Quicksilver כספית

Eruv background -- links

Since the Talmudic daf yomi readings are deep into the Jewish practice of eruv*, this post provides a range of useful links. You are welcome to add links through the comments page.

To my readers: Due to my temporary break from new posts, a few readers kindly suggested that I leave at least a note about the status of this blog. It is my intention to improve and add to this Quicksilver blog, but I am currently pulled away to other compelling work. Apologies for not mentioning this break before. I will try to add some new posts between now and mid-January, when I hope to resume on a more regular basis. (If anyone would like to offer a guest post that fits within the scope of this blog, you would be most welcome. Send me an email.) Now, back to Eruvin:

Links about eruv (draft):

For a general guide to the topic of eruv and a long list of websites for eruvim in various communities, see Wikipedia's eruv article.

Fine explanation about eruvs and Boro Park (Brooklyn) by Rav Yehonatan Chipman

Another fine eruv site, from Univ. of Maryland.

Eruvin in Modern Metropolitan Areas, a 1995 book by Rabbi Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer, which can be read on-line and downloaded for a minimal price. And here YGB discusses eruv in the context of a piece on rabbinic authority.

Here's the link to my theoretical and other comments on an eruv story by Rabbi Gil Student at Hirhurim. My post offered these links as background on the Flatbush eruv controversy: Technical Jewish legal analysis at Hirhurim here (w/in-depth comments) and by R. Yisroel Hirsch. Analysis supporting the eruv here (HT here w/comments). Non-technical discussions by Gedanken (and again). R. Micha Berger at Avodah. The bitterness. Steven Weiss on the Manhattan eruv.

Eruv Online is a blog that promotes eruv. The posts usually assume a high level of knowledge but the blog opens with a crisp social critique: "

Eruvin is different then other halachic issues in one significant aspect. Eruvin more than any other issue vests a certain amount of centralized power to the baal ha’machsher [the authority who certifies the eruv as valid -- Kaspit]. People publicly carrying in a rav’s eruv is a clear sign of the posek’s influence and support in the community, unlike relying on the rav’s hechsher on food, which is a more private matter. Consequently, there are people who find it incumbent upon themselves not to allow an eruv to be established, and insist that their rav’s opinion is the only one that can be followed. If one were to follow the history of eruvin in cities where there was no central governing rav or Bais Din, they would find that machlokas [controversy -- K] often erupted as a result of this desire for dominance in community affairs [Krakow 1888, St. Louis 1895, Odessa 1900, New York 1905 to the present, Manchester 1906, Frankfurt am Main 1914, and London 1932 to the present]. Otherwise, eruvin would generate the same level of reaction as say a mikveh [Jewish ritual bath -- Kaspit] where every individual just follows the p’sak of his own rav.

I do think eruv has a range of interesting halakhic and cultural-political features, which I hope will be discussed here.

Kol tuv,

Kaspit

* An eruv is a ritually designated enclosure, a symbolic wall or fence that marks off an area in which some sabbath prohibitions on carrying do not apply. An eruv is an example of a legal fiction in Jewish law.

Roast a goose and throw its entrails to the cat...

Fate spits in the face of The Good. Yesterday, the Talmud's daf yomi readings included:

"Let him spill the produce that becomes soiled to the ground" (Shabbat 142a)
"Shake the pillow so that the money will fall off"
"A motley crew will create another bunch of mongrels" (142a)
"We shall pour water on filth until it disappears" (142b), and, last but not least,
"Roast a goose and throw its intestines entrails to the cat..."

Today, we enter the 22nd chapter of tractate Shabbat. Sample quote::

"If you bleed a beast for the sake of healing, the blood will not be a conduit for impurity." (144a)

Not to mention the vulgar imagery of R. Huna son of R. Yehoshua and Rav. Ashi at the end of chapter 21.

Alas! The Red Sox lost, the Yankees won. The Red Sox have not only fallen from 1st place, now they are also trailing in the contest for the AL wild card.

Mudville indeed,

Kaspit

P.S. Thanks to Daniel and ADDeRabbi for suggesting edits.

