Q&A: Why the Rabbi Attributes So Much Importance to Jewish Law
Why the Rabbi Attributes So Much Importance to Jewish Law
Question
Hello and blessings,
If I may ask, why does the Rabbi assign such great weight to Jewish law?
That is, not in terms of the attitude toward it itself and how much we are bound by it, but in terms of actually studying it,
since usually those who are analytical and focused on in-depth Talmud study tend to focus on it less, and I see that the Rabbi, despite the analysis and depth in the Talmud, attributes very great importance to it,
to the point that the title of one of the Rabbi’s interviews (in Makor Rishon) is the quote: “There is nothing in Judaism except Jewish law.”
Why does the Rabbi attribute such great importance to it compared to other areas, like Kabbalah for example?
Answer
I explained this in detail in the second book of the trilogy. When I say Jewish law, I mean the study of Jewish law, halakhic analysis, and also observance. That is meant to exclude the study of other things, which are marginal, if that. As for Kabbalah, I am not sure to what extent it is Torah at all (what there was given at Sinai? There are clear lines of similarity to other mystical traditions). Ethics and theology/philosophical thought are human inventions of the thinkers themselves (some of them are also found among non-Jews). Only in Jewish law is there a tradition from Sinai (which of course developed and was interpreted), and only it is specific to Jews, and about it one can say that this is the Torah we received.
Discussion on Answer
It is really not plausible that Avot was given at Sinai. I understand the intention to be that one should view it as if it were given there. Like the saying that everything a seasoned student is destined to innovate was shown by the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses at Sinai—where the intention there too is not historical-factual but normative.
In any case, Tractate Avot consists of recommendations for good character traits, and there is nothing uniquely Jewish there. Similar things can be found in other sources, including non-Jewish ones. What is reasonable and sensible I will accept, and what is not, I will not—whether from Avot or from the non-Jews.
Thank you very much, Rabbi.
Regarding character traits, there are those who write that Tractate Avot was also given to Moses at Sinai (Bartenura at the beginning of Avot, and others). According to that, admittedly it is not specific to us, because the sages of the nations also wrote books of ethics and the like, but it is still Torah.