More Metaphors in Talmudic literature, and how they can be interpreted within the framework of cognitive metaphor theory
IDEAS AS PHYSICAL OBJECTS; THE BODY IS A PHYSICAL CONTAINER FOR PERSONALITY; PERSON IS A PLANT; HAUGHTY IS HIGH and HUMBLE IS LOW; SOUL IS A PHYSICAL OBJECT
In my previous piece, I discussed metaphors in the Talmud. I’ll continue discussing that here.
IDEAS AS PHYSICAL OBJECTS - Mishnah Hagiga 1:8
Mishnah Chagigah 1:8 (lettering is mine):
A) התר נדרים פורחין באויר, ואין להם על מה שיסמכו.
B) הלכות שבת, חגיגות והמעילות, הרי הם כהררים התלויין בשערה, שהן מקרא מעט והלכות מרבות.
C) הדינין והעבודות, הטהרות והטמאות ועריות, יש להן על מה שיסמכו. הן הן גופי תורה.
Translation in Sefaria (I also translate each passage later):
Incidental to the Festival peace-offering, the mishna describes the nature of various areas of Torah study:
A) The halakhot of the dissolution of vows, when one requests from a Sage to dissolve them, fly in the air and have nothing to support them, as these halakhot are not mentioned explicitly in the Torah. There is only a slight allusion to the dissolution of vows in the Torah, which is taught by the Sages as part of the oral tradition.
B) The halakhot of Shabbat, Festival peace-offerings, and misuse of consecrated property are like mountains suspended by a hair, as they have little written about them in the Torah, and yet the details of their halakhot are numerous.
C) The details of monetary law, sacrificial rites, ritual purity and impurity, and the halakhot of those with whom relations are forbidden all have something to support them, i.e., there is ample basis in the Torah for these halakhot, and these are the essential parts of Torah.
See a very good discussion, putting this source into a broad contextual perspective, in Michal Bar-Asher Siegal, “Mountains hanging by a strand? Re-reading mishnah Hagiga 1:8”, Journal of Ancient Judaism 4 (2013), pp. 235–256. Siegal writes regarding this passage, and its parallels, that it is “a rare ‘meta-theoretical statement,’” and “this mishnah is a self-reflection as to the nature of the rabbinic halakhic system and the relation between its primary components (the “halakhot”) and their ostensible source (Scripture).”
My focus here is very narrowly on the literary and conceptual metaphors.
A) "היתר נדרים פורחין באויר, ואין להם על מה שיסמוכו."
This phrase translates as "Dispensations of vows fly in the air, and they have nothing to rest on." This metaphor draws upon the conceptual metaphor of IDEAS AS PHYSICAL OBJECTS, specifically as objects in flight. The metaphor says that the interpretations or rulings regarding vows are not solidly grounded or substantiated. They are like birds or other flying objects that do not have a stable basis.
B) "הלכות שבת חגיגות והמעילות, הרי הם כהררים התלויין בשערה, שהן מקרא מעט והלכות מרובות."
This translates as "The laws of Sabbath, Festivals, and Trespass offerings, they are like mountains hanging by a hair, they have little scripture but many laws." This metaphor continues to utilize the conceptual metaphor IDEAS ARE OBJECTS, in this case, mountains. The "mountains hanging by a hair" imagery vividly depicts the heavy complexity and volume of laws (the mountain), which are delicately balanced on a sparse amount of scripture (the hair). It says that these areas of law are abundant in rabbinic interpretation, yet have limited direct grounding in the Written Torah.
C1) "הדינין והעבודות, הטהרות והטומאות ועריות, יש להן על מה שיסמוכו."
This translates as "The laws of civil matters, services, purities, impurities, and forbidden sexual relations, they have something to rest on." This again uses the IDEAS AS PHYSICAL OBJECTS metaphor, but this time to say the opposite: that these areas of law have a solid foundation in the Written Torah.
C2) "הן הן גופי תורה."
This translates as "They are the body of the Torah." Here, the metaphor of the TORAH AS A BODY is used. According to Lakoff, a metaphor like this is under the umbrella of STRUCTURE IS PHYSICAL ORIENTATION, where an abstract entity (Torah) is understood in terms of a physical structure (body). This metaphor implies that these laws form an essential and integral part of the Torah, as organs and parts are to a body.
These metaphors use concrete images (flying objects, mountains, hairs, bodies) to depict abstract concepts (interpretations, rulings, laws), a common feature in Lakoff's theory of metaphor. In Rabbinic literature, similar metaphors can be found to emphasize the physical grounding of ideas, their intangibility or their essentialness to a larger concept.
