Solomon Schechter Should Keep Quiet
On the Main Line has posted a letter to the editor that was published in the Jewish Standard of London on January 4, 1889. The writer protested against a lecture in Talmud by Solomon Schechter in which he spoke about demonology and other superstitious beliefs that the writer felt would be better left unspoken about in public.
When he (i.e. Schechter-MM) quotes from the Talmud instances of supernaturalism and demonology, connected with the fɶtal life, birth and infancy of a child which move the audience to mirth and laughter it must do much mischief. To very many of the audience the Talmud is a sealed book, and Mr. Schechter its ablest exponent; when these hear this indifferent remarks and comments on such fables or allegories as he quoted, they take it as Mr. Schechter’s estimate of the Talmud and make it their own, and go home with the idea that all these large volumes are crammed with kindred impossibilities.
The issue of superstition and demonology in Talmudic literature was on the minds of many Jewish scholars in the nineteenth century. For a discussion of some of these Talmudic, specifically Bavli, detractors, see: Gafni, Isaiah M. (1999) Talmudic Research in Modern Times: Between Scholarship and Ideology. Jüdische Geschichte in hellenistisch-römischer Zeit: pp. 133-148. (here)
February 6th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
i too await a “full and ample explanation” meanwhile we go to war with the talmud that we have.
February 8th, 2011 at 11:12 am
I like the title of this post — Maybe Schechter will issue a blistering response — It seems that deceased scholars have been entering the blogosphere recently.