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Masekhet Sukkah begins with a disagreement as to the maximum height of a sukkah. Most of the rabbis say that a sukkah taller than 20 cubits is invalid, but Rabbi Yehuda claims that it is kosher. The Talmud discussing this disagreement in the Mishnah begins by presenting three different opinions exploring the significance of the height, each of which is supported by a source from the Tanakh. When we began to learn at Drisha in September 2003, the Beit Midrash students had many more than three opinions. We came with distinct ways of looking at Jewish tradition and texts, and we were prepared to cite sources backing up our positions. We sought literary analysis of the texts; historical context; moral or ethical answers; halachic conclusions. And these were only a few of our approaches. Rather than silencing us or insisting that we conform to one point of view, our teachers at Drisha encouraged us to share our diverse positions. So we did and we began to listen to each other. Sometimes each of us thought that someone else's opinion sounded strange or even wrong. And sometimes, each of us wondered, "Does my opinion sound strange?" But we didn't need to worry; this process has a precedent. In the Talmud, Abaye appears and challenges some of the opinions presented. Every person he confronts has to provide an answer or a reformulation of his position to incorporate Abaye's question. All of us acted like Abaye this year, and all of us had to respond to challenges to our positions, sometimes by incorporating other people's perspectives. Masekhet Sukkah goes on to state three more viewpoints, these disputing the details of the Mishnah. Rather than assuming that Rabbi Yehuda and the other rabbis disagreed about every sukkah, these rabbis make three distinct attempts to limit the disagreement to a narrow case of a specific type of sukkah. They all claim that in most cases, Rabbi Yehuda and the other rabbis were in harmony. With these abundant, varied perspectives, we might expect the Talmud to knock some of them down or to explain each one individually. But amazingly, that's not what happens. Instead, each position is taken seriously. The positions are explained in light of each other, by presenting similarities and differences among them. None are excluded. Drisha encouraged us to discuss our differing views, and showed us their validity within Jewish tradition. When someone raised a moral question about a section of the Talmud that we were learning, Devorah Zlochower would find a source in another section of the Talmud that raised the same concern. When we wondered about the historical context of a text we were learning, David Goshen would bring in sources from the same time period, and help us to compare these. Our questions and opinions were not considered outside Jewish tradition and texts, but very much a part of them. This section of Masekhet Sukkah ends with the story of a pious woman who sat in a very tall sukkah. The rabbis try to make sense of this because, as we saw in the Mishnah, only Rabbi Yehuda thought that a sukkah taller than 20 cubits was kosher. What did it mean that this woman was sitting in one? Was the sukkah actually kosher, or was she sitting in it because she knew that she did not have the obligation to sit in a kosher sukkah? As women, we constantly have to face the question of what it means for us to be learning Talmud and other texts that treat us as outsiders. We have the challenge of building relationships with long-ago speakers - and some current ones - who never expected us to be part of their conversation. There is no easy way to do this, but Drisha has helped us begin the difficult task of hearing our own voices within Jewish tradition. For it is only when we can hear our voices in the present that we can learn to converse with our future and our past. |
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Melissa
Nunes-Harwitt is a 2003 graduate of the Beit Midrash program, and is currently
a student in the Drisha Scholars Circle, a 3-year program in Talmud and
Jewish Law. She majored in psychology at Yale University, and spent several
years in social work. The learning she did during that time made her eager
to study Talmud more intensively, which led her to enroll in Drisha. Melissa
is interested in becoming a teacher of Jewish texts as a way of helping
people find meaning in their lives.
