Sunday 28 April 2013

Is a Given Text Always Taken at Face Value?

Recently, I was learning a bit of Mishnayyot. Concurrently I had been debating about the parameters of revising our INTERPRETATIONS of a given text in light of external difficulties....

Mar'eh M'komot:
Mishnah K'subbos 3:7 [text below]
Bartenura [RO"B] D"H - K'illu hee shifchah
Ikkar Tosafot YomTov [ITY"T] #19
Note: I did no further research, rather I just used the texts on the page - since my point is to neither pasken nor to give a definitive p'shat in the Mishnah, but rather to illustrate how a shakla v'tarya works in a real case.

Mishnah Re: P'gam - The valuation is taken as a Shifchah Nimkeret
RO"B - We evaluate the difference between a Shifchah B'tulah vs. Shifchah B'ulah ...
ITYT - Teima d'mah Shuma hee?! What about an important woman, is she measured as merely a Shifchah? ...
V'yeish Lomar - we evaluate every woman as she is, and the Mishnah only used "Urcha d'milsa". Source - Tosafot
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IOW based upon the illogic of the Mishnah as is and as further explained by RO"B, we evaluate as a shifchah. However, logic/s'vara begs us to set it aside in favor of a more reasonable model and chalk up the language as "Lav Davka" and only a common illustration.
Now how can Tosafot do that? And even if Tosafot did it, if this is indeed a "radical" revision, why would ITY"T echo it? Lich'ora he should have rejected it as a Tzorich Iyyun?
Ela Mai? We see that explicit texts themselves have a certain Torah sheb'al Peh component. And we use S'vara to refine our understanding of what the text really MEANS to say. We need not necessarily be slavish to it if it offends certain principles. Sometimes there is more to it.
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מסכת כתובות פרק ג
ג,ו  [ז] ואיזו היא בושת, הכול לפי המבייש והמתבייש.
* פגם, רואין אותה כאילו היא שפחה נמכרת--כמה הייתה יפה, וכמה היא יפה.*
  קנס, שווה לכל אדם; וכל שיש לו קצבה מן התורה, שווה לכל אדם.

Best Regards,
RRW















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