I was pretty annoyed at that posting. Calling Rabbi Yochanan bull-headedly stubborn, ostensibly only recognizing his mistake after he made his sister a widow, is Bizui Talmidei Chachamim.
How would you react if someone said that about R' Moshe Feinstein or the Chofetz Chaim.
See Sichos Mussar for a far different approach to understanding Rabbi Yochanan. http://mishmar.blogspot.com/2006/11/contemporary-commentary-to-bava-metzia_14.html
Frankly, I am sick and tired of all the Tanach/Aggadic interpretations, coming from all over non-Charedi circles, which portray X as the old-school, ghettoized, closed-minded, anti-social, ivory tower Taireh-only freakazoid, and Y, the one who smells like a rose, as the fresh, with-it, normal one.
R' Yochanan ben Zakkai, Rabbi Yochanan, Yaakov Avinu, etc. etc. are all Charedi caricatures who Hashem or Chazal condemn for being so Charedi. I HATE it.
His book of Pesach/Hagaddah essays available for free here is a very worthwhile read.
ReplyDeleteI was pretty annoyed at that posting. Calling Rabbi Yochanan bull-headedly stubborn, ostensibly only recognizing his mistake after he made his sister a widow, is Bizui Talmidei Chachamim.
ReplyDeleteHow would you react if someone said that about R' Moshe Feinstein or the Chofetz Chaim.
See Sichos Mussar for a far different approach to understanding Rabbi Yochanan.
http://mishmar.blogspot.com/2006/11/contemporary-commentary-to-bava-metzia_14.html
Frankly, I am sick and tired of all the Tanach/Aggadic interpretations, coming from all over non-Charedi circles, which portray X as the old-school, ghettoized, closed-minded, anti-social, ivory tower Taireh-only freakazoid, and Y, the one who smells like a rose, as the fresh, with-it, normal one.
ReplyDeleteR' Yochanan ben Zakkai, Rabbi Yochanan, Yaakov Avinu, etc. etc. are all Charedi caricatures who Hashem or Chazal condemn for being so Charedi. I HATE it.