Risk-taking with a Talmudic frame of mind [DRAFT]

Risks in the modern sense are not systematically addressed by Talmudic thought. Last week, the Talmudic daf yomi reading (bShabbat 129b) covered the risk-taking principle of “The Lord preserves the simple” (shomer peta’im HaShem -- see smoking example). In this post, I’ll try to get a handle on the overall Talmudic context for risk-taking, esp. as it may apply to environmental and occupational hazards. I’ll analyze the shomer peta’im HaShem principle later. [This post and accompanying chart are in draft form. Feel free to comment or ignore…]

Risks are somehow wrapped up in dangers, yet risks are not the same as dangers. So, to judge environmental, occupational, consumer, and other health risks from Talmudic state of mind, we first need to ask, what are dangers?

From danger to risk. Danger is a common term throughout halakhic literature. Dangers include anything that works to one’s serious disadvantage, causing loss, pain, damage, or injury. Life is an awesome and marvelous gift, yet danger is omnipresent. Some basic human activities hurt, like giving birth and dying. Plus, accidents happen. And God happens. In Judaism, the omnipresent HaShem (d/b/a The Almighty) is awe-inspiring and fearsome. Merciful and kind, God is also utterly dangerous. Arguably, any serious loss or harm is caused by HaShem or, at least, under God’s watch.

Danger can be felt. You can have an intuition of danger or look at the white of its eyes. Stand in the eye of the hurricane and then experience its destructiveness. Danger is about as real as pain and death.

“Risk” is a step removed from danger. Risk is a concept, a category of understanding (Kant) that adds to danger another element: chance, hazard, probability. Risk = danger + probability. Probability is found in two types of Talmudic reasoning about uncertainty.[1]

However, in modern thought, probability goes beyond uncertainty. Thanks to probability theory, nowadays ‘risk’ mixes danger with a dose of randomness. For Judaism, randomness seems to cut against a pure theology of divine power. By the same token, randomness throws a wrench into the theological machinery of free will. Perhaps this explains why, in futile protest to the arbitrary and random, Jewish law (halakhah) does not quite have a traditional Hebrew term that translates into ‘risk’

Luckily, Jews tend to eschew systematic theology. Classical Judaism works more smoothly with archetypes than abstract definitions. So, in our narrative and legal discourses, traditional Judaism does not define ‘risk’ yet it talks about numerous risks. Though it may be theologically contradictory or paradoxical, the Talmudic tradition also allows for fate, chance and the random.

Talmudic writings on risk-taking are expressed through various literary forms, e.g. as principles, rules, and cases/examples. To gain an overview of the various Talmudic approaches to risk-taking, I am trying to organize the material in a chart. This DRAFT chart of Talmudic risks takes into account the type of halakhic norm (e.g., prohibition or advice), the subject’s response to the risk (e.g., prevent or take risks), and the risk characterization (level of danger + probability of harm). The chart shows the breadth of risks and range of rabbinic approaches; it also calls attention to the difficulty in formulating a consistent theory of risk-taking for Jewish law.

I would appreciate getting feedback on this work in progress, but it may contain errors so please read it at your own risk.

Good shabbos,

Kaspit

[1] Moshe Koppel analyzes two types of Talmudic reasoning about uncertainty: (1) When the rabbis can count up the possibilities in an uncertain situation, they calculate the odds. The halakhah is then decided with the majority (rov - RDIK). (2) When an uncertainty cannot be counted, I think that the sages reason from ballpark estimates. They then devise an ad hoc probabilistic rule to decide with the majority (rov - RDLK).

“Considering how dangerous everything is, nothing is really very frightening.” (Gertrude Stein)

Sources: [JD Bleich, M Slae, D. Cohen, M Koppel, N Rabinovitch, forthcoming...]

More talmudic health care

Health care has come up a number of times in the last few weeks of daf yomi Talmudic readings. For instance, at Shab 123a the sages discuss the needle used to remove splinters, the use of emetics, and the (proto-chiropractic?) readjustment of the dislocated limbs of a newborn. There is also a fascinating conversation about about the measures that may be taken, regardless of Sabbath prohibition, to take care of a women before, during and well after labor, e.g. lighting a lamp for a blind woman (128b-129a). (Plus, the halakhah that the umbilical may be not only tied but also cut on shabbat.) Here Mereimar teaches the principle that rabbinic laws "are interpreted leniently for an uncertainty involving life" (safeq nefashot le-heqel).

