In
Talmudical hermeneutics, ''asmachta'' is an allusion found in the
Hebrew Bible for
rabbinical prohibitions or any other
Halakha. It's an exception in the talmudical hermeneutics, since it doesn't base the law on the cited verse, but uses the verse as a hint.
Sometimes it isn't clear whether the verse has been quoted as an ''asmachta'' or as a source, which can lead to controversy over the
''de'oraita'' or ''derabanan'' quality of the law. An example of such a case is the controversy over ''
berakhah she'eina tzricha'' or ''berakhah levatala'', the prohibition to say a prayer outside its context. The Talmud says "Anyone who recites an unnecessary blessing violates the biblical prohibition: ''
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" () (KJV; also "You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God" (NRSV) and variants) is the second or third (depending on numbering) of God's Ten Commandments to man in th ...
''". While
Maimonides sees it as a source, the
Tosafists see it as an ''asmachta''.
Examples
* ''
Netilat Yadaim'' - part of
ritual washing in Judaism, in which only the hands are washed as a purification ritual. Rabbinic Halakha requires this ritual to be done before eating bread. The
Talmud attributes this law to ''asmachta''— regarding a ''
zav
In Jewish ritual law, a ''zav'' (; lit. "one who e bodyflows") is a man who has had abnormal seminal discharge from the male sexual organ, and thus entered a state of ritual impurity. A woman who has had similar abnormal discharge from her geni ...
,'' the Torah says: "And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water...". The Talmud takes this as an allusion for a general rinsing of the hands.
* Measures - the specific amounts and sizes of Halakhic objects. For example, the minimum width of ''
Tefillin'' straps is known through a
law given to Moses at Sinai
A law given to Moses at Sinai ( he, הלכה למשה מסיני, Halakhah le-Moshe mi-Sinai) refers to a halakhic law for which there is no biblical reference or source, but rather was passed down orally as a teaching originating from Moses at ...
to be the size of a grain of barley. This and other halakhic measures have their source in ''asmachta''; the Talmud uses the verse of the
Seven Species as an allusion for all measures that are based on the sizes of various fruits.
Meaning
According to Maimonides, this is only a mnemonic the sages gave, as an aid to memory. The
Kuzari
The ''Kuzari'', full title ''Book of Refutation and Proof on Behalf of the Despised Religion'' ( ar, كتاب الحجة والدليل في نصرة الدين الذليل: ''Kitâb al-ḥujja wa'l-dalîl fi naṣr al-dîn al-dhalîl''), also k ...
makes a similar statement.
Yom Tov Asevilli (the Ritva) objects to Maimonides' explanation, and claims that God himself devised the various ''asmachta'' sources and embedded them in the Torah as allusions to be used by the sages.
[Ritva commentary to tractate Rosh Hashana]
page 16a
in the paragraph starting with the word 'Tanya'; Hebrew source text: "שכל מה שיש לו אסמכתא מן התורה העיד הקדוש ברוך הוא שראוי לעשות כן אלא שלא קבעו חובה ומסרו לחכמים, וזה דבר ברור ואמת ולא כדברי המפרשים האסמכתות שהוא כדרך סימן שנתנו חכמים ולא שכוונה התורה לכך, חס וחלילה, ישתקע הדבר ולא יאמר, שזו דעת מינות הוא, אבל התורה העידה בכך ומסרה חיוב הדבר לקבעו חכמים אם ירצו, כמו שכתוב ועשית את הדבר על פי הדבר אשר יגידו לך ולפיכך תמצא החכמים נותנין בכל מקום ראיה או זכר או אסמכתא לדבריהם מן התורה, כלומר שאינם מחדשים דבר מלבם, וכל תורה שבעל פה רמוזה בתורה שהיא תמימה וחס ושלום שהיא חסירה כלום".
References
{{Reflist
Hermeneutics
Talmud concepts and terminology