חדש באתר: NotebookLM עם כל תכני הרב מיכאל אברהם

Q&A: The Torah’s Obligations Are Separate from Morality

Back to list  |  🌐 עברית  |  ℹ About
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.

The Torah’s Obligations Are Separate from Morality

Question

Hello Rabbi Michi,
I read the Rabbi’s approach that the Torah’s obligations are not connected to moral obligations, and that these are two different things operating on different planes. This approach really did settle my mind regarding the obvious questions that arise on this topic.
But I still have one difficulty: the Torah itself says, “You shall keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, who shall hear all these statutes and say: Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
And if it is indeed possible that these obligations are unrelated to morality, then where will our wisdom and understanding be evident?

Answer

This is Maimonides’ well-known argument. But I have never been persuaded by it. Suppose I am wrong, and at the root of all the halakhot there really do lie deep and exalted moral conceptions. So now all the nations do understand this and appreciate us? Do they understand something in Jewish law that I do not understand? Therefore this difficulty still stands, and it has no connection to our discussion here.
As for the matter itself: someone who has confidence in the divine source of the Torah may perhaps be impressed דווקא by what he does not understand. Alternatively, perhaps they will be impressed by the product of a wise and understanding people, and not necessarily by the specific laws it observes. An example is Kishon’s well-known article, The Knitted Kippah (who hasn’t heard about it at a Bnei Akiva youth activity?), where he says that he does not understand why not eating pork or wearing a kippah should affect human behavior, but the result—the way religious youth behave—did impress him.
 

Discussion on Answer

Reuven (2017-04-13)

I agree, but I still find the words “who shall hear all these statutes” difficult. According to the Rabbi, they are not hearing the statutes; they are seeing the people who observe the statutes.

Amir (2017-04-19)

Why connect the wisdom and understanding mentioned in the verse specifically with wisdom and understanding in matters of morality? Apparently there is also wisdom and understanding in matters of divinity.

Leave a Reply

Back to top button