In this shiur Rabbi Triebitz explains the Talmud in Temura 16a that says that “1700 kal va-chomers, gezeira shavas and dikdukei sofrim were forgotten after Moshe’s death, and Osniel ben K’naz rediscovered them using his pilpul.” At first glance this seems to contradict everything that has been said about the midos until now.

He also explains the Talmud in Sanhedrin 99a which seems to pose a great difficulty for the approach that he has taken in explaining the midos:

Another [Baraitha] taught: Because he hath despised the word of the Lord — this refers to him who maintains that the Torah is not from Heaven. And even if he asserts that the whole Torah is from Heaven, excepting a particular verse, which [he maintains] was not uttered by God but by Moses himself, he is included in ‘because he hath despised the word of the Lord.’ And even if he admits that the whole Torah is from Heaven, excepting a single point, a particular ad majus deduction or a certain gezerah shawah, — he is still included in ‘because he hath despised the word of the Lord’.

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Thirteen Midos 07
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Thirteen Midos 07