Q&A: Are Books of Ethics and Jewish Philosophy Also Torah?
Are Books of Ethics and Jewish Philosophy Also Torah?
Question
Hello and blessings, Rabbi. In the lesson “A Look at Torah and Torah Study,” the Rabbi asked whether a musar book is Torah.
At first glance, even if from the standpoint of the book’s essential nature, which educates toward character refinement, there is no Torah here, then how is this different from a book by Aristotle about character traits?
The difference is that musar books are based on verses from the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and sayings of the Sages, which are Torah; they are literally full of them. For the same reason, The Guide for the Perplexed is also Torah, because it clothes the philosophical matters it discusses in Torah. Kant, by contrast, does not do this.
This has nothing at all to do with the writer’s mother.
Also, if a non-Jew offers novel insights on the Talmud, if they are true, that too is Torah.
What does the Rabbi think?
Answer
What you wrote is correct: they dress it up in verses of the Torah. That has nothing to do with the verses. These are just moral pieces of advice, plain and simple. Such a book does not interpret verses, and through it you are not studying Torah. It is a book of advice and guidance. It is no better than the aggadic literature of the Sages.
And indeed, if a non-Jew interprets the Torah, then his words are Torah study.