{"id":38800,"date":"2015-01-08T11:42:05","date_gmt":"2015-01-08T16:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=38800"},"modified":"2015-01-08T12:04:31","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T17:04:31","slug":"dont-time-nonsense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/dont-time-nonsense\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Have Time for Your Nonsense"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"clockfi\"<\/p>\n

A certain individual recently posted a controversial article in which he argued against something that is\u00a0essentially a universally-accepted principle of Judaism. A number of others responded, calling\u00a0him out on it. Those readers who might have been misled by the original article were thereby informed\u00a0as to that author’s misstatements. Those who were inclined to stand by his premise were at least\u00a0making a conscious decision to do so. As far as I’m concerned, that closes the book on this story.<\/p>\n

A colleague subsequently asked me if I was going to write an article commenting on the original piece; I\u00a0declined. When he asked me why, I said, “Because I don’t feel the need to comment on every stupid\u00a0thing that people say.”<\/p>\n

This idea is expressed in Mishlei (the Book of Proverbs). There, King Solomon tells us, “Do not answer a\u00a0fool according to his folly, so that you should not be like him” (26:4). (Admittedly, “fool” might be a bit\u00a0harsh in this instance, as I don’t doubt the author’s intelligence. I think he’s a smart person who said a\u00a0foolish thing.)<\/p>\n

Now, I know someone is going to use my own words against me, so I’ll beat them to the punch with full\u00a0disclosure. In my Nach Yomi synopsis of this chapter of Proverbs<\/a>, I write as follows:<\/p>\n

“Verse 4: Don\u2019t answer a fool because you will appear equally foolish. Verse 5: Answer a fool so that he\u00a0doesn\u2019t think his words are wise. Huh? These two verses \u2013 which appear immediately next to one\u00a0another \u2013 appear to contradict. In fact, they seem so blatantly contradictory that the Sages almost\u00a0declined to include Proverbs in the canon until they reconciled the apparent difficulty. One should\u00a0answer a fool in matters of Torah, but not in other matters. (See the Talmud in Shabbos, page 30b.)”<\/p>\n

So, since this is a matter of Torah, shouldn’t I choose to engage one who has said something I consider\u00a0foolish? Perhaps, but I don’t think the author’s outrageous claims were said out of foolishness. I think he\u00a0was being disingenuous. That’s another matter entirely.<\/p>\n

When someone asks you a question, it’s appropriate to answer. If they don’t understand, you should try\u00a0to explain it better. If they have a counter-proposal, go ahead and engage in debate. It’s all good. But\u00a0sometimes the other person isn’t interested in finding the truth or a meeting of the minds. Sometimes\u00a0they just have an agenda.<\/p>\n

Imagine if Verizon Fios called you up to sell you Internet service. And let’s say you preferred Time\u00a0Warner Cable as a provider. Do you think anything you say could persuade the sales rep to agree with\u00a0you? Of course not. This is why one should not engage “messianic” missionaries in debate. They’re not\u00a0interested in finding out if their ideas are incompatible with Judaism, they’re only interested in “making\u00a0a sale.”<\/p>\n

I have to deal with this every so often when answering questions via email and online. Most people who\u00a0ask questions are sincere. Even those who disagree are usually interested in hearing what you have to\u00a0say and understanding your point of view. But there are those whose minds are already made up. They\u00a0only ask questions as a means to fulfill their own goals.<\/p>\n

You know who was a master of this? Korach, who tried to lead a coup against Moshe. According to the\u00a0Midrash, Korach intended to undermine Moshe’s authority by challenging him with loaded questions.\u00a0“Does a house filled with religious texts require a mezuzah? Does a garment that is completely techeiles\u00a0(blue wool) require tzitzis?” Whatever Moshe answered, Korach was prepared to mock his reply.<\/p>\n

Korach’s debates with Moshe may have been on Torah topics, but they were not truly debates in Torah.\u00a0The mishna in Avos (5:17) uses Korach as the very example of an insincere, disingenuous argument. This\u00a0is contrasted with the differences between Hillel and Shammai, whose only intention was to discover\u00a0the truth.<\/p>\n

There’s no benefit in arguing with someone who isn’t interested in the truth. As Mishlei tells us, if you\u00a0answer such foolishness, it makes you a fool as well. Or, as Mishlei also tells us (18:6) “A fool’s lips get\u00a0him into arguments; his mouth is asking for a beating.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A certain individual recently posted a controversial article in which he argued against something that is\u00a0essentially a universally-accepted principle of Judaism. A number of others responded, calling\u00a0him out on it. Those readers who might have been misled by the original article were thereby informed\u00a0as to that author’s misstatements. Those who were inclined to stand by<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":384,"featured_media":38801,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nDon't Have Time for Your Nonsense - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/dont-time-nonsense\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don't Have Time for Your Nonsense - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A certain individual recently posted a controversial article in which he argued against something that is\u00a0essentially a universally-accepted principle of Judaism. 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