Q&A: Returning to Biblical Judaism
Returning to Biblical Judaism
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi…
Is there, theoretically, any chance of returning to Biblical Judaism?
My basic assumption is that in the period of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), the commandments were not interpreted and branched out into an endless mass of details and sub-details, but were understood in a fairly simple way…. The Sabbath was a day of rest for man and beast, and the prohibition on doing labor stemmed from the goal of resting on the Sabbath day, but nobody had heard of the thirty-nine categories of labor and their derivatives, and certainly not of muktzeh… And so all the commandments were observed in a simple way, without a lot of halakhic technocracy…
What do you think?
Answer
What do you mean by "is there a chance"? Sociologically? Will the public agree? Or are you asking whether it is proper/permitted to do this?
My answer to both questions is no. Torah develops, and what obligates us is what has been accepted in the tradition (so long as it has an authorized source). This is against those who claim that everything happening today also existed in the Hebrew Bible, and against those who claim that if it did not exist in the Hebrew Bible then it should not be done today either.
And this is what the Talmud says in Chagigah 3b:
"It too opened and expounded: 'The words of the wise are like goads, and like well-fastened nails, given from one shepherd, by masters of assemblies.' Why are the words of Torah compared to a goad? To tell you: just as this goad directs the cow to its furrows to bring life to the world, so too the words of Torah direct those who study them from paths of death to paths of life. If so, one might say: just as this goad is movable, so too the words of Torah are movable; therefore the verse says: 'well-fastened.' If so, one might say: just as this nail diminishes and does not increase, so too the words of Torah diminish and do not increase; therefore the verse says: 'planted.' Just as a planting grows and multiplies, so too the words of Torah grow and multiply. 'Masters of assemblies'—these are Torah scholars who sit in many groups and engage in Torah study. Some declare impure and others declare pure; some forbid and others permit; some disqualify and others validate. Lest a person say: How, then, can I study Torah from now on? Therefore the verse says: 'all of them were given from one shepherd.' One God gave them, one leader stated them, from the mouth of the Master of all deeds, blessed be He, as it is written: 'And God spoke all these words.' So you too must make your ear like a hopper and acquire for yourself an understanding heart, to hear the words of those who declare impure and the words of those who declare pure, the words of those who forbid and the words of those who permit, the words of those who disqualify and the words of those who validate."
Discussion on Answer
There are rules for change too. When there is a Sanhedrin, in principle it can do anything. It may be that with the agreement of all halakhic decisors, something like this could also be done. But this is of course a theoretical discussion, because there will never be such agreement.
The question of whether the Jewish people will want to return to Torah is not a consideration at all. You could abolish the Torah and then everyone would be perfectly righteous. If that's the truth, then that's the truth, and each person should do whatever he decides. If someone decides he does not want to do what is right, there is no reason at all to take him into account. And if the truth is that we need to change and return to the Hebrew Bible, then that should be done regardless of the question of bringing the distant closer.
But that's exactly the point….
If we're talking about a religion that develops and changes, then why shouldn't it be possible to change in the "opposite" direction????
Maybe it would be possible to significantly reduce the technical complexity of observing the commandments and move to a more simple, general approach??
Maybe through broad public agreement?!
Personally, I think that on the contrary, if there's any chance that most of the Jewish people who are defined as secular and traditional would want / be able to return to God's Torah, it would דווקא be through a Jewish law that is lean on details