Q&A: Question about the obligation to obey Orthodox Jewish law
Question about the obligation to obey Orthodox Jewish law
Question
Hello Rabbi
As a graduate of Haredi yeshivot who still belongs today to the Haredi Lithuanian community, I would be grateful if the Rabbi could find the time to answer a point of faith that I was unable to find an answer to in the trilogy.
I apologize in advance for the extreme and categorical language; I need it in order to create clarity for myself in discussing these challenging issues.
My struggle with faith is based on 3 insights that have taken shape for me out of my Torah learning, and out of a desire to focus on the overall conception and less on the details of the theological discussions themselves.
1. Jewish law is human and not divine – Jewish law is a human product of the sages of Israel, according to their interpretation and the emphases they considered important to promote (including subjective experiences and insights), while relying loosely on verses (a mere support-text) and principles of interpretation that are mainly hermeneutical. It is certainly very difficult to point to any unequivocal identification of Jewish law with what is written in the Torah, in the Prophets, or in direct transmission, and this is especially true regarding Jewish law and customs in our own day.
2. The Written Torah is human – even without getting into biblical criticism, it is hard to escape the feeling that the Torah was written for a very specific generation that lived at a very specific point in time, and therefore it also presents conceptions and a morality suited to that generation (slavery, women, idols), as well as stories that fit the stories accepted in that generation, rather than something clearly timeless.
Based on this assumption, I also rely on the understanding that we are not really unique, since the more I am exposed to other religions and worldviews, the more I identify the same conceptions and assumptions as among us, including entire midrashim that are identical to Muslim traditions and conceptions of enlightenment and morality that exist in many other places as well—not to mention many characteristics such as piety and willingness for self-sacrifice that are sometimes found specifically among less respectable sects and groups.
All this leads me to the absurd conclusion that no one really knows what God wants – given that the sages of Israel ruled according to their broad and wise judgment but without any direct connection to Above (wired or wireless), that there is no unequivocal method of deriving things from the Torah, and that there is also no significant proof of the Torah's divinity, we come close to the Reform conception, God forbid, that each person should look into his own heart (the divine according to Spinoza), and, while drawing inspiration from the sources of his culture and so on, do the best he can.
Since it is clear to me that this is not an acceptable conclusion, I am certain that the Rabbi will be able to guide me to the proper sources in the eternal Torah of the Jewish people, and set me straight as soon as possible regarding the errors in these flawed basic assumptions.
With great respect
Answer
1. I agree that Jewish law was created by human beings, and that their inclinations, values, and insights are involved in it. The Torah was not given to ministering angels, and whatever human beings understand from it is what they are supposed to do.
2. I do not agree that the Written Torah is human. It is possible that such elements entered into it, but I do not think that there was no revelation at Mount Sinai and that no Torah was given. That is a very hasty conclusion, and I explained at the end of the first volume why.
3. Indeed, many religions have characteristic common lines. We, of course, were first, and in that sense there is no great surprise here.
From this you can understand that I do not agree with the claim that no one knows what the Holy One, blessed be He, wants. Simply because we do not need to know. He gave us a Torah, and it was given with the understanding that we would interpret it. That is what is incumbent upon us.
Of course, a person should do what seems best according to his understanding, and that is not Reform. The question under dispute is what seems best according to your understanding. In my opinion, what is best is to obey Jewish law (while maintaining a critical view of its content and development).