Rulings on Philosophical Matters 302
Date and Place: 25 Iyar 5670 (1910), Yafo
Recipient and Background: Chaim Michel Michlin, an activist/administrator in the building of Eretz Yisrael and its institutions, especially in Yerushalayim. This piece refers to a halachic discussion before broaching the important general topic below.
Body: ... The Rambam does not rule [according to his philosophical explanation in Moreh Nevuchim] as practical halacha. There are other instances in which the reason he gives for a mitzva does not fit the corresponding halacha (e.g., regarding “an eye for an eye,” and one who says “His mercy extends to a bird’s nest”). The Rambam posits that in philosophical matters, there is no concept of a formal ruling to follow one opinion; therefore, anyone can take a side in the matter. In contrast, there is a prohibition against straying from the accepted Halacha, [so one must conform to what has been accepted]. This is also the opinion of Chovot Halevavot in his introduction, that the prohibition against arguing on official Rabbinical rulings is only on practical matters, such as blood and blood, law and law (see Devarim 17:8). This follows the Talmud Bavli (Sanhedrin 88), which explains that Torah portion regarding practical matters. The Yerushalmi (Sanhedrin 10:3) relates “a matter” to aggadic matters, i.e., philosophy, so that the prohibition of rejecting Rabbinical rulings also applies to them.
This is the basis for the disagreement among Gaonic scholars, Rav Shrira and Rav Hai, on one side, Rav Shmuel ben Chofni and Rav Sa’adia on the other. Both sides posit words of the living G-d, and disagree along the lines of the Talmud of the West and of the East. The Rambam is like Rav Sa’adia. It is logical that although one cannot argue on a practical matter against a Talmudic conclusion, one may decide on a matter of contemplation according to an opinion that makes more sense to him, if that opinion is based on Torah rules and a Rabbinic opinion, as he explained regarding the reasoning behind mitzvot in general.
