Hello.

It’s a shame you do not bring the quotes from our words which lead you to conclude that we belittle the sages of the world like Maimonides. It is difficult to answer a general claim with no support or backing. We try very hard to keep on topic and speak to the point, with no hypocrisy or favoritism.

But since you have asked that we learn from Torah greats how to treat scholars and sages, we will bring a few citations from them.

1. Rava said to Rav Amram that he was either bored or a fool (Bava Metzia 20b)

2. Rav said of Rav Levi “It seems to me he hasn’t a brain in his head” (Yevamot 9a).

3. Rabbi Avihu said to Rabbi Zira that he asks questions like a stray crocodile (Sanhedrin 59b).

4. Rav Sheshet said: Rav’s words are erroneous because he spoke them while asleep (Yevamot 91a).

5. R’ Jeremiah said “The sages of Babylon are stupid! Because they live in an obscure land they say obscure things!” (Yoma 57a).

6. Maimonides said of the Jewish sages of France: “No one believes this but boors and utter fools who take no more notice than do the ox and the ass” (Commentary on the Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah 2:8).

7. Ibn Ezra on the Jewish sages of Spain: “There was a great commentator in Spain and he faithfully interpreted books…he interpreted many words and all were spoken into the wind. How is it possible in a human language that a man would speak one word and mean another? One who supposes so would be considered a madman” (Ibn Ezra on Daniel 1:1).

8. The Rashba (Rabbi Shlomo the son of Aderet) responded to the critique of the Ra’ah (Rabbi Aaron HaLevy) in the book Torat Bayit: he proudly and without considering it wrong disagrees with the sages of Israel, “he is one of the questionable and all who hear laugh,” “his words were said in a night vision.”

9. The Raavad’s gloss on Maimonides: “Abraham said: everything written here [in Maimonides] is nonsense and evil spirit” (Maimonides, Laws of Personal Relations 23:2, gloss of the Raavad).



Sincerely,



Daat Emet