This Jewish Life - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

In the previous three classes in this series we have presented compelling evidence to the veracity and historicity of the Torah as being what it claims to be, i.e. the word of God as dictated to Moses. In this class we discuss some of the common questions that arise when people realize that belief in the veracity of the Torah is indeed based on solid rational and intellectual principles. If you have yet to hear those classes please do so (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3) before listening to this one.

Tikkun Olam, fixing the world, has been the rallying cry of the Jewish national mission for millenia. We live in a flawed and broken world and our people were entrusted with the sacrosanct and vital responsibility of fixing it. In this presentation we discuss where the world’s flaws lie, and, taking a lesson out of Abraham’s playbook, we outline a roadmap to go about fixing it.

Only two potential answers really exist to the question of who wrote the Torah: 1. The traditional perspective of it being written by Moses as per the dictation of God. 2. It not being written by Moses as per the dictation of God. In recent times a third option was invented that it was divinely inspired but not divinely dictated. The reality is that if we minimize God’s involvement in authoring the document to merely inspiring, what results is a perception of major human influence on the book, and hence downgrading it from being the word of God; an authoritative, immutable and binding manual for life, to being the subjective and unbinding word of man. It is superfluous to say that our entire religion collapses if it is based upon the words of Moses or Ezra or Jeremiah or any human, and not the word of God. Can we give rational and reasonable evidence to either perspective of this fundamental question? This class continues with the quest of examining and assessing the logical basis of these two options by analyzing some bold and audacious predictions found in the Torah. This is Part 3 in a series. For Part 1 click HERE for part 2 click HERE.

“I created a yetzer ra (evil inclination) and I created the Torah as an antidote” – (Talmud Kiddushin 30b) The essence of man is his capacity for free will; to make moral decisions; to favor his mind and intellect or to favor his bodily instinct – and the world is the playground where these decisions are made. To make it fair and balanced, God embedded within us a certain force called the yetzer ra, evil inclination, that entices us to sin. Battling with this force is the paramount challenge of our life. In this class we cite several Talmudic sources that outline the nature of this epic foe, and outline methods, strategies and tactics that we can use to be victorious in these crucial conflicts.

A guiding principle in Jewish philosophy is that when God does something He does it perfectly. Hence, when God gives us instructions for living, aka the Torah, it is the complete book of instructions, instructions for how to live life and what to do in ever possible life scenario or situation regardless of how remote or bizarre the scenario is. This class discusses one such scenario.

The debate over the authorship of the Torah is a very important one; and not only for us Jews but the majority of humanity accepts this document as the dictation of God to Moses. In this class we continue our quest to logically assess both sides of the arguments as to the authenticity of the Torah by logically examining some of the evidence and attempt to formulate a perspective and perhaps a conclusion to this important question. Sources in the order that they were presented: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/11/science/camels-had-no-business-in-genesis.html?_r=0 Exodus 19, 9: “Behold I am coming to you in a cloud of smoke so that the nation shall hear when I speak to you, and also in you they will believe forever” Deuteronomy 4, 32: “You might inquire about times long past, from the day that G-d created man on earth, from one end of heaven to the other. Has there ever been anything like this great thing or has anything like it been heard? Has a people ever heard the voice of G-d speaking from the midst of the fires as you have heard, and survived?”   Leviticus, 25, 1-4: “Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in its produce. But in the seventh year a Sabbath of solemn rest it shall be for the land … your field you shall not sow, and your vineyard you shall not prune. That which grows by itself you shall not reap, and the grapes of your vine you shall not gather.” Leviticus 25, 20-22: “And if you will say: ‘What shall we eat in the seventh year? Behold, we may not plant nor gather in our produce!’ I will command My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce for the three years. And you will plant in the eighth year and eat of the old produce until the ninth year, until her produce comes in, you will eat the old produce.” Exodus 34, 23-24: “Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord your God, the God of Israel. I will throw out the nations before you and enlarge your borders: neither shall any man desire your land, when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times during the year.”

The Torah weaves law and instruction with dialogue and narrative; often miraculous and supernatural events and stories like the Exodus narrative of the Ten Plagues, the splitting of the sea into 12 walkable dry paths and the momentous national prophecy at the foot of Mount Sinai. Supernatural narratives are not unique to our religion; rather a claim of revelation of some kind is always at the formation of every religion. In this class we attempt to construct a logical analysis of the veracity and historicity of the Jewish miraculous narratives. Did we actually consume heaven sent manna on a daily basis for 40 years in the wilderness? What evidence do we have to prove this and the many other miraculous claims of the Torah?

“From Moshe till Moshe no one arose like Moshe” This epithet which is engraved on the tombstone of Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, the Rambam, sheds light on the enormity of his impact and influence upon the Jewish people. The mere claim that the Rambam’s contributions and leadership was surpassed only by Moshe Rabbeinu is a testament to his remarkable accomplishments. In this talk we attempt to capture a flavor of who Maimonides was and what he represented, but more importantly we analyze his mind-boggling literary accomplishments and examine their pivotal role in continuing the process of uninterrupted and accurate transmission of the Torah throughout the generations.

No mission is as critical to the success of humanity as the mission that began at the Mount Sinai and continues to this very day of transmitting the Torah from generation to generation accurately. After all, the Torah is what differentiates the Jewish people from the nations of the world; it is what we mean when we say chosen people – the nation entrusted by God to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation”; to be a beacon to the nations; to be a the world’s moral guardian and spiritual guide – as per the instructions of the Torah. Our national success or failure, and in turn the success and failure of humanity is contingent on our maintaining the Torah and teaching it and observing it with absolutely zero deviation from the way Moses received it from God Almighty. Over the course of the 3,000+ years since that most monumental event, there have been times where the continued transmission in total accuracy was in jeopardy and the great leaders of the time had the vision and the foresight to prevent that catastrophe from happening. How was the Torah transmitted so accurately? What were the innovations and adaptations that were instituted? What is the deal with all the disagreements? Who were these people and why does all this matter? This is part 2 of a series. For Part 1 click HERE

There is an important difference between the Aggadic portions of the Talmud – the ethical and philosophical sections, and the Halacha/law portions. Also, learn why the study of the Babylonian Talmud supersedes the study of the Jerusalem Talmud, despite that fact the the latter was written 180 years earlier.