Thursday, October 11, 2018

Overview of Methods in Talmudic Hermeneutics


 In a very interesting book about why the Torah begins with the Hebrew letter beit (ב), Michael J. Alter gave the following brief overview of the various methods of Talmudic hermeneutics which some who follow this blog will appreciate:

Talmudic hermeneutics, in particular, deals with the rules of the determination of the exact meaning of the TaNaKh (the Jewish Bible). “By the expression ‘Talmudic hermeneutics,’ we mean the expounding of principles and rules that the masters of the Talmud established for the interpretation of the Written Law” (Marc-Alain Ouaknin, The Burnt Book, trans. Llewellyn Brown [Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995], p. 70). The Talmud is the embodiment of the Oral Torah and is the basic compendium of Jewish law, thought, and Biblical commentary, comprising the Mishnah and Gemara. In the Talmud the rules of determining exact meaning are termed middot (measurements or rules). Jewish tradition holds that the Torah was originally received by Moses in a shorthand style together with a set of oral rules. Various collections of these rules existed in tannaitic times (the first to third centuries CE).

The oral traditional provides or the means of deciphering the shorthand text. Over tine various collections of rules were developed and formulated. The Seven Rules of R. Hillel were developed by the greatest sage of the Second Temple period (first century) and founder of the school known as the House of Hillel (Beth Hillel). Hillel’s Seven Middot are:

1.     Kal va-Homer: Drawing a conclusion from either a minor premise (i.e., assumption or inference) or from a major premise to a minor one.
2.     Gezerah Shavah: Drawing a conclusion from the similarity of words or phrases occurring in two separate biblical sentences (inference from analogy of words). Thus, what is expressed in one applies also to the other.
3.     Binyan Av mi Katuv Echad: Drawing a general principle from a single Biblical text. Thus, a certain passage serves as a basis for the interpretation of many others.
4.     Bintyan Av mi-Shene Ketuvim: Drawing a general principle from two biblical passages.
5.     Kel u-Perat u Perat u-Kelal: A general statement limited by a particular which follows, or a particular limited by a following general one.
6.     Ka-Yotze Bo be-Makom Aher: Drawing a conclusion from a Biblical passage according to another of similar context.
7.     Davar ha-Lamed me-Inyano: Determining the meaning of ambiguous, or obscure words of passages and phrases from the context in which you find them.  (Michael J. Alter, Why the Torah Begins with the Letter Beit [Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson Inc., 1998], xxiv-xxv)