Biblical Hebrew Forum

[MarianneLuban AT aol.com]

In a message dated 8/13/2004 5:24:50 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
rosewalk AT concentric.net writes:


> Our Torah has been
> revered for so many generations, I believe, not just because it 
> contains the Law
> of Moses.  I think it goes beyond even that and that Jews even forgot why 
> the
> Torah is so holy and just assumed it must be on account of the Law.
> 
> 
> 
> That is not true at all.  Some Jews may have forgotten, but most of 
> the Jews I know, know without a doubt that the Torah (written and 
> oral) contains within it all knowledge, past present and future, and 
> that the law it contains is DAVKA for the purpose of connecting 
> ourselves with that holiness.

That is a fundamentalist approach.  And I suspect "most Jews you know" are of 
that inclination.  However, "most Jews" are not inclined to be 
fundamentalists nowadays and don't opt for blind acceptance of anything.  I, 
for one, don't 
believe the Torah "contains within it all knowledge, past present and 
future"--but my point was that science (in which I do believe) seems to 
indicate the 
the Torah contains plenty of truth and accurate oral tradition to an amazing 
degree.   But, until lately, no one could be certain of the accuracy of many 
of 
the stories in the Torah and many, including Jews, have increasingly begun to 
consider them just fanciful tales over the past century.  Perhaps your idea 
of 
"holy" is even different than mine.   To me, something that is "holy" is 
"hallowed" or "revered"--.in other words, remarkable and wonderful.  So much 
so 
that it must never be lost.  And that is what I meant when I wrote that the 
Jews 
over the millennia, even though tradition advised them that the Torah was a 
sacred thing to be preserved at all costs, had no way of knowing just how 
much 
truth it really contains.  They simply "assumed" it was true because the 
tradition was to be believe that was the case.  To claim otherwise is 
tantamount to 
saying that the Jews have always understood microbiology, a science that only 
evolved in the past couple of decades.  So the Torah contains the truth of 
the history of Man and the Jewish people specifically--as it turns out.  Does 
it 
help us with the present?  Only if following the commandments to the letter 
of the Law makes one happy.  Does it contain knowledge of the future?  No.

Marianne