Q&A: Various Topics.
Various Topics.
Question
Hello Rabbi,
According to what you wrote in the second book, that there is no essential difference between a Jew and a non-Jew, how do you explain “All Israel have a share in the World to Come”? If there is nothing essentially different, why should a Jew receive reward simply for being Jewish? In any case, I’m interested in the plain meaning of that statement.
How can one say that the Sages did not have divine inspiration? The Talmud is full of miraculous stories, like a person who crossed a river, someone who took fruits from a fig tree, the donkey of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair, and many more. I think it’s a bit excessive to come and say that all these stories are inventions with no basis that the masses accepted, isn’t it?
And if we accept that these are baseless legends, why should I believe such liars regarding the Jewish law tradition they transmitted? They seem very suspect when it comes to truth.
In the second book you tell about your speech in a synagogue on Sabbath eve after a terror attack at Yeshivat Erev. You say there that since God acted improperly, you allow yourself to do so as well. Something like that.
My question is: because it is still hard to understand why God does not intervene to prevent such evil, do you think one has the right to complain against Him or be angry at Him? Or was that simply an expression of pain?
It seems logical to me to believe that He has a reason, no?
I would like to know your opinion regarding the non-enlistment of yeshiva students. According to what you say, Torah study nowadays does not protect and save, so why is there any justification at all for yeshiva students not to enlist?
Is it more convenient for you to correspond than to speak on the phone? Because sometimes the phone is more available for me.
Thank you very much for the books. And the articles. Their benefit cannot be measured!!!
Thank you very much.
Answer
First, I claim that there is no difference between a Jew and a non-Jew because that is what I myself see, quite apart from the sources. If there are sources that do not fit, then either they are not correct, in my opinion, or they should be interpreted differently. Beyond that, aggadic sources are open to many interpretations, so one cannot learn much from them.
The Talmudic stories are legends, and therefore the miracles described in them do not say very much. Do you think the legends of Rabbah bar bar Hannah are descriptions of things that actually happened? Maimonides, in his introduction to the chapter Helek, already discusses the proper way to interpret aggadah.
But we are not talking about lies; rather, about an aggadic genre used to convey various messages and lessons.
I don’t know what I said there. If you want to ask about something, quote it and ask. In my opinion, God does not intervene in the world at all, or almost at all, and especially not in events like these. As far as I remember, what I was mainly objecting to there was empty consolation and ridiculous notions that attribute everything to Him.
There is room not to draft a limited number of people who are talented and diligent in their studies, because of the importance of study in general, and not because it protects.
Usually I prefer corresponding, unless there is some special reason to talk.
The questioner continued and wrote:
Just to make sure once and for all: is the statement “All Israel have a share in the World to Come” not true? You said in your sermon: “True, the Sabbath is not a time for eulogy, but the Holy One, blessed be He, will have to forgive me for deviating from the rules, for, pardon me, He too did not act here according to the rules.”
I’m really trying to understand whether you were making claims against God here.
Or was it just a way of expressing pain, like in Hanan Ben Ari’s song: “Who asked You to throw a soul into me?” Regarding the legends of Rabbah bar bar Hannah, I think there is a level of exaggeration there that everyone understands is not literal, but when there are two tannaim or amoraim who say they entered behind the curtain and heard things, I don’t really see what the parable is there, and if they lied with such nonsense, I do not understand why one should rely on them in transmitting the tradition of Jewish law! Is the need for Torah study in order to pass the torch on to the next generation? Or simply because God wants the Jewish people to be occupied with Torah? Or is that the same thing?
Thank you very much.
My answer:
It’s not that I have a problem with making claims against the Holy One, blessed be He, but one should not raise difficulties from a literary opening.
As for Rabbah bar bar Hannah, read my answer again. You’re just being stubborn.