Lord Rabbi Sacks and the Cambridge Footlights

 

One thing that the late Jonathan Sacks has in common with Monty Python, is they they all studied at Cambridge University. There is no record of Rabbi sacks having been in the Cambridge footlights, which is where the  Monty Python team began their comical career.

 

However, later on in their careers, there is another intersection between these highly successful Englishmen from Cambridge university.

 

In one of his articles, Rabbi Sacks  brings an argument to buttress the oral law,  based on a Talmudic story.

 

https://rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation-5770-mishpatim-the-meaning-of-texts/

 

 

“Hillel made no protest, and told the man to come to him for instruction. The first day, Hillel taught him he first four letters of the Hebrew alphabet: aleph, bet, gimel, dalet. The next day he taught him the same letters in reverse order: dalet, gimel, bet, aleph. “But yesterday,” protested the man, “you taught me the opposite.” “You see,” said Hillel, “you have to rely on me even to learn the alphabet. Rely on me also when it comes to the Oral Law.” (Shabbat 31a). Without agreed principles, there can be no teaching, no learning, no authority, no genuine communication.”

 

 

The argument goes that Hillel, or anyone else representing the Rabbinic tradition, does not require logical consistency.  Since a convert is relying on the teacher for x, then he must also rely on him for y.   The weakness of  this story is quite manifest. Firstly, there is no logical requirement for him to rely on the teacher Y simply because he relied on him for X.  Second,  a convert by definition will not have a large knowledge base on the subject – so he is easy prey for manipulation.  Third, this does not actually  transpire as a proof for the oral Law – it is more a  preaching to the converted  (or about to be converted).

 

If the story, as rabbi Sacks claims, supports the need for and validity of the Oral Law, then the disproof comes from his Cambridge colleagues – Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

 

One of the funniest sketches of the entire Monty Python series was the Hungarian Phrase Book.  A man had devised a phrase book for those with no knowledge of Hungarian. In it, he inserted some false translations, which would often leave the user embarrassed by what he said.

 

According the genuine holders of the Torah, the Priests (who were opposed by the Pharisees),  this was the precise method of the Pharisees – to mistranslate the Torah.

A rational analysis of the Torah will lead to the same conclusion.