Topic for first short paper
Explain the significance of the selection from the Babylonian Talmud that appears on the reverse of this sheet.
This text was likely written during the 2"d century c.e. (Rabbi Akiba was a leading member of the Rabbinical community at this time). Be specific about how this text indicates something about the relationship between the Law as received by the prophet Moses at Sinai and the law as interpreted and explained by the Talmudic Rabbis in the middle ages.
Do the "heaps and heaps of laws" provided by the Rabbis change the substance of the commandments?
Explain the place of these Talmudic interpretations in Judaism generally by putting them in the context of Jewish history as a whole.
Also explain the attitude this text represents G*d as having towards the world. How do you understand G*d's repeated instruction to "be silent, for such is My decree?"
What does this seem to indicate about how Jews should regard both G*d and their own place in G*d's creation?