However....
Jon Quaiffe:
>NB. The original context of the question was the alleged tradition of =
King
>David having red hair. I'm not sure that this in fact is a Jewish =
tradition
>at all. Michi? Beyond that I think the discussion on "race" in =
Glorantha=20
Well, in Samuel I 17:42, when describing King David the Hebrew Word =
"Admoni"
is used. "Adom" is red in Hebrew and could mean he was ruddy in =
complexion
or red haired.=20
In the Jewish Tradition, the actual written text is but the tip of the
iceberg. Besides the Talmud, as eloquently described by Jon, there is a =
mass
of 'perush' which translates as commentary, much of which references the
Gemara and Misha, as well as other works, such as the Medrash.
So, there is Medrash which interprets the "Admoni" to mean that King =
David
was, in fact, red headed.
[snip rest of awesome post]
That was great. I enjoyed every word. From the more subjective =
standpoint of
an Orthodox Jew, obviously I perceive things without the 'academic' =
approach
and see the Talmud as you describe:=20
"For those who know, it is a revealed text, a part of Torah, authored in
heaven at the moment of creation and revealed to Moses on Sinai. Moses =
did
not record it--instead it was made manifest in the speculations of the =
sages
who proceeded after him and whose interpretations were passed from
generation to generation as an oral tradition, which, after three =
thousand
years was perfectly recorded in writing."
However, there is incredible debate even within the (relatively) narrow
confines of Orthodox Judaism of how much of what we now call the Talmud
(Jerusalem and Babylonian versions) - Misha, Gemera, Tosefta, as well as
Medrash (Tanchuma, Sifra, Sifri, etc), as well as the wealth of other =
works
were actually revealed on Sinai, and how much is derived work. However,
there is pretty much universal acknowledgment (I say pretty much, =
because in
Judaism, there is no such thing as unanimous) that even the derived =
works
are divinely inspired. =20
Regardless, this post is one for my personal archives. Just really good, good stuff.
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