Hi,
Two competing views:
Language is a product of human beings:
"That which you need to know, and to which you must be
alert, is Bereishit 2:20, 'And the man called names, etc.' We learn that language is established by convention, not nature."
(Rambam, Moreh haNevuchim 2:30)
Language is natural:
"'And all that Adam would call a living creature,
was its name (Bereishit 2:19)' – This teaches that the creature was suited for that name.
The name was appropriate for it, and taught of its nature."
(Rabbi Yehudah haLevi, Kuzari 4:25)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
To tweak the distinction... It seems to me that both are saying that language is invented by man. Anyone citing Bereishis 2:19 as a general statement about language would have to say as much. But they also then have to deal with וְנָבְלָה שָׁם שְׂפָתָם in Bereishis 11:7, where HQBH says that credit for today's languages rests in Him and His court.
ReplyDeleteWhere Rihal and Rambam disagree is whether a word in leshon haqodesh is inherently related to the thing being described (Rihal) or whether language, including the holy one, is "merely" a convention.
R' Micha -
ReplyDeleteTo my mind, it's the difference between inventing something and being מכוין to something.