Torah in Judaism

Dr. Laurence Boxer – Jan., 2004

www.umsl.edu/~naumannj/holyland%20geography/Torah-intro.ppt

Meanings of Torah

• Law, teaching, instruction, tradition

• Five Books of Moses

• Tanakh – the Jewish Bible

• Oral Torah, Written Torah

TaNaKH – Torah, Nevi’im, K’tuvim- the Written Torah

Torah – 5 Books of Moses

• Genesis• Exodus• Leviticus• Numbers• Deuteronomy

Nevi’im – Prophets•Joshua

•Judges

•I Samuel

•II Samuel

•I Kings

•II Kings

•Isaiah

•Jeremiah

•Ezekiel

•Hosea

•Joel

•Amos

•Obadiah

•Jonah

•Micah

•Nahum

•Habakkuk

•Zephaniah

•Haggai

•Zechariah

•Malachi

K’tuvim – Scriptures – “Wisdom Literature”

• Psalms• Proverbs• Job• Song of Songs• Ruth• Lamentations• Ecclesiastes• Esther

•Daniel

•Ezra

•Nehemiah

•I Chronicles

•II Chronicles

Talmud – Oral Torah

• Commentary, explanation, “filling in the holes” of Tanakh

• Evolution of legal system

• Originally, transmitted orally – thus, “Oral Torah”

• Persecution, increasing complexity necessitated putting into writing

Talmud - Mishnah

• Consists of Mishnah, Gemara• Mishnah – literally, 2nd – 2nd Torah –

“Mishnah Torah” also used as nickname for Deuteronomy (Greek translation) - as Deuteronomy reviews much of earlier Torah, Mishnah expands & clarifies much Torah

• Mishnah compiled ~ year 200; Rabbi Judah haNasi (the Prince), ed., with teachings of many scholars of his & earlier times

Talmud - Gemara• Gemara – completion (of Talmud), developed years ~200 -

600

• Mishnah raised many questions of interpretation; Gemara seeks to clarify, both with legal discussion and aggadah – interpretive stories (historical, legends, Biblical commentary, tall tales, jokes)

• Babylonian & Jerusalem Gemara, respectively, yield Babylonian & Jerusalem Talmud. Babylonian more highly regarded, as Roman persecutions drove many greatest scholars to Babylon.

• Talmud not “completed” – later scholars published commentaries that are part of standard modern editions – text side-by-side with commentary

Talmud & Christian Antisemitism

• Many times, Christians burned Talmud as allegedly anti-Christian.

• Actually, Christians & Christianity are unimportant in Talmud. Talmud’s primary concerns: Jewish law & conduct of Jewish life; not relations with other religions.

• Most references to Christians via “sectarians” – minim – deviants, heretics – dismissive term, indicating unimportance; merely one of several sects deviating from mainstream Judaism of Talmudic era

Commandments of Torah

• 613, including many obsolete due to current lack of central sanctuary

• 7 for B’nai Noah – commandments expected of all mankind:

1. Establish courts2. No blasphemy3. No idolatry4. No incest5. No murder6. No robbery7. No cruelty (specifically, ripping limb from

live animal for food)

Holiness

• What does holiness mean? Is it a term concerned only with ritual & prayer?

• Lev. 19:2: You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your G-d, am holy.

• Subsequent verses include matters of prayer & ritual, but also laws of kindness: Lev. 19:9-10, 13, 14, 18 (“Golden Rule”)

Holiness - Isaiah

• Isaiah often refers to G-d as “the Holy One of Israel” (e.g., 41:16, 43:3, 54:5, 55:5, 60:14).

• Isaiah 1 condemns sacrifices of those who fail to aid the oppressed, corrupt justice with bribes.

• On Yom Kippur (fast day; most intensely spiritual day of Jewish calendar), we read Isaiah 57:14 – 58:14; note condemnation of fast corrupted by business & oppression of poor (58:3-7).

Holiness Requires

• Kindness to others – imitating G-d, who clothes the naked (Gen. 3:23) and buries the dead (Deut. 34:6)

• Study: [Hillel said] an empty-headed person cannot be sin-fearing, nor can an ignorant person be pious… Avot (from Talmud) 2:5

Justice

• Amos 5:24: Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

• Deut. 16:20: Justice, justice shall you pursue….

Note tension implicit in wording – repetition of “justice” implies both

1. zeal, and2. moderation – pursue justice justly –

don’t allow zeal to lead you to think ends justify unjust means

Justice – An Eye for an Eye

• Ex. 21: 22: And if men strive together….23: But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life

for life,24: eye for eye, tooth for tooth, foot for foot ….

– Does this call for retaliatory mutilation?

