re: #205 John Neverbend

Interesting, I never learned that when the passage was taught to me.

I forget the details of the actual debate between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua.

The point of the passage though and of the Bas Kol and of the prophet Elijah laughing though is precisely though the case that is made about the calendar.

Man is supposed to be a partner in creation and to fill a certain role in the Tradition.

The Sanhedrim was, in the tradition, the lineage (master to student) of the seventy elders. The statement is not that the Sanhedrin supersedes G-d at all, but rather that the Elders are given some measure of authority in certain matters from G-d. The walls also stop bending in honor of Rabbi Joshua’s arguments - which are accepted by the majority.

Again, the legal principle that applies is the notion that the holidays do not start or stop without the witnesses.