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Authority of Halacha in the Classical Sources
by Sasha Stone, Bava…
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Bava Metzia 59b
pshat: Rabbi Eliezer had an opposing argument on where halacha is, and he tried proving his point through miracles, threats, and a heavenly voice agreeing with him. The other Rabbis concluded that Rabbi Eliezer's argument cannot be proven in the heavens and that he must be excommunicated through a majority vote.
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The Role of God in determining halacha is to supply the Jewish people with the basis of halacha in the Written Torah, but humans have the job to interpret the Written Torah and continue to develop halacha as Rabbis in the Beit Midrash and take away God's role of determining halacha. The foundation for halacha was given by God and from that we expand the halacha on earth, not in heaven, however, both have authority. Humans listen to God in the sense of following the majority, so halacha is decided through a majority among Rabbis in order to prevent conflict.
This image of people working as a team represents humans or rabbis now having to work together to develop halacha since that job is no longer God's. By working together they will need to use a majority system where they can all agree like God said and interpret the Written Torah. God provides the foundation of halacha which represents the floor the team of rabbis is standing on that gives them a base to expand their halachic work.
Seder Eliahu Zuta 2
This image is of a D.I.Y shelf made out of a file holder. D.I.Ys represent projects that take something you are given and expands it into something useful through hard work. This is similar to God giving humans the Written Torah and how humans develop halacha by putting in effort and interpreting it like a D.I.Y.
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pshat: This text tells a parable of a King who gave his two servants wheat and flax, but only the sensible servant made this gift into bread and cloth and, therefore, was more beloved. This parable is compared to God giving the Jewish people the Torah to make something out of it and not disregard it.
The role of God in determining halacha is to provide humans with the Written Torah which is the foundation of halacha like how the king gave his servants the gift of wheat and bread as a foundation to make something useful out of it. Human's role in determining halacha is to work hard to interpret and expand on what God gave us similar to how the sensible servant worked hard to create profitable objects from wheat and flax. God is dependent on the Jewish people to participate in developing halacha because we should mimic the sensible servant in order to be beloved by God.
Berakhot 5a
This picture of a balanced scale. One side represents written Torah and the other represents oral Torah. The balance between the 2 sides represents equality between them because the Oral Torah and Written Torah both have the equal authority and importance since they both came from God on Mount Sinai .
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pshat: God gave Moses the ten commandments, Chamush/Torah, Mishnah, Prophets and Writings, and the Talmud on Mount Sinai.
God's role in determining halacha is giving humans both the Oral Torah and Written Torah. The Written Torah is the foundation of halacha. Humans have the role of understanding that both Torahs came from God on Mount Sinai, therefore, they are both important and have the same authority. We must follow the halachot that come from God in every form (ex: Chumash, Mishnah, Writings, etc.) because they are all equal authoritatively.
Shabbat 88a
This image of a surfer surfing a big, dangerous wave represents Gods covenant to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai because God could have killed them if they broke it similar to a surfer is threatened by a big wave because if they mess up, they get crushed. However, if the surfer gets through the wave's curl, they survive and enjoy what they are doing. It is like the Jewish people getting past the threat by accepting the covenant and continuing to live as a Jew because once they accept it willingly, they will enjoy Judaism by willing participating in the covenant. It is rewarding for both the Jew and the surfer to get past their threat and willing either follow the halacha or continue to surf despite the dangers.
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pshat: The Jewish people stood at the foot of Mount Sinai or under the mountain while Moses was receiving the 10 commandments from God. However, Rav Avdimi bar Chama said that if the Jewish people did not accept the Torah, they would die and be buried by the Mountain, Rav Arucha bar Yaakov said this leads to protest against the Torah, and Rava said there is proof that the Jewish people accepted it in the days of Ahasuerus.
The role of God in determining halacha is threatening the Jewish people to accept the covenant of Torah at Mount Sinai and forever, so that they will follow the halachot given to them. The role of humans in determining halacha is to fulfill the covenant, even if it is unwillingly at first, and to eventually accept it willingly later in life to keep Judaism alive.
Eruvin 13b
This image is of the tortoise and the hare where the tortoise wins the race because he was humble, while the hare was cocky and thought of himself as superior and lost. This relates to Eruvin 13b because the tortoise could be seen as the House of Hillel, the hare could be seen as the House of Shammai, and the race path could be seen as God. God is the foundation of the race to have the right halacha between the two houses, but the House of Hillel wins because it was humble by teaching both sides of the argument because they thought both opinions have importance, while the Houseof Shammai only taught their own and veiwed their opinion as superior.
pshat: The House of Shammai and the House of Hillel argued for three years over Jewish law, however, it was decided that both halachot were correct because they are the words of the living God, but the House of Hillel's halacha is going to be used because they were pleasing and humble, they taught their words and the words of the House of Shammai, and they put the words of the House of Shammai before their own.
The role of God in determining halacha is that God's halachot act as a basis for the interpretations of the Jewish people and prove to the Jewish people that all Jewish law is in some way correct if it comes from God's words and they follow what God says. The role of humans in determining halacha is to interpret what God's words from the Tanakh to create the living Torah and logical Jewish law. It is also human's role to be humble and state others' opinions because they are also important coming from the Tanak and should not be forgotten.
