אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אִי מַשְׁכַּחַתְּ לְהוּ — לָא תֵּימָא לְהוּ לְבֵי רֵישׁ גָּלוּתָא וְלָא מִידֵּי מֵהָא מַתְנִיתָא דְכִיפָּה.

Rav Sheshet said to Rabba bar Shmuel: If you find them, do not say to the members of the Exilarch’s household anything with regard to this baraita of an arched gateway, as it is proof against my opinion.

for Video Shiur click here to listen:  Psychology of the DAF Eruvin 11 

How could Rav Sheshet suppress information?

בבא בתרא קנג, א

ההיא דאתאי לקמיה דרבא עבד לה רבא כשמעתיה הוה קא טרדא ליה

The Gemara relates: There was a certain woman who wrote in the deed that the gift is given during life and in death. She came before Rava. Rava acted with regard to her case in accordance with his halakhic ruling, and he ruled that she cannot retract the gift. She did not accept the ruling, and she constantly troubled him, saying that he had not judged her case properly.

אמר ליה לרב פפא בריה דרב חנן ספריה זיל כתוב לה וכתוב בה שוכר עליהן או מטען אמרה ליטבע ארביה אטעויי קא מטעית לי אמשינהו למניה דרבא במיא ואפי' הכי לא איפרק מטיבעא:

Rava said to Rav Pappa, his scribe, son of Rav Ḥanan: Go, write for her a ruling in her favor, and write in the ruling the phrase: He may hire replacements at their expense, or deceive them to get them to return to work. This is a phrase from the mishna (Bava Metzia 75b) that discusses the ruling in the case of one who hired laborers to perform a task that cannot be delayed, and they quit. Rava intended this phrase to indicate to the court that the ruling was merely a ruse in order to persuade the woman to leave. The woman understood the ruse. She said: May his ship sink; you are deceiving me. Rava had his clothes immersed in water so that the curse should be fulfilled in this alternative manner, but even so he was not saved from the sinking of his ship.

So here Rava lied in a judgement in order to be relieved from from this woman who was stalking him.

בבא מציעא צא, ב

אמר רב אשי הא מילתא בעו מינאי דבי רב נחמיה ריש גלותא מהו להכניס מין ומינו ושאינו מינו לדיר כיון דאיכא מיניה בתר מיניה גריר או דלמא אפילו הכי לא ופשטי להו לאיסורא דלא כהלכתא משום פריצותא דעבדי

Rav Ashi said: This matter was asked of me by the members of the house of Rav Neḥemya, the Exilarch: What is the halakha with regard to bringing into the same pen an animal of one species with two other animals, one of its own species and the other of a species different from it? Is the halakha that since there is another animal of its own species, it will be drawn after its species, and therefore there is no concern whatsoever with regard to diverse kinds, or perhaps one should not act even in this manner, in case it leads to crossbreeding? And I resolved it for them by saying that there is a prohibition, but this was not in accordance with the halakha. The reason for my decision was due to the immorality of the slaves. I reasoned that if they are permitted to engage in this practice, they will intentionally crossbreed and claim that it occurred without their intervention.

מנחות צט, ב

אמר רבי יוחנן משום רבי שמעון בן יוחי אפילו לא קרא אדם אלא קרית שמע שחרית וערבית קיים לא ימוש ודבר זה אסור לאומרו בפני עמי הארץ ורבא אמר מצוה לאומרו בפני עמי הארץ

Rabbi Yoḥanan says in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: Even if a person recited only the recitation of Shema in the morning and in the evening, he has fulfilled the mitzva of: “This Torah scroll shall not depart from your mouth.” And it is prohibited to state this matter in the presence of ignoramuses [amei ha’aretz], as they are likely to get the impression that there is no need to study Torah beyond this. And Rava says: On the contrary, it is a mitzva to state this matter in the presence of ignoramuses, as they will realize that if merely reciting the Shema leads to such a great reward, all the more so how great is the reward of those who study Torah all day and night.

We see from these sources that rabbanim can suppress information, even at times mislead, if the situation and overall benefit calls for it.  This is a concept that ought to make us uncomfortable.  In our culture, transparency is a valued virtue.  We expect our leaders to be honest with us, and if they must keep certain information a secret, at the very least, we expect disclosure as to why this is necessary.  Therefore, it is advisable that a teacher or rabbi in today’s times not engage in such tactics, even with good intention, as overall credibility can be destroyed.  However, in ancient times, there was a different attitude toward information.  Not just amongst Jewish sages, but even amongst many mystical and or philosophical schools, there was a notion of keeping information out of the hands of the immature and uninitiated.  Just as one example, the ancient School of Pythagoras kept their mathematical proofs secret, because they believed it contained divine codes and ideas, which the layperson could misuse.  It often would require years of development and proving oneself to gain admission to certain intellectual or philosophical schools.

The upshot of all this is, that we often have difficulty understanding certain behaviors of sages from different cultures and times because our ideas, basic assumptions and standards can be dramatically different. It is good to keep in mind that we cannot easily stuff our 21st Century notions back into cultures and groups who thrived in times where different ways of relating to people may have been more helpful in promoting societal function than might work for us.

A powerful quote from the Magid Mishne (Laws of Neighbors 14:5) which speaks to this idea:

לפי שמצות התורה הם בכל עת ובכל זמן ובכל ענין ובהכרח חייב לעשות כן ומדות האדם והנהגתו מתחלפת לפי הזמן והאישים והחכמים ז''ל כתבו קצת פרטים מועילים נופלים תחת כללים אלו ומהם שעשו אותם בדין גמור ומהם לכתחילה ודרך חסידות והכל מדבריהם ז''ל ולזה אמרו חביבין דברי דודים יותר מיינה של תורה שנאמר כי טובים דודיך מיין  

The Magid Mishnes is saying that the Torah doesn’t change, but people do change, and it is up to the sages of each generation to determine how to apply certain concepts of middos and derech eretz.

for Video Shiur click here to listen:  Psychology of the DAF Eruvin 11

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria

Photo Abba Mari Rav Chaim Feuerman, Ed.D. ZT"L Leiyluy Nishmaso

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

Do you like what you see? Please subscribe and also forward any articles you enjoy to your friends, (enemies too, why not?)