“. . . every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” Matthew 13:52
Spirited debate plays a crucial role in the history and culture of the Jewish people. Let’s take a look at a lengthy argument that took place about two thousand years ago. The story is found in the Talmud, tractate Eruvin, page 13b:
For three years there was a dispute between the House of Shammai and the House of Hillel, the former asserting, “The proper practice is in agreement with our views.” And the latter contending, “The practice is in agreement with our views.” Then a voice from heaven announced that “Both these and those are the words of the living God, but the practice is according to the rulings of the House of Hillel.”
“The House” means “the disciples of.” The disciples of Shammai and of Hillel argued for three years, back and forth, back and forth. Now, that’s an argument! Oddly, we’re not even told what they were arguing about. But, then again, they argued over just about everything, usually taking exactly opposite positions.
“. . . every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” Matthew 13:52
In the August 2009 issue of Verge, I wrote about the crucial role that spirited debate has in the history and culture of the Jewish people. We looked at a lengthy debate that took place between the House (or disciples) of Shammai and the House of Hillel. Finally, a heavenly voice intervened, saying “both these and those are the words of the living God, but the practice is according to the rulings of the House of Hillel.”
But how can the words of both Houses be “words of the living God?” They can’t both be right—since they disagreed with each other, obviously one of them must be right and the other must be wrong! The answer is that taken separately the words of both Houses are just human words. Only when taken together, in the process of vigorous debate, can their words be considered “words of the living God.” In the development of our tradition, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, greater than all the rabbis put together.