At one time or another we all exaggerate. Exaggeration, or hyperbole, is a literary technique used to intensify emotions, create vivid imagery, and add humor or irony by overstating facts. By twisting reality, authors emphasize key points, create relatable scenes, and make writing more memorable or dramatic. It is widely used to satirize situations or heighten the intensity of romantic feelings.
The rabbis and even the authors of the Bible exaggerated from time to time. I find their self-awareness is refreshing.
“We
learned in a mishna there (Tamid 28b): There was a
circular mound of ashes in the center of the altar, and sometimes
there was as much as three hundred kor of ashes upon it. Rava said:
This description is an exaggeration [guzma];
the tanna means merely that there was a significant quantity of ashes.
“Similarly,
it is taught in a mishna (Tamid 30a) that before slaughtering the daily
offering the priests gave the lamb selected for the daily offering
water to drink in a golden cup, in order to render the animal easier to
flay after slaughter. With regard to this mishna, Rava said: It is an
exaggeration, as the priests did not actually let the animal drink from a
golden vessel.
“The Gemara
provides other examples of statements not meant literally. Rabbi Ami says:
In some instances, the Torah spoke employing exaggerated [havai]
language, the Prophets spoke employing exaggerated language, and the
Sages spoke employing exaggerated language. The fact that the
Sages spoke employing exaggerated language is evident from that
which we stated above, concerning the mound of ashes and the lamb of the
daily offering.
“The Torah spoke employing exaggerated language, as it is written: “Hear, Israel: You are passing over the Jordan this day, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven” (Deuteronomy 9:1), whereas the fortifications obviously did not actually reach up to heaven. The Prophets spoke employing exaggerated language, as it is written with regard to the coronation of King Solomon: “And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them” (I Kings 1:40), where the verse means merely that the sound was very loud.
“Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Naḥmani says that Shmuel says: In three places the Sages spoke in exaggerated language, and they are with regard to the circular mound of ashes on the altar; the vine; and the Curtain separating the Sanctuary and Holy of Holies. The case of the circular mound of ashes is that which we said.
“The case of the vine is as we learned in a mishna (Middot 36a): A golden ornament in the form of a vine was standing at the entrance to the Sanctuary, and it was hung upon poles. And whoever would donate an ornamental golden leaf, grape, or cluster of grapes to the Temple would bring it to the Temple and hang it upon the vine. Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Tzadok, said: There was once an incident, and three hundred priests were enlisted to move the vine because of its immense weight. According to Shmuel, this description is also an exaggeration.
“The case of the Curtain is as
we learned in a mishna (Shekalim 8:2): Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel
says in the name of Rabbi Shimon, the deputy High Priest: The Curtain
is the thickness of a handbreadth [tefaḥ]. It is woven from
seventy-two strands [nirim] of yarn, and each and every strand [nima]
of those seventy-two is made from twenty-four threads consisting of six
threads each of sky-blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and fine linen. Its
length is forty cubits, the height of the Sanctuary, and its
width is twenty cubits, the width of the entrance. And it is
made from eighty-two ten-thousands, i.e., 820,000 dinars. And the
overseers of the Temple make two new Curtains every year. And the
Curtain was so heavy that when it was immersed, three hundred priests would
immerse it.” (Sefaria.org translation)
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