Is the Bavli a Book for Exile?

If there is one book that is emphasized more than all else in the Orthodox Jewish world it’s the Babylonian Talmud, affectionately known as the Bavli.

And yet, there might be sources to indicate that the Bavli was uniquely suited for Galus, as the Jewish people journeyed their 2000 year exile. But could we say, as we return to our homeland, to Eretz Yisrael, the Bavli loses centrality? 

For some, even the notion of this idea seems blasphemous, but let’s see the sources inside and you can decide for yourself. 

We began the discussion of the Torah of Eretz Yisrael vs Diaspora HERE but in this article I would to take it a step deeper.

The beginning of the sugya is a Passuk in Eichah, the somber book we have historically read on Tisha B’av, as it says in Eichah 3:6:

He has made me dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead.

The Gemara itself in Sanhedrin 24a comments on this Passuk:

He has made me dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead” (Eichah 3:6), Rabbi Yirmeya says: This is the Talmud of Babylonia.

Why on earth does the Bavli refer to itself as death and darkness?

Rashi explains with a short comment on the Gemara:

Because they (the sages of Babylonia) are not at peace with one another, and their Talmud (i.e., their conclusions) remains uncertain in their hands.

If we take this Gemara and Rashi at face value, one might think less of the Talmud Bavli. But a deeper understanding comes from the Netziv in his commentary on Chumash, Haamek Davar on Exodus 34:1:

For the holiness of the Jerusalem Talmud is greater than the Babylonian, since it was made by earlier Amoraim—and as Rava said in Shabbat, “I myself am of this translation,” referring to the Jerusalem Talmud—this shows that the holiness of the First is greater to direct the truth. And even though the holiness of Eretz Yisrael was beneficial, we know that the power of the Babylonian Talmud is honored more than the Jerusalem Talmud.

And even though in Sanhedrin it says “In darkness He sat me,” referring to the Babylonian Talmud, it is not meant derogatorily, Heaven forbid, but its wondrous power to illuminate halachah even in darkness—that is, in Babylon and exile, where there is no light of the Holy Land—and without the power of the Babylonian Talmud, we would not have reached the light of instruction there.

The Netziv brings a more nuanced approach. He mentions that the Jerusalem Talmud, the Yerushalmi is holier and closer to the source of truth, to Eretz Yisrael.

But the “darkness” of the Bavli is not a negative thing, rather it was the powerful light that illuminated the darkness of Galus and kept Klal Yisrael alive.

But, I believe an extension of logic of the Netziv might indicate that once Klal Yisrael returns to Eretz Yisrael, perhaps the holiness of the Yerushalmi might be considered superior once again.

Rav Kook, a famous student of the Netziv himself brings this idea even more explicitly in his Orot Hatorah 13:1

When one learns much of the hidden (sod), then everything one understands and studies from the revealed (nigleh) shines with a precious radiance, and the influence and unique quality of the hidden Torah becomes revealed across all the concepts grasped in the revealed Torah. This is the view of the Jerusalem Talmud (Yerushalmi), which teaches that because the pious (chassidim) studied, their Torah was blessed — and not merely, as the Babylonian Talmud (Bavli) says, that their Torah was preserved.

It appears that the Yerushalmi speaks of a higher level of pious individuals, for whom Torah becomes magnified and adorned through the revelation of holy insights — turning a small amount into mighty and flowing rivers. They attain the light of Torah even through prayer and the meditative reflection surrounding it — both before and after — for these are the very body and soul of Torah. This marks a difference between the atmosphere of the Land of Israel (avirah d’Eretz Yisrael), where divine inspiration (ruach hakodesh) can influence even the content of halachic rulings, and the Diaspora, where divine inspiration is openly revealed only in the realm of Aggadah, while halachah is governed by human intellect. ‘He placed me in darkness — this is the Talmud of Babylonia’ (Sanhedrin 24a).

