by Rabbi Ronald Price
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are that of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Union for Traditional Judaism, unless otherwise indicated.
In 1976 I was a student in the Talmud shiur of Hagaon Rabbeinu Shaul Lieberman, the GRa”Sh, Rabbi Professor Saul Lieberman z”l, the Rector of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. A few years later I would be blessed to have both a personal and professional relationship with him, but, as an introduction to the article linked below by Prof. Daniel Boyarin, my experience as a Talmud student is more relevant.
We were studying Perek Eizehu Neshech, the fifth chapter of Tractate Baba Metzia of the Babylonian Talmud. On page 62b we learned the following:
שנים שהיו מהלכין בדרך וביד אחד מהן קיתון של מים אם שותין שניהם מתים ואם שותה אחד מהן מגיע לישוב דרש בן פטורא מוטב שישתו שניהם וימותו ואל יראה אחד מהם במיתתו של חבירו עד שבא ר’ עקיבא ולימד וחי אחיך עמך חייך קודמים לחיי חבירך (בבא מציעא ס”ב:)
Two who were traveling on the way (in the wilderness) and only one has a flask of water. If they both drink they will both die but if only one drinks he can arrive at a settlement—Ben Petura interpreted: better they share and die so that one should not witness the death of his friend—until Rabbi Akiva came and taught (regarding the verse in Vayikra) “…that your brother shall live with you”, (this means that) your life takes precedence over the life of you friend.
Given Prof. Lieberman’s use of realia and history in his unmatched scholarship, one might have expected a lengthy lecture on the parallel texts in Greek and Roman literature and how this statement differs. But in our class he paused after we read the text. Then, most of us being fiercely focused on the halakhic implications of every statement of the Gemara, someone asked the following: “Are we to understand from Rabbi Akiva’s statement that if one chose to share the water or give all of it to the other and die, one would have sinned according to the law?”
After another pause, the GRa”Sh looked up and told us the following. There was a woman in one of the concentration camps who was able to keep her two children with her. Each person’s total daily food ration was a spoonful of peanut butter. To keep her children alive, the mother consumed only water and secretly divided her ration between her two children to supplement their own. In time, she died of starvation, but her children survived.
He continued: “Is there anyone who would dare to judge this woman?”
In that moment we were blessed to witness the confluence of the heights of academic Torah scholarship with the deepest of human sensitivities. We were taught a lesson in the limits of human intellect in the face of ineffable suffering and the humility required of the halakhist.
The UTJ has tried to perpetuate the Torah of our teacher of blessed memory, and for over two and a half decades commemorated his yahrzeit publicly. Prof. Boyarin himself may not be ideologically attuned to our world view, but his article will give you a taste of the methodology and incredible scholarship of our teacher. Know that it would be hard to find an equal to the GRa”Sh’s humanity as well.
Read Professor Boyarin’s article, “A Way of Reading: The Genius” in Tablet Magazine at https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/saul-lieberman-daniel-boyarin
Enjoying UTJ Viewpoints?
UTJ relies on your support to promote an open-minded approach to Torah rooted in classical sources and informed by modern scholarship. Please consider making a generous donation to support our efforts.
Rabbi Ronald D. Price is the executive vice president emeritus of the UTJ. He served as executive vice president for 26 years, beginning with the founding of the UTJ in 1985 and as the founding dean of the Institute of Traditional Judaism, the Metivta, from 1990 until his retirement in 2011.
A native of Washington, D.C., Rabbi Price graduated from the University of Maryland in 1971 with a BA in Political Science. He received an MA in Hebrew literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1975 and was ordained there in 1977. From 1977 until moving to Israel in 1980, Rabbi Price was Assistant Dean of the Rabbinical School of JTS. Following the break with the Conservative movement, Rabbi Price took his advanced ordination in 1992 under Rav David Weiss Halivni, reish metivta of the Institute of Traditional Judaism.
A highpoint in Rabbi Price’s career came early in his tenure with the UTJ. In 1988, when the “Who is a Jew?” crisis arose and threatened the relationship of Israel to the North American Jewish community, Rabbi Price, on behalf of the UTJ, authored a proposal for a halakhic as well as political solution to the “Who is a Jew?” issue which gained much support in all segments of the community and was praised publicly by the government of Israel as “a bright light at a dark time”.
Rabbi Price also authored the first halakhic living will which continues to be used by individuals and hospitals around North America and is part of the Elder Care Law Library, housed in Washington, D.C. He has lectured extensively and published many articles on subjects such as pluralism in the Jewish community; the right to die and Jewish tradition; creating traditional communities; the realignment of religious Judaism; and the risks and benefits of outreach to the intermarried.
Rabbi Price has dedicated his life to developing ways of making traditional Judaism accessible to the lay community and is the creator of the video education curriculum, “Taking the MTV Challenge: Media and Torah Values,” a Jewish response to media which has been taught in more than 300 institutions across the denominational spectrum around the world.
Rabbi Price lives in Ashqelon, Israel with his wife Tziporah.