26-27: And if a man smite the eye of his bondman, or the eye of his bondwoman, and destroy it, he shall let him go free….– Verses 26-27 clarify that “An eye for an eye and a tooth

for a tooth” calls for fair compensation, not retaliatory mutilation.

Justice – Capital Punishment• Several forms of capital punishment are mentioned in

Torah – stoning, burning, sword, strangling (note not crucifixion)

• Deut. 19:15: One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity … at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.

• Note origin of 5th Amendment – this verse prevents torturing a confession from accused.

• Further, witnesses were required to be mature and of high character.

• Further, in capital case, witnesses were required to warn accused during commission of crime of possible capital punishment.

• Further, accused was allowed to interrupt execution with additional testimony - repeatedly

• Result: capital punishment rare in Jewish justice – a court that executed a criminal twice in 70 years was called destructive.

Justice – Right and Good

• Deut. 6:18: And you shall do that which is right and good….

• Why “and good”? Sometimes “right” (legal entitlement) is not “good.”

• D’varim Rabbah 3:3: Simon ben Shetach bought a donkey and found a gem in the animal’s collar. It was his legal right to keep the gem, but he insisted on returning it to the animal’s seller.

• In civil suits, Jewish ideal is compromise settlement – “good” above “right”

Government

• King must be student & scribe (Deut. 17:18-19) of Torah, and is subject to Torah.

• Divided government – separation of courts, king (tribe of Judah), priests (Levites descended from Aaron), prophets; see esp. Deut. 16:18 – 18:22

• System of multi-tiered appellate courts recommended by Jethro (Ex. 18:13-26); judges to be learned in law, capable and hating bribes

Torah Study – Religious Obligation

Hillel taught: Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and

pursuing peace, loving thy fellow creatures and drawing them near to Torah … Avot 1:12

…He who does not study, deserves to die…. Avot 1:13

... Do not say, when I have leisure I will study; perhaps you will have no leisure. Avot 2:5

Shammai taught: Fix a period for your study of Torah…. Avot 1:15

Torah is compared to

• Water, wine, milk, bread in Isaiah 55:1-2 (urges buy these without money and without price – thus, they represent Torah wisdom, acquired without money). As one can’t go without water for 3 days, Torah is read in public every Mon., Thurs., Sat.

• Light, fire: Deut. 33: 2, 4: The Lord came from Sinai … at His right hand was a fiery law …. Moses commanded us the Torah ….

Torah compared to fig tree

• Proverbs 27:18: One who tends a fig tree will enjoy its fruit....

• Why is Torah compared to a fig tree? Most trees & vines -- olive, grape, date -- have their fruit ripen together, but fig tree's fruit is picked gradually over a long time. Similarly with the Torah: “You learn some today and more tomorrow; you cannot learn it all at once.”

• Further, fig trees are beautiful & give pleasant shade; Torah is described in Proverbs 3:13-18: Happy is the one that finds wisdom .... Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is every one that holds her fast.

Torah compared to Song

• Deut. 31:30: And Moses spoke in the ears of Israel the words of this song …

• Direct reference of “song” is Deut. 32:1-47, but reference is extended to entire Torah. Why?

• Much of Torah is difficult. However, unlike many other areas of intellectual activity that appeal only to specialists, but like song, all can enjoy & learn Torah at their own level. As a professional musician or songwriter appreciates a song differently than average person, a Torah scholar appreciates Torah differently from the average person, but both can learn & enjoy.

Methods of Torah Study

Torah is studied using a variety of methods. For an introduction to several of them, with examples, see my presentation at

http://faculty.niagara.edu/boxer/essays/rel/presentations/study.ppt

Avot 5: 24: Ben Bag-Bag taught: Turn it [Torah] over, turn it over, for in it is contained everything ….

Torah Commentators

Torah is studied with the aid of the commentary of great scholars. Some of these commentaries:

• Talmud – English version from Soncino, 18 vol.• Midrash Rabbah – English version from Soncino,

~12 vol. - compilation developed over several centuries from teachings of many

• Rashi – Rabbi Shlomo (Solomon) ben Yitzhak, French, 1040-1105 – “Father of Commentators”

• Ramban – Rabbi Moses ben Nachman (Nachmanides), Spanish, 1194-1268

• R. Samson Raphael Hirsch, German, 1808-1888

Torah Commentators

More commentators:• R. Joseph Hertz – British, 20th Cent. –

Pentateuch and Haftorahs, Soncino – a popular commentary

• Nechama Leibowitz – Israeli, 20th Century – New Studies in Bereshit/Shmot/Vayikra/Bamidbar/Devarim, Jerusalem, World Zionist Organization – interprets & compares great commentators’ work

• Etz Hayim, Jewish Publication Society, 2001 – a popular commentary compiled by modern scholars