The reliability of the written Torah and its place in Judaism
Hello Rabbi,
I have two questions that I would appreciate if you could answer or direct me to places that address the subject.
- Even if we assume that some of the written Torah was given to Moses at Mount Sinai, I still think it is quite absurd to say that it was preserved and that the Torah we have today is identical to the Torah given to Moses at Mount Sinai. If so, what obliges us to this particular text (both at the level of the general stories presented there and at the level of specific words and letters on which the Sages rely heavily in their halakhic rulings)?
- Continuing with the previous question – even if we say that the Torah has been perfectly preserved and that the text we have is completely identical to the one given at Mount Sinai, once it was given in writing (and not, for example, imprinted within us) it is subject to personal interpretation. At the end of the day, we do not observe the written Torah at all, but only the oral Torah. Even the way in which the Torah should be studied was determined by humans. The attitude towards the Torah became like the attitude towards a literary work – as material in the hands of the creator, which sages can analyze however they please and derive from it what suits them. As a spring, a springboard from which one can jump wherever they want. And of course this is what will happen, because once it was given in writing, we must interpret it in a human way. If so, Judaism and Halacha are completely human and completely disconnected from divinity (unless you say that the entire oral Torah was also given at Mount Sinai, but in my humble opinion, this is quite far-fetched). So what is the point of them, really? What is the point of everything we do if everything is human like any other system of laws? It can be said that Judaism is unique in that its system of laws does not come only to regulate relationships between humans, but also includes commandments between humans and the place. If so, the question remains: what is the difference between the system of laws of Judaism and the systems of laws of other religions (which also contain these criteria)?
Thank you very much!
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0 Answers
Hello Nitzan.
- It is indeed unlikely that it has been preserved in its entirety, although there are quite strict preservation mechanisms. But it is hard to believe that no mistakes were made. But now the question arises: what do you think we are supposed to do with this assumption? If there is something that is clearly a mistake – so be it. If it only seems to us to be a mistake – so be it. But a general assessment that mistakes were made does not change anything. The bottom line is that the assumption is that as long as something has not been proven to be a mistake – the assumption is the binding source. Again, this does not stem from confidence that this is really the case, but it is a reasonable assumption to act on in situations of doubt. This is how assumptions operate in all halakha and in every legal system. When we do not know what the situation is, we follow the most likely assessment, until proven otherwise. It is true that if we accept your assumption (and as I said, I also share it) – it makes it possible to deal with verses that raise serious problems. There is room for the assumption that they were not in the original or were changed. But of course, we need to be very careful about the degree of certainty and evidence that there is indeed a problem here, and to what extent we change, and what we change and who changes.
- I also agree with your second assumption, but only partially here. Indeed, most of what we have was not given from Sinai. This is completely clear (much more so than what I wrote about the written Torah). On the other hand, the basics were given there (such as the basic tools of interpretation and sermon). From here on out, it is a human interpretive and sermonic activity. But this is precisely what God expected when He gave the Torah. He gave us tools of interpretation so that we could use them. Therefore, even though the Oral Torah is a work of man, it is still binding by the power of God. It is like a minister delegating authority to an official or the CEO of a ministry (what is called secondary legislation in the legal world). The decisions are the official’s, but they are binding by the power and authority of the minister. And again, here too there is no doubt that quite a few mistakes were made, and therefore all my comments from the previous section are also relevant here.
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