THE BODY AND IS A CONTAINER FOR PERSONALITY
"One in the mouth and one in the heart"
"One in the mouth and one in the heart" is a phrase in the Talmud, which means: his mouth and heart are not in unison, a duplicitous person, whose words do not match his inner thoughts.
Inspiration for the expression can also be found in Tanach: in the Jeremiah (12:2b):
"קרוב אתה בפיהם,
ורחוק מכליותיהם"
You are present in their mouths,
But far from their thoughts (literally, “kidneys”).
This saying uses the metaphor of the mouth, heart, and kidneys as containers, suggesting inconsistency between what one says (mouth) and thinks (heart or kidneys).
"His inside is not like his outside"
"His inside is not like his outside". This metaphor is similar to the previous, with the CONTAINER metaphor again in play, suggesting duplicity or hypocrisy.
PERSON IS A PLANT
"אם בארזים נפלה שלהבת מה יעשו אזובי קיר"
"If a fire falls in the cedars, what will the hyssop of the wall do".
This states how events affect both the strong (cedars) and weak (hyssop).
The cedar tree, especially the Cedar of Lebanon, is used in Tanach as a metaphor and example of a supreme and ruling tree. Rachel Elior highlights its virtues, which also made the tree suitable for the construction of the Temple. "In the cedar, there is majesty and beauty due to its green growth up to its height and width and due to its eternity: its good scent remains even when it is cut and processed into planks."
The contrast of two extremes - the large cedar tree on one end, and the humble and lowly hyssop that grows out of the wall on the other, already appears in Tanach. In 1 Kings (5:13a), where it is told about King Solomon:
"וידבר על העצים
מן הארז אשר בלבנון ועד האזוב אשר יצא בקיר"
He discoursed about trees,
from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall [...]
See also Midrash Tanchuma Buber (Metzora 8:2), in the context of the usage of cedar and hyssop to purify the metzora:[1]
ועץ ארז.
הארז הזה אין עץ גבוה ממנו, ולפי שהגביה את עצמו כארז, באתה עליו את הצרעת,
דאמר ר' שמעון בן אלעזר על גסות הרוח הצרעת באה [...]
ובאזוב, אין באילנות ]נמוך] כאזוב, לפי שהשפיל עצמו, לפיכך מתרפא על ידי אזוב.
(Lev. 14:4, cont.:) CEDAR WOOD.
In the case of the cedar, no tree is taller (gevoha) than that one; so because [the metzora] has exalted (gevoha) himself like a cedar, [he has had] the tzara’at come upon him.
Thus R’ Simeon ben Eleazar has said: tzara’at comes on account of haughtiness [...]
(Lev. 14:4, cont.:) AND WITH HYSSOP. Among the trees there is none [as short] as the hyssop. Because [the metzora] has humbled himself, [tzara’at] is therefore cured through the hyssop.
This ties in to one last metaphor, that I’ll have more to say on in the next piece:
HAUGHTY IS HIGH and HUMBLE IS LOW; SOUL IS A PHYSICAL OBJECT
Mishnah Avot 5:19:
כל מי שיש בידו שלשה דברים הללו, מתלמידיו של אברהם אבינו.
ושלשה דברים אחרים, מתלמידיו של בלעם הרשע.
עין טובה, ורוח נמוכה, ונפש שפלה, מתלמידיו של אברהם אבינו.
עין רעה, ורוח גבוהה, ונפש רחבה, מתלמידיו של בלעם הרשע.
Whoever possesses these three things, he is of the disciples of Abraham, our father; and [whoever possesses] three other things, he is of the disciples of Balaam, the wicked.
A good eye, a humble spirit and a moderate appetite he is of the disciples of Abraham, our father.
An evil eye, a haughty spirit and a limitless appetite he is of the disciples of Balaam, the wicked.
"Humble spirit" and "Haughty spirit"
This dichotomy utilizes the HAUGHTY IS HIGH and HUMBLE IS LOW metaphors. A "humble spirit" suggests a lower, grounded position, embodying modesty and humility, while a "haughty spirit" implies an elevated state, symbolizing arrogance.
"Lowly soul" and "Broad (greedy) soul"
The SOUL IS A PHYSICAL OBJECT metaphor is in play here. A "lowly soul" suggests a soul that is not filled with material desires, while a "broad soul" indicates a soul with vast, possibly insatiable, desires.
The metaphors here emphasize moral qualities and behaviors associated with two different models of conduct - that of Abraham, representing righteousness, and that of Balaam, signifying wickedness. They underscore the ways we conceptualize moral character in spatial terms.
[1] On the usage of cedar and hyssop for ritual purification in the Torah and Talmud, see פורטל הדף היומי: אזוב מצוי - "עץ ארז ואזוב" (יבמות קד ע"א)