tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453787673476195995.post9162482449116610158..comments2024-03-28T23:20:49.777-05:00Comments on Beis Vaad L'Chachamim: Achdus II: Resolution. What Achdus Really MeansEliezer Eisenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16036989084122930226noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453787673476195995.post-26979692529540185822009-07-02T11:19:45.285-05:002009-07-02T11:19:45.285-05:00Michael--one example that I think is very illustra...Michael--one example that I think is very illustrative is (Brachos 61a) "Mano'ach am ha'aretz hayah, dichsiv vayeilech Mano'ach acharei ishto." There, it simply means 'undignified,' or boorish; but Hillel's (Avos 2:6) "lo boor ye'rei chet ve'ein am ha'aretz chasid" implies a distinction. Clearly, as you suggest, the specific meaning of the term "am ha'aretz," while always derogatory, is contextual. Example: (Horyos 13a) "mamzer talmid chacham kodem le'kohen gadol am ha'aretz. There, it cannot mean indifference to Tumah, because meticulous tahara was part of the kohen gadol's job description; also, it is being contrasted with talmid chacham in the context of kavod hatorah.<br><br> For those of you that wondered if there are any topics that remain unplumbed for doctoral theses, here's a 261 page book with a gimlet focus on precisely this question:<br>The 'Am Ha-aretz: A Study in the Social History of the Jewish People in the Hellenistic-Roman Period by Aharon Oppenheimer; translated from German by I. H. Levine.<br><br>And here is the first page of a review of the book:<br>http://jaar.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pdf_extract/XLIX/3/Barzilaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16036989084122930226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453787673476195995.post-84012338224158545792009-07-02T00:11:19.642-05:002009-07-02T00:11:19.642-05:00The Gemara in Chagiga 26a says that although durin...<i>The Gemara in Chagiga 26a says that although during most of the year restrictions on contact with ignorant people were in place, most of these restrictions were lifted on the Shalosh Regalim.</i><br><br>Do you have a mekor for this commonly assumed idea that an am haaretz is an ignoramus? It may be that mean depends on context, but it's pashut (to me at least) that the am haaretz about whom Rav Yochanan says (Pesachim daf 49b) that it's a mitzvah to tear him like a fish, is someone who is not just ignorant but has a deep antagonism to the Chachamim. (Ayein sham. Lots of... wonderful stuff.)Michael Kopinskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16239953045100689630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453787673476195995.post-50107009779036518832009-06-29T09:59:12.703-05:002009-06-29T09:59:12.703-05:00Very nice, especially this one line. So; the sin o...Very nice, especially this one line. <i>So; the sin of sin'as chinam is a predisposition to indifference or dislike of a fellow Jew.</i> I heard many time from my Rosh Yeshiva, R. Meir Stern that the opposite of ahava/love is not hate but rather indifference.LkwdGuyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14676035514801548695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453787673476195995.post-50774924831673378622009-06-24T14:46:32.291-05:002009-06-24T14:46:32.291-05:00I have been curious for a long time as to how is i...I have been curious for a long time as to how is it that we say that it was the lack of achdus that caused the 2nd churban (well sinas chinam) and the big 3 were the cause of the 1st churban. Afterall there seemed to be no shortage of the big 3 during the bayis sheni as evidenced by the existnce of the Baryonim, Misyavnim et al and the first bayis we had 2 seperate kingdoms which regularly fought one another in addition to their proclivity toward murder, theft and idolatry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453787673476195995.post-28362715359313692892009-06-24T14:26:47.465-05:002009-06-24T14:26:47.465-05:00Maybe it's laziness; but I have found that onc...Maybe it's laziness; but I have found that once I articulate the question well, once I eliminate what I think is impossible, my inquiry proceeds into two channels: One, I can think more productively about what answer will be satisfactory, and Two, you, and the commentors on the previous post, are a fertile source of ideas. TBC means to be continued- I really don't have a clear idea yet. I have four or five ideas rattling around here--shared destiny, shared basic philosophy (rachmanim, bayshanim gomlei chasadim) despite wide divergence, mystical one-ness (areivus), love at arm's length with occassional aliyah laregel convocation, spiritual connection as evidenced by a guaranteed share in olam haba, shared methodology in seeking answers (your approach, which seems kind of narrow,) and so on. And if anyone can send me marei mekomos to someone who has discussed this already, I would be thrilled. Like I said, the problem is that people tend to take the easy way out and just kumbaya around the campfire. That, I don't need.Barzilaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16036989084122930226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453787673476195995.post-74874956800491744412009-06-24T13:47:46.751-05:002009-06-24T13:47:46.751-05:00Well you've done a wonderful job of articulati...Well you've done a wonderful job of articulating what achdus isn't , yet I am at a loss to understand what your concept of achdus is or should be. I would suggest that in light of Jewish history of the last several millenia perhaps we could define it as uniformity of purpose. Thus Satmar and Zionist messianists do display achdus as their common goal is the establishment of a Torah based religious community despite differing definitions and visions of that community.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com