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From: de@moscom.UUCP (Dave Esan)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: Controlling one's ([homo]sexual) urges and Halakha
Message-ID: <537@moscom.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 20-May-85 13:31:37 EDT
Article-I.D.: moscom.537
Posted: Mon May 20 13:31:37 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 23-May-85 03:02:19 EDT
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> Surely the prohibition and punishment given from the mouth of G!d
> has precedence over ANY interpretation found in the Talmud.  Perhaps
> we are spending far too much time studying the wisdom of men and not
> enough time obeying the word of God.

This obviously is not true.  Once the Torah was given to man it was up to
man to interpet it, even(!) if it was incorrect.

There is a terrific story in the Talmud of the argument of two rabbis in
the Sanhedrin over a point of law.  The Sanhedrin had voted for one, and
the other stood firm in his rejection of that opinion.  He made trees jump,
rivers back up, and the walls of the building begin to tumble, all in an
attempt to prove that he was correct.  He even asked for a voice from 
heaven, which came and said that he was right.  The head of the Sanhedrin
then announced that the Torah was man's to interpet, and that man must
do it without heaven's interference.

The point remains that the Talmud is the interpretation of the Torah, and
is the point we follow.

We read a life for a life, and yet the rabbis note that even Moshe Rabbenu
interpreted this to mean compensation for an eye, not disfigurement.

David Esan (!ritcv!moscom!de)