Q&A: Weekly Torah Portion
Weekly Torah Portion
Question
What, in the Rabbi’s view, is the difference between studying the Hebrew Bible and studying the weekly Torah portion?
Answer
None.
Discussion on Answer
If so, then what is the point of reading the weekly Torah portion? “Twice Scripture and once translation”?
I didn’t understand the question.
According to the Rabbi, there is no point at all in studying and knowing the Hebrew Bible and the weekly Torah portion, but after all they instituted reading the weekly Torah portion as “twice Scripture and once translation” in order to know the Torah.
I didn’t say there’s no point. I said that it doesn’t teach me very much. The reason for the enactment is either because back then it really did teach (in those ancient times values were drawn from the Hebrew Bible), or in order to gain other added values (not educational ones), such as connection to the Jewish people and to the Holy One, blessed be He, a religious framework in day-to-day life, etc.
Were I not afraid, I would adopt here the approach of the Rosh, who wrote that nowadays one fulfills the commandment of writing a Torah scroll through books of the Oral Torah.
Doesn’t the Rabbi agree that there is a difference of 19 books between the weekly Torah portion and the Hebrew Bible?