Read my exposition of the “Oven of Akhnai” story from the Talmud, to see a great example of when the legitimate answer was the Wrong Answer.

This story is often cited as a paean to the autonomy of human decision-making from God’s control.  God is proud of us, having outgrown divine control and gained the ability to make consequential decisions for ourselves.  The story certainly does endorse human autonomy in that way, but when the Oven of Akhnai story is cited to support human autonomy, we tend to miss that the story ended in disaster.  The legitimacy of the decision did not make it any more right or less wrong.  It was legitimate, and it was wrong.

The Oven of Akhnai is one of the great stories of the Talmud.  Don’t miss it!