Radak (Shmuel 1 28:24) The act of necromancy is nonsense, lies, and ridiculous…the story of Samuel and Saul never was real, and Samuel never rose from his grave. The woman did it all through trickery…" This is the commentary of the gaon Rav Shmuel the son of Chofni, and he said this even though it can be implied from the words of the sages in the Gemara that the woman truly did revive Samuel. He did not accept what was written there, for there are those who use reason to deny it.”
There are a few solutions to this.
ReplyDelete1. In Tanakh times there were such powers, along with nevuah.
In rishonim era it's gone.
2. Tanakh is speaking about what appeared to them, but the explanation might be different.
Rambam says all miracles can be explained scientifically.
3. There may be another function to what Rambam is saying. Even though the Torah implies that communicating with the dead is possible - that might be a rare phenomenon, and for majority of cases it is all deception. So the function of the halacha is to keep us away from all the nonsense and fraud involved this necromancy.
DeleteOne opinion in Chazal synthesizes the two positions. The witch of Endor (which would later host the 2nd Death Star but I digress) was a fraud and used trickery. That evening God decided to actually give her the power just once and she was able to raise Shmuel HaRo'eh. And Chazal say that she was the most surprised of the bunch.
Delete“Contradicting Tanach” Daf Hayomi today Tractate Zevachim 108b
ReplyDeleteThe mishna teaches: Rabbi Yosei says: And one is liable for offering up an offering outside the courtyard only once he offers it up upon the top of an altar that was erected there….But also according to the other opinion, Rabbi Yosei’s, isn’t it written: “And Manoah took…and offered it up upon the rock [Judges 13:19]”? How does he explain that verse? The Gemara answers: The use of a rock in that case was a provisional edict issued in exigent circumstances, by the angel who visited Manoah, and so one cannot derive normative halakha from it.
Beautiful. My theory. Wow Judges 13:15-19 “15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.” 16 The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the Lord.) 17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?” 18 He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.[a]” 19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched:”
Wow! Manoah lived when the Mishkan was in Shiloah and it was forbidden to offer sacrifices outside of the Mishkan, Yet Manoah offered a burnt offering on a rock! Hey, this relates to my case fighting for 100% of my TIAA pension. I taught at NYC colleges 17 years paying TIAA for my pension; my last 3 years at Lehman College September 1988-June 1991. I made Aliya July 8, 1991 and my wife Susan then refused to join me (as she promised). TIAA paid Susan 55% of my TIAA pension from early 1944 until November 2025. December 2025 paid me 100% my TIAA pension $2,679.93. I thanked God with a bracha. I don’t know if I’ll get 100% also in January. I keep filing UPS court documents and complaints against Judge Prus etc.
According to the plain reading of Judges 13: 24-25 the story of Samson was real: “24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, 25 and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.” Today is the time of the geulah shelemah.
Happy New Year 2026 to one and all! Allow me my UPS letter December 29, 2025 \P3: QDRO207 Judge Ambrosio signed July 24, 2007 states in \P7: Gerald Aranoff has irrevocably elected \ldots with Yemima Aranoff as the second annuitant for life if she survives him. No. Lie. Susan Aranoff, not Gerald Aranoff, engineered the switch in my contract with TIAA that in effect removes Yemima as the beneficiary of my TIAA pension when I elected to received monthly payments from TIAA right after I married Yemima May 9, 1993.
ReplyDelete