Our second MOOCfest happened today, teams of students giving presentations on "world religions" from the "Scriptures and Traditions" module they're following. Reporting on the second fourth of each course, they shared the discovery that these traditions are big, unwieldy, complicated, overwhelming. A theme going through this section of all of the modules was how these traditions had come to terms with their canons - whether "open" or "closed" or "dual" - and the inescapability of interpretation. Making things more complicated still were oral traditions (some of them later written down, go figure) found necessary to explicate the meaning of written scripture. How do we know which parts need interpretation? are different texts addressed to different audiences? are there passages nobody should hope or claim to understand? and how can one know which later interpreter or interpretive strategy is legitimate in the first place? What fun!
Here's a taste from the Judaism module. (FYI Akiva ben Yosef lived c. 50–135 CE. The course dates the Bavli/Babylonian Talmud to 500 CE.)
When Moses ascended [on Mount Sinai] he saw God attaching crownlets to the letters [of the Written Torah]. Moses said to God, “Master of the Universe, why are you bothering with this?” God replied, “There is a man who is destined to be born at the end of many generations, named Akiva ben Yosef, who will learn heaps and heaps of laws from each crownlet.” Moses said to God, “Master of the Universe, show him to me.” God replied, “Turn around.” Moses went and sat in the eighth row [of students in Rabbi Akiva’s academy] but he could not understand what they were saying. He became faint. But when they came to a certain topic and the students said to Rabbi Akiva, “Rabbi, how do you know this?” He answered them, “It is a law given to Moses at Sinai.” And Moses was comforted.
Here's a taste from the Judaism module. (FYI Akiva ben Yosef lived c. 50–135 CE. The course dates the Bavli/Babylonian Talmud to 500 CE.)
When Moses ascended [on Mount Sinai] he saw God attaching crownlets to the letters [of the Written Torah]. Moses said to God, “Master of the Universe, why are you bothering with this?” God replied, “There is a man who is destined to be born at the end of many generations, named Akiva ben Yosef, who will learn heaps and heaps of laws from each crownlet.” Moses said to God, “Master of the Universe, show him to me.” God replied, “Turn around.” Moses went and sat in the eighth row [of students in Rabbi Akiva’s academy] but he could not understand what they were saying. He became faint. But when they came to a certain topic and the students said to Rabbi Akiva, “Rabbi, how do you know this?” He answered them, “It is a law given to Moses at Sinai.” And Moses was comforted.
Talmud Bavli, Tractate Menahot 29b
