The Meaning and Significance of New Talmudic Insights

Abstract

Tracing and appreciating the relationship (in terms of both the similarities and the changes) between the approaches of leading medieval Talmudic commentators (rishonim), and those of the commentators in the early modern and modern periods (‘aharonim), as well as the points of interface or engagement between them, sometimes has the quality of catching a chemical reaction or a biological phenomenon at the instant at which it actually occurs. These interactions are palpable and suggestive, and can be traced back to the original Talmudic or rabbinic text(s) under discussion as an integrated continuum or whole. Also, the ability to find something really new to say in the midst of so much that has come before, to put forward a real hiddush, is truly exciting. The process of locating and understanding a hiddush can be comparable (depending upon your taste) to a thrilling roller coaster ride, or to the various parts of an intricate symphony coming together. (from Introduction