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  • From: Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
  • To: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] P.S. Re: 6-Month "Year"
  • Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2007 08:22:43 +0200

Shoshanna, we've been through this before. You are correct. The main difference between a faith-based approach to the biblical text and an academic/scientific approach is that the former consider the Torah to be Divinely given/inspired (etc.), which in the traditional Jewish (read: Orthodox) interpretation means accepting the Divine authority of Hazal (and in the conservative Christian tradition means accepting a christological interpretation as taught by the Church). Of course this still leaves a lot open for discussion, just that the bounds are well defined. The academic/scientific approach does not accept any authority just on faith, and considers everything open to questioning - including whether any sort of deity is behind the composition of the Bible in the first place. You know that, we know that, and there is no use in repetedly re-hashing it.

(I know, I presented both approaches very simplisticly; anyone want to argue abou it?)

This list, while not specifically endorsing the second approach, certainly does not endorse the first. Since this list is open to all people of different faiths (or none) and traditions, all are welcome to state their opinions. However, none have the right to insist that their particular interpretation is the ONLY legitimate one.

Yigal Levin

----- Original Message ----- From: "Shoshanna Walker" <rosewalk AT concentric.net>
To: "b-hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2007 6:46 AM
Subject: [b-hebrew] P.S. Re: 6-Month "Year"


I only said it because Jim said: "all the academics that I have
read simply insist, point blank, that the ages of the Patriarchs do
not make sense, and that a coherent internal timeline of the
Patriarchal narratives is impossible."

If that is true, and ALL the ACADEMICS don't understand how the Torah
makes any sense in this regard, then it is also true that ALL of
those of us (in my experience) who have learned Torah from Chazal DO
understand that the Torah makes complete sense - I just didn't know
how else to phrase it, to make the distinction between those to whom
the Torah makes complete sense, and those to whom the Torah makes no
sense (at least this aspect of Torah under present discussion)

Shoshanna Walker



...the first paragraph of your post below, stating your
BELIEF in Chazal, is really a non-starter.





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