Q&A: What Is the Purpose of the Torah?
What Is the Purpose of the Torah?
Question
Why was the Torah given?
What should we aspire to as Jews? Where are we trying to get to?
What are we doing in this world?
Answer
So that we observe it.
The aspiration is to keep the commandments (beyond that, aspirations like any other person).
We keep the commandments (beyond what any other person does).
Discussion on Answer
To do God's will.
I don't know.
Is it worth looking for more commandments in order to receive more reward, or is it better to be closer to the Holy One, blessed be He / to Judaism?
The question of what's worthwhile depends on your aspirations. You're also assuming that there's a tension between receiving reward and closeness to the Holy One, blessed be He, and to Judaism. I don't know where you got that from.
He got that assumption from common sense: it stands to reason that if God commanded something, He will reward those who do it and punish those who don't. Don't you agree?
Ah, sorry, never mind—I think he just phrased it unclearly.
Are you sure you're with us?
I'm with you, Rabbi. My keyboard glitched out somehow. Seriously. Okay. Thanks for everything. Shabbat shalom.
What is actually our goal when we want to keep the commandments? What is the purpose for which we observe the Torah?
What was God's purpose in giving it to us in the first place?