The Non Halachic Part of Talmud Part 2

RAMBAM (1138-1204) was well aware of the controversy concerning the Aggadic (non halachic, narrative) parts of Talmud. Perhaps the strongest defender of the Oral Torah until his time (Karaite heresy had been around for 400 years, denounced, but tolerated. RAMBAM wrote them out of the Jewish people, unless they repent, and even encouraged violence towards them.) At the same time, he was a physician, a man of science. He deals with this issue in his commentary to the Mishnah. He states that there are three schools of thought on the aggadah. First, there are those who take aggadah literally. He says that if this works for them, fine. But let them remain silent, so that we will not all be considered fools (!). Second, there are those who reject aggadah outright. But aggadah comprises a huge part of Talmudic literature. He saw this rejection as heresy. He offers a third approach. The sages were deep philosophers, who clothed their ideas in metaphors and allegory. His son, Rabbi Avraham, elucidates this point. He writes that whereas his father wrote his "Guide For The Perplexed" in order to interpret the true concepts of the Written  Torah, and distinguish them for the narrative, much of which, in RAMBAM's opinion, is allegorical, he really wanted to write a similar work on the Talmud. But, "Moses feared to come nigh". With Karaite heresy running rampant at that time, he was afraid that any reinterpretation of the Talmud could be used by the Karaites to undermine Judaism. Rabbi Avraham gives an example of his father's approach. In the Torah, we read that Og, King of Bashan, was a giant, who sought to keep the Israelites from coming to the land. How big was he? Well the Torah says that his bed was 9 cubits long. (about 13 feet). But the aggadic parts of Talmud assert that he was really huge. This was not his bed, but his cradle! When Og saw the Israelites coming, he sized up the situation. The Israelite camp was three parasangs long (about 10 miles). He uprooted a mountain that was three parasangs across, carried it on his head, and was prepared to throw it on the Israelites. But a miracle happened, in which G-d made ants to bore a hole in the mountain, so that it fell over his head and became stuck. Moses was ten cubits tall (fifteen feet)  took an ax ten cubits long, jumped ten cubits into the air, and struck Og on his ankle, thereby killing him. Rabbi Avraham explains it as his father saw it. The three parasangs of the camp meant that Israel was bringing the spiritual treasures of the three patriarchs. Og wished to indicate that pagan culture and thought were so superior, it could just be thrown on us and we would cease our march toward holiness. He carried the mountain on his head, symbolizing the old ideas of the pagans. But G-d could defeat this with one of the flimsiest creatures in the world; the ant. Moses symbolized everything holy. The tabernacle was ten cubits tall. That seems like something very minor compared to the might of the pagans and their culture. Only a blow on the ankle would be enough, however, to overcome everything. The "outside world" seems so high and mighty, but it actually means nothing. In RAMBAM's description of the coming of Mashiach, he warns "keep away from the aggadot".Few are capable of properly interpreting them.
RAMBAM's views in this area had numerous implications not only for aggadah, but even for halachah, when he felt that it was based on faulty information which had been passed along through the words of our sages. More on this next time, as well as the reactions of European rabbis to these ideas