When i was young i approached a New York rabbi and expressed my desire to study the Talmud

«Do you know Aramaic?» asked the rabbi

«No»

«Hebrew?»

«No»

«Did you study Torah in your childhood?»

«No, Rabbi. But don't worry. I graduated from the philosophy department at Berkeley and just defended my dissertation on Socratic philosophy. Now, to fill the gaps in my knowledge, I want to study the Talmud a bit»

«You're not ready to study the Talmud,» said the rabbi. «It is the deepest book ever written by humans. But since you insist, I'll give you a logic test. If you pass, I'll teach you»

I agreed, and the rabbi continued

«Two people go down a chimney. One comes out with a clean face, the other with a dirty face. Who will go wash up?»

My, young philosopher's eyes widened

«This is a logic test?!»

The rabbi nodded

«Of course, the one with the dirty face!»

«Wrong. Think logically: the one with the dirty face will see the one with the clean face and assume his face is also clean. The one with the clean face will see the one with the dirty face, think he's dirtied his own face, and go wash up»

«Cleverly devised!» i exclaimed. «Come on, Rabbi, give me another test!»

«Alright, young man. Two people go down a chimney. One comes out with a clean face, the other with a dirty face. Who will go wash up?»

«But we've already established – the one with the clean face!»

«Wrong. Both will go wash up. Think logically: the one with the clean face will see the one with the dirty face, assume his face is dirty, and go wash up. The one with the dirty face will see the other going to wash up, realize his face is dirty, and also go wash up»

«I didn't think about that! Amazing – I made a logical error! Rabbi, give me one more test!»

«Alright. Two people go down a chimney. One comes out with a clean face, the other with a dirty face. Who will go wash up?»

«Well... Both will go wash up»

«Wrong. Neither of them will go wash up. Think logically: the one with the dirty face will see the one with the clean face, and not go wash up. The one with the clean face will see that the other with the dirty face isn't going to wash up, realize his face is clean, and also not go wash up»

I became desperate

«Believe me, I can learn the Talmud! Ask me something else!»

«Alright. Two people go down a chimney...»

«Oh, Lord! Neither of them will go wash up!»

«Wrong. Now you realize that Socratic logic is insufficient to study the Talmud? Tell me, how can two people go down the same chimney, and one dirties his face while the other doesn't?! Can't you see? The entire question is nonsense, and if you spend your life answering senseless questions, all your answers will be senseless too!»