Torah in Judaism

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Torah in Judaism

• A presentation for REL 306

Dr. Laurence Boxer Jan., 2004
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Meanings of Torah

• Law, teaching, instruction, tradition
• Five Books of Moses
• Tanakh the Jewish Bible
• Oral Torah, Written Torah

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TaNaKH Torah, Neviim, Ktuvim- the Written
Torah

• Torah 5 Books of Moses
• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy

• Neviim 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

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Ktuvim Scriptures Wisdom Literature

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

• Daniel
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• I Chronicles
• II Chronicles

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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

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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

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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

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Talmud Christian Antisemitism

• Many times, Christians burned Talmud as allegedly
  anti-Christian.
• Actually, Christians Christianity are
  unimportant in Talmud. Talmuds 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

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Commandments of Torah

• 613, including many obsolete due to current lack
  of central sanctuary
• 7 for Bnai Noah commandments expected of all
  mankind

• Establish courts
• No blasphemy
• 3. No idolatry
• No incest
• No murder
• No robbery
• No cruelty (specifically, ripping limb from live
  animal for food)

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Holiness

• What does holiness mean? Is it a term concerned
  only with ritual prayer?
• Lev. 192 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. 199-10,
  13, 14, 18 (Golden Rule)

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Holiness - Isaiah

• Isaiah often refers to G-d as the Holy One of
  Israel (e.g., 4116, 433, 545, 555, 6014).
• 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 5714
  5814 note condemnation of fast corrupted by
  business oppression of poor (583-7).

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Holiness Requires

• Kindness to others imitating G-d, who clothes
  the naked (Gen. 323) and buries the dead (Deut.
  346)
• Study Hillel said an empty-headed person
  cannot be sin-fearing, nor can an ignorant person
  be pious Avot (from Talmud) 25

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Justice

• Amos 524 Let justice roll down like waters and
  righteousness like a mighty stream.
• Deut. 1620 Justice, justice shall you pursue.
• Note tension implicit in wording repetition of
  justice implies both
• zeal, and
• moderation pursue justice justly dont allow
  zeal to lead you to think ends justify unjust
  means

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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.

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Justice Capital Punishment

• Several forms of capital punishment are mentioned
  in Torah stoning, burning, sword, strangling
  (note not crucifixion)
• Deut. 1915 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.

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Justice Right and Good

• Deut. 618 And you shall do that which is right
  and good.
• Why and good? Sometimes right (legal
  entitlement) is not good.
• Dvarim Rabbah 33 Simon ben Shetach bought a
  donkey and found a gem in the animals collar. It
  was his legal right to keep the gem, but he
  insisted on returning it to the animals seller.
• In civil suits, Jewish ideal is compromise
  settlement good above right

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Government

• King must be student scribe (Deut. 1718-19) 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. 1618 1822
• System of multi-tiered appellate courts
  recommended by Jethro (Ex. 1813-26) judges to
  be learned in law, capable and hating bribes

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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 112
• He who does not study, deserves to die. Avot
  113
• ... Do not say, when I have leisure I will study
  perhaps you will have no leisure. Avot 25
• Shammai taught Fix a period for your study of
  Torah. Avot 115

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Torah is compared to

• Water, wine, milk, bread in Isaiah 551-2 (urges
  buy these without money and without price thus,
  they represent Torah wisdom, acquired without
  money). As one cant 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 .

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Torah compared to fig tree

• Proverbs 2718 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 313-18
  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.

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Torah compared to Song

• Deut. 3130 And Moses spoke in the ears of
  Israel the words of this song
• Direct reference of song is Deut. 321-47, 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.

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Methods of Torah Study
Avot 5 24 Ben Bag-Bag taught Turn it Torah
over, turn it over, for in it is contained
everything .

• 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/presen
  tations/study.ppt

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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

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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