Improvisation as Decision-Making

Abstract This chapter traces the potential pitfalls of acting lifnim mi-shurat ha-din, showing how improvisational judgments can lead to problematic outcomes or confuse later readers about proper behavior. Strikingly, in the midst of highlighting these challenges, the Talmudic editors also advance their strongest argument for the importance of improvisation. The chapter explores the counterbalancing effect of both of these strains of thought, and the assessment of improvisational judgment that they ultimately produce. On the one hand, the editors actively amplify the detrimental impacts of rigid adherence to narrative scripts. On the other hand, they also seek to contain the instability that going off script can produce.