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the Torah’s attitude towards the Targum

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Rabbi Ari Shvat

Shevat 15, 5780
Question
Does the Torah respect the Targum? if yes why? thank you
Answer
Targum Unkelus was written almost 2,000 years ago, that is about 1,300 years after the Torah was written. This classic Aramaic translation, written in the time of the early Tannaim, is so widely accepted that the Yemenites read it aloud together with the Torah reading, and the Shulchan Aruch says that the weekly portion should be studied with Unkelus (some allow to learn Rashi instead, especially if one doesn't understand Aramaic). On the whole, Targum, which is quoted often by Rashi, stays close to the literal meaning and the Oral Tradition, and generally avoids midrashim.
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