In connection with external books

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asked 7 months ago

What is the Rabbi’s opinion on the Book of Enoch, Jubilees, and several other books that were not included in the Bible?
Does the rabbi see any particular importance or even origin in them?
Because to the best of my knowledge, Maimonides viewed the book Shiur Qoma as a forgery.

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מיכי Staff answered 7 months ago

The question of whether they have value and the question of whether they are forgeries (in relation to what?) are different questions. There can be forgeries that have value. I also don’t really understand what forgery means? In the sense of “it’s not Shakespeare but his cousin who was also called Shakespeare.” In any case, I am not familiar with this literature, and therefore I have no opinion about it. I will only note that the Bible itself has no value in my eyes either. I fail to see what studying it gives. Therefore, I do not expect to find value in the books of Enoch or Jubilees. And finally, the fact that Maimonides saw something as a forgery does not say much. I am not sure that he is the greatest of philologists.

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דניאל replied 7 months ago

When I say forgery I mean that there was a certain person who attributed the book to a certain period in the Bible even though it was all from his imagination and the stories in the book are made up.
And when I ask if it has value I mean if the content of it is true. Should we accept that angels came to Earth and taught humans how to use weapons of war? (That is what the book describes)

מיכי Staff replied 7 months ago

Well, so really these are two different questions. Just because the stories are not true does not necessarily mean they are fake. Even in the Torah, there is the possibility of interpreting certain stories as an educational myth.
The question of whether there is value in this is not related to the truth of the content. As mentioned, it can be a myth. A myth can also have value.