in Chidushei Agadah takes the Agadah more seriously. He
explains that although the size of the beast is a metaphor, nevertheless,
the size of the Teivah also has metaphorical meaning (aside from its
literal meaning). If the metaphorical size of the beast is too large to fit
into the metaphorical size given for the Teivah, the metaphors demonstrate
that, for whatever reason, the former cannot be brought into the latter.
(c) If you are interested in a philosophical/allegorical approach, I will
suggest my own interpretation of this Agadah (which, in my opinion, is in
keeping with the words of both the Maharal and the Rashba cited above). In
*brief*, here it is.
First, what is the "Re'em"? I would suggest that this is the giant Behemot
b'Harerei Elef of the RBBC Gemara in Bava Basra 74. Even if it isn't (after
all, the Behemoth was sterilized before bearing any young, and it seems
that the Urzila/Re'em did have young), it has a similar metaphorical
meaning to the gargantuan Behemoth beast.
The Rashba (ibid.) discusses at length the metaphorical meanings of the
male and female Leviathan and Behemoth, that will be devoured by the
righteous in the World to Come. (We referred to his words briefly in our
Insights to Avodah Zarah 3:3.) In short, he has the female and male
Leviathans representing the components of human thought (respectively,
thinking itself, and the ability to control that process and direct it
towards following the will of Hashem). The Behemoth, as its name implies,
represents the more mundane aspects of man: respectively the material
("Chomer") from which the body is made, and the form ("Tzurah") that that
material is given. Based on these definitions, he proposes wonderfully
enlightening explanations for numerous Agados in the RBBC Sugya.
The Gemara here understood that the Mabul was more than just a flood of hot
water. It was a Gezeirah from Heaven of annihilation. It carried with it a
spiritual "anti-life" force, in a sense.
When a living object is destroyed, it can eventually regenerate and regrow
- but only if there is something left for it to regenerate from, sort of
like a seed that can develop into a tree. Thus, if the entire world had
suffered a Mabul, the Gemara understood that there would not be a way for
life to return to the world, since it could no longer could support the
"Chomer and Tzurah" of physical life. The Gemara explains that according to
Rebbi Yochanan, who maintains that Eretz Yisrael was spared from the
Mabul's destructive forces, the earth's power to support life regenerated
from what was left of it in Eretz Yisrael. But according to Reish Lakish,
how did the earth return to supporting life? The assumption here is that
what survived in the Teivah was not considered to be "part of this world"
at all. The Teivah was its own environment -- sort of like a different
planet, floating in the waters of the Mabul. That is how it survived the
life-taking force of the Mabul. Thus, it could not return to the earth its
life-giving powers.
The Gemara answers that according to Reish Lakish, the Teivah was indeed
part of the world around it; it was not disassociated from the earth. The
"nose" ("va'Yipach b'Apav Nishmas Chayim") of physical creatures, from
which life entered and would be regenerated, was firmly stuck in the Teivah
itself. Being part of the world, the waters around it were affected by its
protected presence and were cooled somewhat. "Horns" -- the uppermost part
of an animal -- always represent greatness and prominence. The cream of the
living creatures of the earth inhabited the Teivah, and it was from them
that the earth regenerated life.
I hope you find this helpful. Best wishes for a Gemar Chasimah Tovah,
M. Kornfeld
Kollel Iyun Hadaf
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send email to
[EMAIL PROTECTED] with this text in the body of the message:
unsubscribe daf-discuss