Nevertheless, from within that darkness, a great light will emerge: ‘The people walking in darkness have seen a great light’ (Yeshayahu 9:1), and ‘Upon those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, a light has shone.’ For by drawing down the light of the Divine Presence (Shechinah) into the lower strata of life, many dark pathways are illuminated — and this opens the way for many who are distant to draw close and connect with the supernal light of the inner essence of Torah, which is the Torah of the Land of Israel. ‘And the gold of that land is good’ (Bereishit 2:12) — there is no Torah like the Torah of the Land of Israel, and no wisdom like the wisdom of the Land of Israel.

Rav Kook was not rejecting the Bavli in Eretz Yisrael. He himself was a master of Bavli and promoted its study in his institution. But he saw the Bavli as limited and best complemented with the light of the Yerushalmi from the perspective of Penimius Hatorah.

The Maharal in his Netiv Hatorah 13 shares a fascinating insight on this topic:

The Land of Israel is at the center of the world, like a point that is one in the center of a circle. And because the Land of Israel is like the point in the center of a circle, which connects all the lines extending from the circle, therefore the land causes that the Torah scholars within it possess unity and connection. All the more so, since the Holy One, blessed be He, who is One (Deuteronomy 6:4), is the God of the land. Therefore, even if there is some predisposition [or natural tendency] for [Torah] scholars to hate one another—because indeed, there is a certain disposition for Torah scholars to be in conflict with one another, for the Torah scholar is a mighty man among the mighty. And we have already said that the “mighty man” is one who seeks to dominate until all is beneath him, and he alone is the one—therefore, he has no natural connection with others.

And you should know that these are two distinct qualities: the quality of the Land of Israel and the quality of Babylonia. This is because the holy Land of Israel — the Torah that is in it does not deviate from order and balance, just as the land itself [is ordered and balanced], as has been explained. For this holy land is at the center of the world, which indicates that all things in it are with proper balance and in their appropriate order. But Babylonia is called by the name (Genesis 11:9) ‘for there the Lord confounded (balal)’ — indicating mixture and lack of unity. 

Therefore, there is found there [in Babylonia] an abundance of pilpul (dialectical argumentation), which is a process of posing challenges and counterpoints, and everything stands in opposition to one another. And do not think that this is a deficiency in the Babylonian Talmud — on the contrary, it is a quality above all others. For pilpul is intellect, and it comes from the highest level. Only, until the halachah is clarified, the intellectual forces clash with one another, and are not at rest — which is the natural order of the Babylonian mode, where things go out of balance. And from this attribute they said (Pesachim 113b): ‘Even the Torah scholars of Babylonia hate one another.’ Therefore, the sages of Eretz Yisrael would call the sages of Babylonia ‘foolish ones’ (Pesachim 34b). 

And this is certainly so — for something that deviates from proper order in any way cannot fully embody wisdom. Nevertheless, the sages of Babylonia would prevail in their wisdom through difficulties and resolutions, and they would arrive at understanding through their pilpul. Only that to clarify things through pilpul requires great effort and deep inquiry, and not every person is able to attain it. Therefore, they called the sages of Babylonia ‘fools’. 

And when one of them would ascend to the Land of Israel, he alone would be equivalent to two of them [from Israel]. This was due to the pilpul they possessed — whereas in the Land of Israel they would acquire wisdom with calmness, and it was the truth of the halachah — and thus their wisdom was ultimately greater and more refined. And because of this, our Babylonian Talmud is of greatest primacy — because the pilpul has been fully clarified within it. And from here you can understand what they said (Pesachim 113b): ‘And some say: Even the Torah scholars of Babylonia.

The Maharal seems to side with the Netziv and describes that the convoluted “dark” nature of the Bavli is actually its greatness and allows the learner to come to an even higher conclusion. 

Whatever side of the debate we come out on, everyone would agree that the Bavli is holy, has been the backbone of the Jewish people throughout our exile and continues to play a vital role in our learning and development of Halacha. The only question that remains is how central the Bavli plays in being the only source of higher level learning or perhaps, specifically in Eretz Yisrael, the Bavli should be seen as a part of greater whole with Yerushalmi, Kabbalah and Chassidus creating a greater integrated whole to broaden our Jewish lens.