Reply To: Centrist Orthodoxy, and the English Language

It is not bizui of the talmud chacham to opine that he was mistaken, if the tone is respectful. If he would have written “the Rambam was a bigot” then I would be maskim. If someone says that the Rambam was influenced by the mores of his time and those mores were sexist, that is not bizui.

For example: Aliyos for women. I don’t think there is any issur if a person says that the pashut pshat “kavod hatzibbur” referred to in the Gemara is based on the sexist mores at the time, and today that we are not as sexist there is no problem of kavod hatzibbur.

I’m sorry, but that stretches credibility and requires the most ridiculous contortions. You basically need to say that chazal really were not bigoted, but realized that everyone else was, and instead of trying to influence society’s values which is exactly the whole point of the Torah, they decided to build those bad values into the structure of halacha and minhag.

I think it’s being a bit too charitable, particularly given that their writings are pretty clear that they indict chazal under the same hammer (because they rightfully think your contortion is bizarre).

I get my morality and values from chazal. I don’t tell chazal what their morality and values should have been. Chochma b’amim, taamin; Torah b’amim al taamin.