Having read so much about folk medicines in tractate Shabbat, I looked at Jewish Magic and Superstition by Joshua Trachtenberg (1939!), still a fount of information and highly readable. In the long chapter on medicine, he digests supernatural etiologies of disease, bloodletting, psychic treatments, homeopathy, charms, incantations, magic names, use of Torah verses and scrolls, gross potions, misc. healing devices, name change, and herbs. this passage caught my eye:

[Medieval] Northern Europe, walled off from the enlightenment that radiated from the Arab lands, produced not a single Jewish physician of note. Jewish practitioners of medicine there were aplenty, but their science was little more than a faint reflection of the learning of their southern co-religionists. … It is unfair to suggest… that Jewish medical superstition is to be regarded mainly as an imitation of the Christian. … the rationale of superstition and magic in medicine was part and parcel of the Jewish cultural heritage.” (194)

It's hard for some of us to admit the degree of medical and other superstition within Judaism, but that's one kind of knowledge they had available. And it's nice to remember the level of Ashkenaz during the golden age of Sefarad...

Stay well,

Kaspit

The world of Rabbinic cures and punishments, according to Artscroll

Talmudic medicine does not guide Orthodox Jewish doctors today. Doctors glean neither remedies nor bioethics from the Talmudic cures in recent daf yomi (ch 14 Shabbat). So, how does Artscroll annotator R. Yosef Davis explain Talmudic folk medicine? In a note on “The efficacy of Talmudic remedies” (109b2:10), R. Davis begins: “Over the next few pages (109a-111a), a number of remedies for various physical disorders are recorded. Many of these cures, however, are not consistent with the known laws of nature.”  Here’s how R. Davis smooths over the Talmud’s conflict with science:

Beyond human reason. “… during the Creation, God invested various herbs, minerals and procedures with the power to effect remedies, some in ways that are comprehended by human reason and some in ways that are beyond our understanding” (Rashba I:413)

Known only to the wisest. Some remedies “are comprehensible only to those who are able to plumb the depths of the Sages’ words [Maharasha]. In particular , many of the various herbs recommended by the Gemara cannot be accurately identified.”

Do not try this at home. “Consequently, one should not attempt these remedies nowadays, since it is unlikely that anyone today will fathom the Talmud’s intentions, and one who finds his application of a remedy ineffective may come to belittle the words of the Sages” (Maharil, R. Akiba Eiger)

Ban on trying. “… one who does rely on Talmudic remedies in our era is punishable by excommunication” (Yam Shel Shlomo) More punishment below.

Changes in nature voids remedies. R. Davis says, “In addition, changes have occurred in the state of nature (nishtanu teva'im) since Talmudic times, and therapies which were efficacious in those times are not necessarily so nowadays.” [1]

Artscroll’s R. Davis is caught in the bind of the less-modern Orthodox. On the one hand, he admits that scientific knowledge rejects Talmudic medicine. He knows that even pious readers will find the remedies implausible. On the other hand, like much rabbinic discourse, he presupposes that one ought not deny outright the literal truth of a Talmudic statement. This may be due to etiquette, respect for elders, faith, epistemological humility, or the mythos of a legal hermeneutics. By stipulating the literal truth of Rabbinic utterances, the collision with science can lead Orthodoxy into controversial doctrines like da’as Torah, mystical pre-modern wisdom, and changes in nature (Hebrew data). Such Orthodox doctrines have been a Jewish blogging topic (see Hirhurim, Jewish Worker), esp. since the ban on R. Slifkin’s books about science and Torah.

Rabbinic clout. Why would a government official die of a snakebite if the (magical) remedy was apparently available? Abaye says that “perhaps he was bit by a Rabbinic (d’rabbanan) snake, for which there is no cure.” (bShab 110a) Artscroll’s R. Yosef Davis uses Abaye’s obscure explanation as a teaching moment. “Abaye surmised that the officer had violated some Rabbinic law…. Although some Biblical transgressions carry the death penalty and some do not, all Rabbinic offenses are punishable by death [at the hand of God] (Eruvin 21b and Rashi).  Etc.” [2] In Jewish lore, God’s death penalty is often executed by animals, here via snake bite.
 
In sum, Talmudic remedies do not conform with modern science. To have faith in the infallibility of Talmudic texts, you can rely on several controversial doctrines. However, Jewish law requires that we use modern doctors. We are forbidden to use Talmudic folk cures. If the cures don’t kill you, a snake bite might do the trick.

