The Rambam tells us in his great philosophical work, the Moreh Nevuchim (Guide to the Perplexed) that Chazal, our sages, were expert only in the science of their times and were thus limited by it. This is unlike their Torah knowledge which was Divine in origin. This view of the fallibility of Chazal in matters of science has recently fallen out of favor in much of the Torah world. It is in fact often cited as the more important of the two reasons why Rabbi Slifkins’ books were banned. (The other is the oft discussed one here about the age of the universe).
Until recently it was a perfectly legitimate approach to our understanding of the sages to take an approach that has been here-to-fore espoused by a Rishon, a medieval commentator. …especially one with the stature of the Rambam perhaps the greatest medieval commentators all. The Rambam was certainly a place where one could hang his theological hat.
But… as Rav Aharon Feldman explained in his famous letter regarding why he agreed with the Ban of Rabbi Slifkin’s books: ‘That was then. This is now.’ We are required to listen to our current sages directives and disregard the words of those Rishonim who disagree. It was OK for them but not for us.
The example he used to illustrate the point was the famous edict in the Gemarah that with few exceptions, we always Paskin like Beis Hillel in their disputes with Beis Shamai. In our day it is forbidden to Paskin like Beis Shamai even though in his day it was permitted. If I recall correctly, the example he used from them is the argument about whether there will necessarily be a Moshiach. Today that belief is one of our essential ones. In the days of Chazal, one did not need to believe in the coming of the Messiah.
But I wonder if we can extrapolate from the decisive statements in the Gemarah about which of our sages can no longer listen to... to requiring abandonment of a here-to-fore perfectly acceptable Rishonic position. There was no such clearly decisive statement ever made about which Rishon to Paskin like until a few years ago. Since there was no decisive Psak at the time about it, it would seem to me to be a legitmate approach to side with a Rishon in a matter of Hashkafa that for centuries has been an acceptable approach. One of many different ones.
The most stark of the contradictions between today’s science and Chazal’s is in the area of Refuos, medical treatments. If one looks at all the treatments listed in the Gemarah one will be tempted to snicker at them. The truth is that we shouldn’t. Did they perhaps work in some way? They probably did. They must have or they wouldn’t have been listed as such. Would they work today? I don’t know… I don’t think they can be duplicated exactly. It is also quite possible for example to say that many of the procedures in the Gemarah may have contained some medicinal benefits within them that do in fact work.
The point to be made is that this was probably the best medical knowledge of Chazal’s time. Today’s knowledge is far superior to that. And tomorrow’s knowledge will be superior to ours. To say that Chazal’s medical remedies represent a divine revelation and is recorded in the Gemarah as such… in the same way Halacha did is to undermine rather than strengthen their authority, in my view. But… my view has fallen out of favor and is now deemed heresy. Or something very close to it.
I’m not saying that other points of view on the subject are illegitimate. One such view for example is that the Refuos of the Gemarah no longer work because of something called Nishtana Hateva. This means that nature has changed and essentially evolved to a point where these remedies are no longer effective, though they once were. (…which is kind of an ironic position to take if one so rejects the mechanisms of evolution). In my view the idea that nature has changed so drastically in a relatively short period of evolutionally time is a bit of a stretch. It relies too heavily on violating the laws of nature. I prefer the Rambam’s explanation.
In any case there is an fascinating and informative article on the subject in today’s Jerusalem Post. Well worth the read.
