That the seemingly new discovery of the radio is not a discovery but rather a rediscovery, is the claim of the Jewish scholar and lawyer, Samuel Kahan, in the “New York World” of June 1st.
Mr. Kahan draws the attention of scholars to a Braitha mentioned in the fifth chapter of Youma, which states the following:
“The Rabbis have learned three sounds which travel from one end of the world to the other. They are the sound of the son traveling around the world, the sound of the soul when it leaves the body and the sound of a mob in a large city. Some Rabbis say also that the sound of the woman laboring in childbirth travels from one end of the world to the other; some of the Rabbis say that the sound of the r-e-d-i-i-a also does the same thing.”
The fact that the ancient Talmudic document mentions the radio as a matter of reference only would seem to indicate that it was a matter of general knowledge, which did not need any explanation.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