Shavua tov,

Kaspit  כספית

[1] Tosafot (Moed Qatan 11a), Hagahot R. Emden (Shab 129b), Magen Avraham (OH 173) and Kesef Mishneh (Hil. Deot 4:18) 

[2] All rules in Halakhah may be fundamentally divided into the categories of Biblical i.e. revealed rules (d’oraita) and supporting Rabbinic rules (d’rabbanan). Transgressions of revealed law are punished by fines, flogging, offerings, exile, etc. and the death penalty. Rabbinic rule transgressions carry various earthly penalties, too, but here we learn that all d’rabbanan violations incur divinely-administered capital punishment.

Hazmat exposures at Gaza protests

There have been conflicting reports about the hazardous materials thrown by some Gaza protesters on IDF soldiers and Israeli police. Were acids thrown? Don’t know. Media reports of acid attacks can raise fears among security personnel and, if wrong, lead to unwarranted reactions and accusations. (See Treppenwitz for an impassioned statement on this point.) Many acids are highly corrosive and can burn skin, disfigure and cause serious harm (e.g., eyes, lungs). In the heat of the moment, it’s not surprising that exposed individuals and medical staff might mistake other material(s) for acids. 

Leaving aside acids, I would be concerned about the other hazardous materials reportedly thrown by the Gaza protesters. Paint thinners, cleaning fluids, gasoline, caustic (alkaline) and other solvents, and paint itself, can be harmful even in cases of acute (short-term) exposure. The eyes are very vulnerable. So are the lungs and nasal passages. Dermal exposures can also be problematic. Immediate health effects may vary depending on the individual, because people differ in their biochemistries and pre-existing conditions. In addition, some people develop skin and other chronic conditions (e.g., “chemical sensitivity”) even from acute exposures. Of course, Israeli soldiers and police are in good shape and probably won’t be hurt if merely splattered with paint.

In recent daf yomi reading, the Talmud shows concern about the eyes and the difficulty of health care for the eyes (108b-109a bShabbat). There's also a Talmudic analogue to chemical sensitivity in the case of the istinis (e.g., Rav Yosef, see Bava Batra 22b w/Tosafot).

Jewish law (halakhah) offers viable grounds for civil disobedience on the Gaza withdrawal. However, by throwing hazardous materials at soldiers and police, the Gaza protesters have diluted the halakhic justification for their cause.

Nachamu, nachamu... may our people be comforted,

Kaspit

N.B. Soldiers, protesters, and journalists may also have been harmed by the burning of tires and building materials. To date, I have not read about any complaints about the inhalation of smoke and pollutants.

PS The mainstream media continues to report that acid was thrown in at least one incident. They seem to be relying on IDF sources. The IDF claim about acid has been harshly criticized (I don't vouch for this link).

Unusual uses and evolutionary excuses for animals

Rabbinic culture used animals for many reasons besides the basics of food, transportation and clothing. For instance, animals are used for making dyes. Curiously, from the process used to prepare the special techelet, the Talmud addresses the problem of unnecessary killing of animals. (74-75a)

Divine punishments are executed by animals, such as the gnat, spider, swallow and hornet. (77b, 80b). Three dangerous worms are found in silk, grapes and figs and at least the fig worm can be fatal. (90a per Artscroll)) On the other hand, some animals are used for recreation, e.g. non-kosher locusts. (90b)

Much of Shabbat chapter 9 deals with standard rabbinic metrics. Oddly enough, as a unit of measurement, the rabbis gauge date pits in terms of the mouthfuls of pigs. (90b)

Arguably, the Talmud has a Lamarckian conception of biological evolution. Rabbinic anecdotes tell why the camel has a short tail, the rooster eyelids, and locust antennae. It also distinguishes the pedestrian habits of goats and sheep. (77b Shabbat)

Sheepishly,

Kaspit  כספית

Tax holiday for Massachusetts Jews: the Talmudic tax advisor

Next week’s sales tax “holiday” in Massachusetts won’t do observant Jews much good on Tisha b’Av (8/14).[1] So, can’t some well-connected Jewish accountants in the Bay State show Governor Mitt Romney daf 79a from bShabbat? There, the Talmud discusses the highly sophisticated concept of a receipt. Why doesn’t the Massachussets DOR simply give halakhic Jews a receipt so they could shop to their heart’s content? They could borrow from the insight of Rav Ashi and declare to the cashier, “Look here, I am a guy who pays his taxes!” (khazi gavra de-fara’ ana).

