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b. Rosh Hashanah 21b: This passage has come down to us in two principal versions: 55 9: Sevenfold ms Munich 95 Standard text “[The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth], puri- fied seven times over” (Psalm 12:6). “[The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth], puri- fied seven times over” (Psalm 12:6). Rav and Samuel both say:1 Rav and Samuel—One says: Fifty gates of understanding were created in the world, and all of them were given to Moses2 except for one, for it says (Psalm 8:6) “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels.”3 Fifty gates of understanding were created in the world, and all of them were given to Moses except for one, for it says (Psalm 8:6) “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels.” Rav and Samuel—One says: Ecclesiastes sought to be like Moses our Master, as it says: “Ecclesiastes sought to find out acceptable words” (Ecclesiastes 12:10).4 A heavenly voice issued and said to him: “and that which was written was upright, even words of truth” (ibid.). “And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses” (Deuteronomy 34:10). And one says: Among the prophets there did not arise—among the kings there did arise.5 Then, how am I to uphold “Ecclesiastes sought to find out acceptable words”? > “Ecclesiastes sought to find out acceptable words” (Ecclesiastes 2:10). Ecclesiastes sought to be like Moses our Master. A heavenly voice issued and said to him: “and that which was written was upright, even words of truth” (ibid.). “And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses” (Deuteronomy 34:10). And one says: Among the prophets there did not arise6—among the kings there did arise. Then, how am I to uphold “Ecclesiastes sought to find out acceptable words”? > As R’Rabbinowicz noted correctly,7 the text of the printed editions is incoherent, since the dispute between Rav and Samuel is not over the Psalms verse but over Ecclesiastes 12:10. Their comment on Psalms is found (introduced as “Rav and Samuel both say”) in b. Nedarim 38a, and it was probably transferred to b. Rosh Hashanah from there.8 At any rate, the version in the printed editions, with just a single set of “Rav and Samuel—One says…One says” and no “both say,” is supported by all five of the Genizah fragments to our passage.9 This fact supports the hypothesis that, for all its bizarre features, this tradition is nevertheless the original one for the current sugya. Notwithstanding its general coherence, the reading in ms Munich still suffers from a basic structural asymmetry. The standard pattern for talmudic disputes requires that the disputants propose conflicting interpretations for the same text.10 In the present instance, however, although Rav and Samuel have opposing readings of the narrative facts, those readings do not necessarily arise from their interpretations of the same verse or word.11 In light of these considerations , it is probable that the lectio difficilior of the majority of witnesses is primary , and that the tradition in ms Munich represents a conscious (but not completely successful) secondary attempt to overcome its deficiencies. Either way, the sugya’s chief structural problem arises from the redactor’s insistence on presenting the dispute as a narrowly exegetical one. This tendency is typical of Babylonian midrash. As far as the content of this passage is concerned, the central dispute is over whether Solomon/Ecclesiastes was permitted to achieve the same level of spiritual understanding as Moses.12 “Understanding” might refer here to the ability to fathom the deepest meaning of the Torah. The intriguing question of what was included in that unattainable fiftieth gate is not spelled out here; and if we are to judge solely from the information provided, the allusion is not to a particular item or area of religious lore but to essential intellectual limitations of the human condition. The second opinion in the dispute holds that Solomon 56 9 : Sevenfold > ms Munich 95 > Standard text Ecclesiastes sought to adjudicate cases that are in the heart without witnesses and without admonition. A heavenly voice issued and said to him “and that which was written was upright, even words of truth”: “At the mouth of two witnesses, etc.” (Deuteronomy 17:6). Ecclesiastes sought...

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