Regarding the video “The Myth of Jewish Tradition”
Hello Rabbi Michael, I came across a video on YouTube that deals with problems in Jewish tradition, and the truth is that some of the things sound logical and reasonable. I would love to hear your opinion on the subject, or perhaps you could direct me to reading material on the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMaGNEa1Uqc
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Unfortunately I don’t have time to see all of this. I know Moshe Sheinfeld (he’s one of those who passed by me when they were still religious, unfortunately I don’t get along with everyone :)).
Just one sentence. I heard the beginning (until I saw the length), and already his starting point is wrong in my opinion. He thinks that our trust in tradition is built on its inherent reliability. That is, that it is impossible for it to have gone wrong. It is common to think that the Khazari says so (he has a ruling on this). But that is not true. Of course it could have gone wrong. The starting point is that there is a philosophical God, and after we have reached this conclusion, the giving of the Torah becomes plausible. If we examine the giving of the Torah and the tradition about it in and of itself, it is certainly less plausible. This is the question of Russell’s heavenly teapot. If you do not know that such a pot exists, why would you accept evidence for its existence or for any color it has. But if you know that such a pot exists, why would you not accept the testimony of someone who claims to have seen it and claims that it is pink? Even for God, if you know that he exists, then there is no reason to reject reasonable evidence for a meeting with him (at Mount Sinai). In conclusion, the reliability of tradition is not inherent (in itself), but rather based on the philosophical belief in the existence of God.
Just one sentence. I heard the beginning (until I saw the length), and already his starting point is wrong in my opinion. He thinks that our trust in tradition is built on its inherent reliability. That is, that it is impossible for it to have gone wrong. It is common to think that the Khazari says so (he has a ruling on this). But that is not true. Of course it could have gone wrong. The starting point is that there is a philosophical God, and after we have reached this conclusion, the giving of the Torah becomes plausible. If we examine the giving of the Torah and the tradition about it in and of itself, it is certainly less plausible. This is the question of Russell’s heavenly teapot. If you do not know that such a pot exists, why would you accept evidence for its existence or for any color it has. But if you know that such a pot exists, why would you not accept the testimony of someone who claims to have seen it and claims that it is pink? Even for God, if you know that he exists, then there is no reason to reject reasonable evidence for a meeting with him (at Mount Sinai). In conclusion, the reliability of tradition is not inherent (in itself), but rather based on the philosophical belief in the existence of God.
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