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Babylonian Talmud, as well as Yerushalmi Shas, are the source to all the Halachos and many Minhagim. Although I have a question, there are some times throughout Shas that we find one Amora saying to another Amora something undignified. Such as this Gemara, Sanhedrin 59b, where Rabbi Abbahu calls Rabbi Zeira a "Foolish Bird", that's like calling someone now adays "You stupid person".

בעי מיניה ר' זירא מר' אבהו ירדה לו דמות חמור מהו א"ל יארוד נאלא הא אמרי ליה אין דבר טמא יורד מן השמים:‏

R. Zeira asked R. Abbahu: What if something in the shape of an ass were to descend? — He replied: Thou howling yorod did they not answer him that no unclean thing descends from heaven?

Soncino translation

I'm curious, should we be acting like that to one another while asking a question which we can refute?

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Moshe
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  • Your assumption that "Bavli as well as Yerushalmi Shas, are the source to all the Halachos" is wrong, they are the bases of our Halochos but not the Halochos themselves. The later Poskim decide what goes in and what stays out. It is clearly forbidden to derive Halochos straight from the Gemmorah! – Al Berko Feb 27 '19 at 18:20
  • That's not the point here... @alberko – Moshe Feb 27 '19 at 18:22
  • This Is exactly the point, we have hundreds of personal examples of Rabbis behaviors - i.e. R' Akivah went under his Rabbis bed to learn Halchos of intimate relations (Brochos 62) - should we all do that? Rashi and Rambam and Tosfos and all later Poskim filter it out and only leave certain behaviors as obligation. – Al Berko Feb 27 '19 at 18:25
  • @Alex This Q is about mimicking the Rabbis in their "anti-Halachic" behavior, not about the behavior itself. – Al Berko Feb 27 '19 at 18:29
  • This question assumes that social norms haven't changed in thousands of years. That may not be the case. Something that today would be taken personally as an offensive insult may very well have been received differently in the context of talmudic argumentation back then. – Jay Feb 27 '19 at 18:58
  • So do we learn to act like that to one another or not? @jay – Moshe Feb 27 '19 at 19:09
  • @Jay You assertion is based on a premise that every single behavior registered in the Gemmorah is Halachic at least to the person himself. In other, if R"A did it, he did it Halachicly in his eyes at least. I seriously doubt this. They could just slip. – Al Berko Feb 27 '19 at 21:46
  • So then why would they add it in? @alberko – Moshe Feb 27 '19 at 23:17
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    @Moshe a $1M question. I asked a Q once about R Yehuda's redaction of the Mishnah - how exact was it? Was it well thought and presented methodologically and systematically? While I know that many hold so, I seriously doubt it (see Yerushalmi אין כלליו של רבי כללים). I suspect the same pattern is in our Bavli Gemmora - things were written down without much redacting or censorship. While this view is not popular it seems most realistic. – Al Berko Feb 27 '19 at 23:25

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  1. In resolving Halachic disputes we follow the latest Poskim, for example, if two Rabbis in the Gemmorah argue, we follow Rambam and Shu"A rulings. Even if there's only one opinion or example in the Gemmora and the later Poskim don't bring it to the Halachah we follow the later. It is called הלכה כבתראי.

  2. Regarding your Sugya of insulting or calling names - that's unanimously ruled prohibited, even if we assume that Rabbi Abahu didn't think so. It falls under "אונאת דברים" and is ruled in Rambam (רנ"א) Chinuch 338and more. Tur 228:

"ויזהר אדם מלכנות שם לחבירו כדי לביישו אפילו שהוא רגיל באותו כינוי כיון שכוונתו לביישו: "

So the answer is clear - No, we shouldn't, the current Halachah prohibits us from doing so.

Al Berko
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