Q&A: The Authority of the Torah
The Authority of the Torah
Question
Honorable Rabbi, hello,
If the whole reason for observing the commandments is that we accepted the Torah upon ourselves—meaning, the force of the Torah’s authority is because we granted it that force—then if all the Jewish people were to decide to stop being subject to the Torah, would the commandments and punishments lose their meaning? Would we be in the clear (legally and in other respects) even though we are not carrying out God’s will?
If such a movement were to begin in Israel, would the Rabbi support it?
Answer
No. A divine command has authority even without our obligating ourselves. In practice, the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted us also to undertake an obligation (the mountain held over them like a barrel, and “we will do and we will hear”), and we did undertake it. Now it is impossible not to keep that commitment. The fact that the entire people agrees means nothing. The people are only one side of this agreement.
Discussion on Answer
That is definitely possible.
But today most of the Jewish people do not observe the commandments and do not recognize the authority of the Talmud, so why then—according to your view—does the Talmud have any authority nowadays?
Because this is the world, not “the worldlings.” He’s talking about people who are not committed to the Torah at all, so their opinion about the Talmud carries no significance. The public that counts is those who are committed to the Torah and Jewish law.
And what about the authority of the Talmud, if the people were to decide to abolish it?