Droshos are literature and some are better then others.They are ahistorocal and should be understood in their cultural context. No point in spending any time struggling with any of them after the Talmudic period if they don't make sense, or at least this is what I think .
R' Hirsch felt that midrash was the "repository of the spirit of Judaism". Which, I guess, means that even if they're not meant to be taken literally or historically, they are meant to be absorbed and appreciated. Which is not that different than how one might appreciate fine music or art, the difference being that the inspiration of midrash is *always* meant to lead to God, while that's certainly not true of *all* fine art or music.
I agree. Although it's sometimes not easy to identify which ones actually do come from Chazal. Not everything in ילקוט, for instance, is actually that old.
For example, Boris Pasternak, a Nobel Prize laureate in literature, was a descendant of Abarbanel, who was a descendant of Dovid Hamelech. The creative genes kept expressing themselves for thousand of years in the context of the times.
Yeah, but what is it about Russian writers and the inability to edit themselves down to a reasonable length? If he could have told the Dr. Zhivago story in 200 pages, he might have reduced the risk taken by some of the people who smuggled the ms out of the country. :)
Droshos are literature and some are better then others.They are ahistorocal and should be understood in their cultural context. No point in spending any time struggling with any of them after the Talmudic period if they don't make sense, or at least this is what I think .
R' Hirsch felt that midrash was the "repository of the spirit of Judaism". Which, I guess, means that even if they're not meant to be taken literally or historically, they are meant to be absorbed and appreciated. Which is not that different than how one might appreciate fine music or art, the difference being that the inspiration of midrash is *always* meant to lead to God, while that's certainly not true of *all* fine art or music.
I feel the same but with regard to Midrashei Hazal only.
I agree. Although it's sometimes not easy to identify which ones actually do come from Chazal. Not everything in ילקוט, for instance, is actually that old.
For example, Boris Pasternak, a Nobel Prize laureate in literature, was a descendant of Abarbanel, who was a descendant of Dovid Hamelech. The creative genes kept expressing themselves for thousand of years in the context of the times.
Yeah, but what is it about Russian writers and the inability to edit themselves down to a reasonable length? If he could have told the Dr. Zhivago story in 200 pages, he might have reduced the risk taken by some of the people who smuggled the ms out of the country. :)
You also see this by Abarbanel's, for example take his perush on Pirkei Avos. Genes and culture.
I'm from Russia and we are not fazed by it. Like I've said - it's the cultural context. 🙂