Kaspit

[1] The commonwealth added a “Jewish” alternative to Saturday, which is also a tax holiday (8/13). Credit to Shanna at Devarim (also DB).

When we were dyeing, naturally (Jewish SIC 2816, 2865 etc)

Among the trades mentioned in the rabbinic sources, a common one was dyeing. When Jews were dyeing during the Talmudic period, naturally, dyeing materials included nut husks, pomegranates, safflower, madder and woad (Shab 89b mishnah; 68a). Dye ingredients were boiled in a cauldron, a process that can emit much smoke and odor. [1] In 13th Cent. Egypt, a Jew told of his complaint with a neighbor (Responsa Rabbi Avraham, son of Rambam #101):

I am your neighbor and you are ruining my life in my own house, because in your house you have made a cloth-deying pit… I am unable to live until you remove this damage from me and get rid of this dye-shop and do do away with this fire… Damages accrue to me from all sides, and I am unable to spread out a cloth, whether of flax or wool, without the smoke ruining it. …

With industrialization, the dye industry began generating more toxic pollution and, as a result, occupational illnesses. For instance, aniline dyes led to bladder cancer among workers, including a localized epidemic among DuPont workers (1895 Rehn, 1988 Michaels). Toxic substances used in dyeing include benzene, mercury, other metals (e.g., chromium), several carcinogens, and synthetic solvents.

Last Thursday, I was reminded personally that solvents also cause problems when used in residential areas.  Too much indoor air pollution, and your home can become unlivable and make you sick. I’m fine now but it’s a potent reminder of what many industrial and construction workers experience on a regular basis.

Kaspit  כספית

[1] Dyeing also at mishnah Shab 17b (and 18b), mishnah Bava Batra 2:3, etc. SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) codes 2865, 2816, etc. Responsum source and quote: “Air pollution: smoke and odor damage” by R. Meir Sichel, Jewish Law Annual v.5., p.31.

NEWS UPDATE (7/29) Sen. Boxer vs. Gov. Junior on environmental health

UPDATE (7/29) A conference committee watered down the Boxer moratorium on pesticide testing on humans (below), even though it was passed by the Senate. "The conference committee charged with reconciling the differences in the Interior Appropriations bill has weakened amendments that would have established a one-year moratorium on human pesticide testing. Instead, the new language prohibits EPA from accepting, considering, or relying upon human pesticide studies until EPA finalizes binding rules on human testing." Read more here.

A hermercurial tale: Two California heavyweights face off on corporate influence and environmental health. Round one:

A Jewish environmental coalition applauds the June 29th Senate vote (60-37) for Barbara Boxer's bill to ban the US Environmental Protection Agency from research that relies on exposure of people to pesticides. Boxer argues that the bill would protect children and pregnant women from pesticide exposure without adequate safeguards.  (Cf. NRDC 6/5 lawsuit vs. EPA over farmworker children and pesticides.)

The Boxer bill was prompted by a dubious study to be funded partly by the chemical industry's American Chemical Council. WaPo reported: "In exchange for participating for two years in the ... study, which involves infants and children up to age 3, the EPA will give each family using pesticides in their home $970, some children's clothing and a camcorder that parents can keep." Internally, some EPA staff felt the study would exploit poor families. A life scientist in EPA's pesticides group told WaPo: "This does sound like it goes against everything we recommend at EPA concerning use of [pesticides] related to children. Paying families in Florida to have their homes routinely treated with pesticides is very sad when we at EPA know that [pesticide management] should always be used to protect children."  Hat tip to the MN Progressive Newswire.

FYI  The new EPA administrator, Stephen Johnson, had ordered the study but, as Grist reports, cancelled it when Senators Boxer & Bill Nelson put a hold on his nomination.

Round 2: California Governor Schwarzenegger appoints an oil industry lobbyist, Cindy Tuck, to run the California Air Resources Board. The Huffington Post adds: "Here's how you explain yesterday's outrageous appointment: Arnold has taken more than $1 million from energy companies (including $222k from Chevron) and about $1.3 million from the auto industry (see more at ArnoldWatch.org) "

Wondering how daf yomi led me to Arnold Schwarzenegger? Recently read the Jewish story of the man who miraculously nursed his baby (bShab 53b). This reminded me of Schwarzenegger in his role as Junior, the pregnant man (1994), so google and presto: Junior panders to the oil industry while Boxer stands up to the agrichemical industry.