Definitions for "Pilpul"
Among the Jews, penetrating investigation, disputation, and drawing of conclusions, esp. in Talmudic study.
Dialectical rational method of studying Jewish oral law as codified in the Talmud, usually identified with the Tosafists
The give and take of Torah study
a nitpickin', unproductive argument. Man
a nitpicking, unproductive argument.
a religious controversy about a matter so arcane, so remote, so divorced from reality as to have no meaning outside of the arguers