Q&A: Learning a Lesson from the Hebrew Bible
Learning a Lesson from the Hebrew Bible
Question
You wrote that the non-halakhic part of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) was meant to teach lessons, but that it is no longer relevant today, because there are better sources to learn from.
This raises at least two questions.
In what way was the non-halakhic part relevant for people (not necessarily Jews) who lived a thousand or two thousand years ago, but is not relevant today?
Why are biblical topics such as "Is Jewish-religious rule in the Land of Israel legitimate?" or "Beyond the commandments, is there value in Jews settling on the soil of the Land of Israel?" not legitimate subjects from which to draw lessons, if it is fairly clear that study of the Hebrew Bible shows that the answers to both of these are "yes" and "yes"?
Answer
I’ve already explained these things dozens of times. There were columns and books.
In the past, the fact is that people learned ethics from the Hebrew Bible. Today that is no longer necessary, because the lessons have already been drawn. Beyond that, nobody learns from the Hebrew Bible anything that he didn’t already agree with to begin with. Nobody is going to change any value he believes in because he became convinced that the Hebrew Bible opposes it.
Jewish rule in the Land of Israel is legitimate regardless of the Hebrew Bible. Is Belgian rule in Belgium not legitimate because it isn’t written in the Hebrew Bible? You can also learn the existence of God and the creation of the world from the Hebrew Bible. You can also learn from it that one should be humble and a good person. All of this is known to everyone (perhaps with the help of the Hebrew Bible in the past), and therefore, at least today, there is no need for the Hebrew Bible for that.
In short, I have asked readers more than once to bring me examples of something they learned from the Hebrew Bible, and so far I haven’t received any. I don’t have the energy for this endless and pointless discussion.
Discussion on Answer
That’s a completely different question. Obviously it has influence. What does that have to do with “Torah as an object in itself,” or with Torah at all?! There are lots of people who were influenced by literary works, art, speeches (Churchill, Martin Luther King), and more. Are all of those “Torah as an object in itself” too?
Yes, I learned that in the Hebrew Bible there is importance to taking revenge on the enemies of the Jewish people, and to collective revenge.
That seemed to me like an unreasonable value, but in the Hebrew Bible it appears in several places that it is significant.
An example of learning from Scripture:
I refer readers to the discussion between me and the Rabbi in column 479 (https://mikyab.net/posts/76340). In the comment thread there (toward the end as of now), I suggested an example of learning from Scripture. I recommend that readers look there and judge for themselves whether learning from Scripture is possible.
Let me refine my question.
Was the Hebrew Bible in fact the very significant stamp of approval for people to act?
That is, even if it did not create the “Zionist idea” from scratch for people like David Ben-Gurion and Yair Stern, of blessed memory (and of course many others), I assume you would agree that the literary parts of the Hebrew Bible had an enormous influence on their conduct.
If you do indeed agree that it had an enormous influence on their conduct—on people of our own time, an influence greater than any halakhic commandment written in the Torah—can one now argue that it is more reasonable to grant the literary parts of the Hebrew Bible the title of “Torah as an object in itself”?
For the readers’ benefit, I’ll quote the words of Ben-Gurion and Yair Stern:
"Since coming to the Land, I have been shaped mainly by the Hebrew Bible, which only here, in the Land, did I begin to understand in all its depth, and I was influenced by it more than by any other book or literature—Jewish and non-Jewish alike" (Ben-Gurion).
And Stern (Principles of Revival):
"The nation—the Hebrew nation is a chosen people: creator of the religion of unity, legislator of the morality of the prophets, bearer of world culture; great in the tradition of heroism and self-sacrifice; in the will to live and the power to endure; in the light of its spirit; in its confidence in redemption.
The homeland—it is the Land of Israel within the borders explicitly defined in the Torah (‘On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: To your seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates’ 15:18); it is the land of life in which the entire Hebrew nation shall dwell securely.
The nation and its homeland—the Land of Israel was conquered by Israel with the sword. There it became a nation, and there alone it will rise again. Therefore Israel, and only Israel, has the right of ownership over the Land of Israel. This right is absolute; it has not lapsed, and it can never lapse again, forever."