Q&A: The Changing Nature of the Torah
The Changing Nature of the Torah
Question
Once you wrote to me that the Torah changes according to place and time. I wanted to understand what you meant. Do you mean that the Torah is built from abstract principles, and only here in our world they “come down to earth” with slight changes depending on place and time—but that the closer one is to the revelation at Mount Sinai, the truer it is? Or did you mean something else entirely?
Answer
The first part is correct (the application of abstract principles changes according to reality), and I do not see how the second part follows from it (that closeness to Mount Sinai leads to greater correctness). On the contrary, the first part implies that the second part is not correct. Closer to Mount Sinai, reality was different, and therefore the application was different. There is no question here of right and wrong.