For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 113
To download, click/tap here: PDF
The Gemara often makes use of a statement of aggada to segue to a broader discussion of non-halakhic matters. The teachings of Rabbi Akiva to his son, which appeared on yesterday’s daf, lead the Gemara to quote from a collection of statements made by individual Sages to their children, many of them referring to issues of a mystical and, on occasion, personal, nature. The Gemara teaches that the source for the prohibition against requesting advice or information from the "Kaldiyim" is the verse, "You shall be completely faithful to Hashem your God" (Deut 18:13).
The Gemara in Shabbos (156b) describes a "Kalda'ei" as a Nochri astrologer who uses the constellations to predict future events. The Gemara in Shabbos describes this discipline as legitimate and trustworthy. Why, then, does the Gemara here say that one is prohibited to rely on the advice of Kaldiyim?
Who were the Chaldeans and how much did they influence chazal? And why did some consider their science legitimate?