This shiur is a refutation of those (Daube and Lieberman) who argue that the midos of Hillel (and Rabbi Yishmael) are derived from Hellenistic oratory techniques. Rabbi Triebitz argues that the Greeks and Romans had similar techniques, but that their’s were based on logic. The midos, on the other hand, begin with logic, but also include a non-logical component (or dimension), which was the innovation of Hillel.

Rabbi Triebitz also discusses Rav Tzadok HaCohen’s idea that whenever there is a paradigm shift in Judaism we find a similar paradigm shift amongst the non-Jewish nations of the world. This idea can be found in many places of Rav Tzadok, including Resisei Laila, Pri Tzadik, Tzidkus ha-Tzadik (and also here) and Takanas Ha-Shavin.

The shiur also contains a discussion of Gittin 41b and the Ritva’s commentary there, which demonstrates the two dimensionality of the midos, and the difference between a hekesh and a gzeira shava.

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Thirteen Midos Shiur 04 Transcription

[flv:/13midos/m13_04.flv 240 180]
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Thirteen Midos 04
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Thirteen Midos 04