בבא קמא טז

A group of Jewish university students debated which faculty is the most important. The theology student argued that theology is most important because it deals with the soul of man. The student of medicine countered that his faculty is the most important because it deals with the human body, which is necessary for the soul to exist. The law student said that without laws neither the body nor the soul could exist. Finally, the philosophy student contended that philosophy is most important because it is the spirit of man, without which he wouldn’t be a human being. They, of course, couldn’t reach agreement. So, they turned to a תלמיד חכם who had been observing their discussion and asked him what he thought. He said: “Medicine is most important. Next is law. And third is theology.” When asked why he placed them in that order and why he completely omitted philosophy, he explained: “I omitted philosophy because in my eyes it’s not a belief and I based the order of the others on the תפילת שמונה עשרה, which says: רופא חולים ומתיר אסורים ומקיים אמונתו.”

06/10/2021