Q&A: Karaism in a Different Way
Karaism in a Different Way
Question
Hello Rabbi,
If someone believes that the entire reason he believes in the Torah is only because of the fulfillment of the prophecies in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh),
and not because of tradition at all, or any other factor.
According to his view, the tradition is false because it includes the Oral Torah.
And of course the Oral Torah is not correct, since it often contradicts the Written Torah.
Moreover, one cannot rely on tradition alone, since we have seen that there are peoples who passed down traditions of miracles, such as Muhammad splitting the moon. And many others. So we see that lies can be transmitted through tradition.
If so, how does the Rabbi think that a person who believes in the Torah only because of the prophecies will also believe in the Oral Torah?!
Answer
If a person does not believe in tradition, then he does not believe in tradition. You are asking how a person who does not believe in tradition could come to believe in it. That is a self-contradictory question, and there is no answer to it. If a person has not decided that he does not believe, but is in a state where he is asking himself the question, then perhaps one can think of one way or another.
What do prophecies have to do with the Oral Torah at all?
The Oral Torah explains the Torah and also the Prophets and Writings, and the Hebrew Bible includes prophecies that are not always clear to us.
That’s what the Rabbi usually answers about this.
Tradition is allowed to change; there is a rule that Jewish law uproots the verse! Because of that, the Oral Torah is allowed to develop according to the times—this is why it was forbidden to write it down, because it depends on new developments and changing situations. Clear? Jewish law goes along with modernization and is not frozen in place.
Someone who does not believe in the Oral Torah—where will he get interpretations from? He will be forced to make things up… but what about “Do not turn aside from all that they instruct you”?