We were discussing the role of the Masoretes such as Ben Asher as to the finalization of the Masoretic text.
It seems that some people feel that the Masoretes MUST have settled every outstanding issue.
Story:
A Colleague of mine and also a teacher remarked -
"In the G'mara you find "Teiku" but you'll NEVER find Teiku in the Shulchan Aruch"
Meaning to imply: that the S"A settled all the gray areas one way or another.
Unfortunately for my chaveir, I was there and I also knew this to be an exaggeration; and so like the good Captain of the HMS Pinnafore, it is a good idea to emend NEVER to "Hardly Ever".
For exceptions see S"A O"Ch 3, S'ifim 12, 13, 14
There, instead of Teiku, the M'chabbeir uses the bittuy "Yeish l'histappeik" as his way of expressing a doubt as to how to resolve the issue.
So the S"A hardly ever leaves an issue unresolved, but does so on some occasions. Of course since 3 of those occasions are near the very beginning, many of us come across these more frequently than say more obscure examples.
So to say that the S"A settled every case without exclusion is IMHO an exaggeration, but close to the truth.
Maybe the same for the Masoretes.
Just a thought.
-----------------------------------------
Shalom and Best Regards,
RRW
MISTAKES are always forgivable
If you have the courage to admit them.
No comments:
Post a Comment