Learning a lesson from the Bible
You wrote that the non-halakhic part of the Bible is intended to teach lessons, but that is no longer relevant today, because there are better sources to learn from.
This raises at least two questions.
How was the non-halakhic part relevant for people (not strictly Jewish) who lived a thousand or two thousand years ago but is it not relevant today?
Why are biblical issues such as “Is Jewish-religious rule in the Land of Israel legitimate” or “Is there any interest in Jewish settlement on the land of Israel beyond the commandments” not legitimate for drawing lessons if it is quite clear that a study of the Bible shows that the answers to these two issues are “yes” and “yes”?
I’ve explained these things dozens of times. There have been columns and books.
In the past, the fact is that people learned morality from the Bible. Today, this is not necessary because the lessons have already been learned. Furthermore, no one learns from the Bible anything that they fundamentally disagree with. No one changes any value they espouse because they are convinced that the Bible opposes them.
Jewish rule in Palestine is legitimate regardless of the Bible. And is Belgian rule in Belgium illegitimate because it is not written in the Bible? The reality of God and the creation of the world can also be learned from the Bible. We can also learn from it that it is appropriate to be humble and a good person. All of this is known to everyone (perhaps with the help of the Bible in the past) and therefore, at least today, there is no need for the Bible for this.
In short, I have often asked readers to bring me examples of something they learned from the Bible, and so far I have not received any. I do not have the energy for this endless and unnecessary discussion.
I will refine my question.
Was the Bible really the (very significant) seal of approval for people to act?
Yes, even if it did not create the “Zionist idea” from scratch for people like David Ben-Gurion and Yair Stern, may their memory be blessed (and of course many others), I assume you will agree that there is no doubt that the literary parts of the Bible had a huge influence on their conduct.
If you do agree that it had a huge influence on the conduct of people of our time (a huge influence above any halakhic commandment written in the Torah), can it now be argued that it is more reasonable to give the literary parts of the Bible the title of “Torah in the haftza”?
For the benefit of the readers, I will quote the words of Ben Gurion and Yair Stern:
“Since I came to Israel, I have been shaped primarily by the Bible, which only here, in Israel, have I begun to understand in all its depth, and I have been influenced by it more than any other book and literature – Jewish or non-Jewish” (Ben Gurion).
And Stern (Principles of the Revival):
“The People – The Hebrew people are a special people: the creator of the religion of unity, the legislator of the morality of the prophets, the bearer of world culture; great in the tradition of heroism and devotion of the soul; in the will to live and the strength to suffer; in the light of its spirit; in its confidence in redemption.
The Promised Land - is the Land of Israel within its boundaries specified in the Torah (On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18)) is the land of life in which the entire Hebrew people will dwell in safety.
The people and their promise - Israel conquered the Land of Israel by the sword. It was there that the people came to be and only there that they will return to life. Therefore, Israel, and only it, has the right to own the Land of Israel. This right is absolute, it has not expired and can never expire again.
That's a completely different question. It's clear that he's influential. What does this have to do with Torah in the flesh or Torah in general?! There are many people who have been influenced by literary works, art, speeches (Churchill, Martin Luther King), and more. Are all of these Torah in the flesh?
Yes, I learned that there is importance in the Bible for revenge against one's enemies and collective revenge. It seemed to me an unlikely value, but we see in the Bible that it is significant in several places.
Example of Bible Study:
I refer readers to the discussion between me and the Rabbi in column 479 (https://mikyab.net/posts/76340). In the comments thread there (towards the end as of now), I offered an example of Bible study. I recommend readers to look there and judge for themselves whether Bible study is possible.
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