Uncovering Covert Links between Halakhah and Aggadah in the Babylonian Talmud: The Talmudic Discussion of the Yom Kippur Afflictions in B. Yoma

Abstract

This article examines the dynamics between the halakhic and aggadic components of a sugya in the Babylonian Talmud, in which the halakhic discussion of the Yom Kippur afflictions listed in M. Yoma 8:1 is followed by a seemingly unrelated aggadic passage that focuses primarily on the manna in the wilderness. A close reading of the aggadic passage reveals that it in fact contains substantive links to the preceding halakhic discussion. Moreover, when the aggadic passage is read in the context of the preceding halakhic discussion, it provides an alternative understanding of the Yom Kippur afflictions that challenges the understanding that arises from the halakhic discussion. Nevertheless, a close look at the redaction of the sugya shows that the alternative understanding that arises from the aggadic part remains on either the conceptual plane or the supererogatory one, and does not cross over to the normative plane.