Probably the most popular story in the Talmud is the story of the modular oven (Baba Metzia 59b); its parts connected by sand so that it functioned as a unit, but its parts remained somewhat independent of each other. The question before the Sages was whether this should be considered a finished vessel and therefore subject to the rules of purity and impurity, or whether it was technically under construction and therefore not subject to these rules, the principle being that an unfinished vessel does not have the potential to become impure until it has reached its finished state.
The Sages declare that it is indeed finished enough, while Rabbi Eliezer disagrees and says that it is not. At this point the fireworks begin. Rabbi Eliezer has a number of parlor tricks that he invokes in order to prove that his is the correct opinion. Streams are twisted around, carob trees jump several football fields, the walls of the beit midrash begin to collapse, and finally a heavenly voice descends and announces: “The law always goes according to Rabbi Eliezer!”
None of these “proofs” impress his colleagues, not even the heavenly voice. Quoting from the Torah, they say, “It (the Torah) is not heaven,” and “After the majority one must incline.” Later on, one of the sages sees Elijah the Prophet in the marketplace and asks how the Holy One reacted to the seeming impudence of those sages, and Elijah said, God smiled and said, “My children have defeated me! They have defeated me!”
How is it possible for God to declare that His children defeated Him? What was God intending to teach us through this story?
God wanted to emphasize how important it is to have emunat chachamim, trust in our sages, and how we have to respect them.
The Talmud (Shabbat 23a) instructs us to light Chanukah candles and recite the blessing “Who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us to kindle the Chanukah light.” The Talmud poses the following question: But where in the Torah did God command us to light the Chanukah candles? The Talmud answers: Rav Avya said from the verse “You shall not deviate from the words that they [the rabbis] will tell you” (Deuteronomy 17:11); Rav Nechemiah said from the verse “Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders and they will say to you” (Deuteronomy 32:7).
This idea reminds of my father, z”l, who passed away 23 years ago.
My father was someone who had such a kavod for the Torah and chachamim. Whenever a chacham walked by, my father stood up in awe and trepidation. It did not matter who the chacham was, but it was the fact that my father had to show respect to the Torah.
I often wonder where my father and his generation got this respect from. I believe it is something they got from their childhood. It is something they saw their parents do, and they continued on with this magnificent tradition.
Let us all remember this teaching and continue on living it and perpetuating it to the next generation.
By Rabbi Ilan Acoca
Rabbi Ilan Acoca is the spiritual leader of the Sephardic Congregation of Fort Lee.
