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Beit Midrash
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Translated by Hillel Fendel
Question: I have been bothered for a long time by a question of faith that I have not found discussed by any of the Rishonim [the medieval-period early commentators]. I am a religious person, with no doubts about the existence of the Creator or the concept of Reward and Punishment, both of which are necessitated by logic. I also believe in the World to Come. But what mainly bothers me is how our traditions were transmitted. Our faith is based on 600,000 adult males who saw with their own eyes and experienced receiving the Torah at Sinai, and transmitted this to the generations afterwards. Why shouldn't we say that, just like other peoples had folklore and legends that they believed, we also had such tales throughout the period of the Judges and First Temple, and that at the time of Ezra the Scribe, he gathered them all together into one book that we now call the Torah? After all, the Talmud says that during his time, parts of the Torah were forgotten and he reinstated them.
Answer: It is good that you are looking for answers; don't stop until you find an explanation that settles your mind. We believe in the Torah because we received it one generation after another. Each generation believes it because their parents believed it; could it be that the first generation to believe it simply made up a story about 600,000 people at Sinai? Why then should it be accepted by the next generation, if they themselves had no knowledge of it? Other peoples claim "archaeological evidence" for their legends – but of what value is a clay piece with a few letters on it, compared to our entire holy books which precisely replicate those of millennia ago? (This is of course no wonder, given the strict laws of writing Torah scrolls…)
And to assume that Ezra the Scribe was able to make up something based on a mixture of myths and legends and thus to change the lifestyle of an entire nation would be tantamount to the following: The Prime Minister of Israel announces that a book has been found showing that in actuality, we all originated in Antartica and we had to run away because the ice was breaking apart and whales were multiplying and threatening to take over our living space – and that the book requires us to live according to a system of laws and rules that would require us not to eat two days a week, wear only red and gray, and take on many other assorted rules and restrictions. Would anyone believe him? Would anyone take on these new rules? Of course not. Similarly, Ezra could not have made up a history, with strict obligations, of which no one of his generation knew.
In terms of the legends of other nations, it is quite true that other nations had stories of a Great Flood. Does this not simply indicate that there actually was such a flood, and that it is "remembered" by other peoples slightly differently? There are also ideas in other religions that are parallel to our own, for the reason that the Divine Light in the world was experienced by many – but was best explained and put into practice by the Jewish People.
Question: I have been bothered for a long time by a question of faith that I have not found discussed by any of the Rishonim [the medieval-period early commentators]. I am a religious person, with no doubts about the existence of the Creator or the concept of Reward and Punishment, both of which are necessitated by logic. I also believe in the World to Come. But what mainly bothers me is how our traditions were transmitted. Our faith is based on 600,000 adult males who saw with their own eyes and experienced receiving the Torah at Sinai, and transmitted this to the generations afterwards. Why shouldn't we say that, just like other peoples had folklore and legends that they believed, we also had such tales throughout the period of the Judges and First Temple, and that at the time of Ezra the Scribe, he gathered them all together into one book that we now call the Torah? After all, the Talmud says that during his time, parts of the Torah were forgotten and he reinstated them.
Answer: It is good that you are looking for answers; don't stop until you find an explanation that settles your mind. We believe in the Torah because we received it one generation after another. Each generation believes it because their parents believed it; could it be that the first generation to believe it simply made up a story about 600,000 people at Sinai? Why then should it be accepted by the next generation, if they themselves had no knowledge of it? Other peoples claim "archaeological evidence" for their legends – but of what value is a clay piece with a few letters on it, compared to our entire holy books which precisely replicate those of millennia ago? (This is of course no wonder, given the strict laws of writing Torah scrolls…)
And to assume that Ezra the Scribe was able to make up something based on a mixture of myths and legends and thus to change the lifestyle of an entire nation would be tantamount to the following: The Prime Minister of Israel announces that a book has been found showing that in actuality, we all originated in Antartica and we had to run away because the ice was breaking apart and whales were multiplying and threatening to take over our living space – and that the book requires us to live according to a system of laws and rules that would require us not to eat two days a week, wear only red and gray, and take on many other assorted rules and restrictions. Would anyone believe him? Would anyone take on these new rules? Of course not. Similarly, Ezra could not have made up a history, with strict obligations, of which no one of his generation knew.
In terms of the legends of other nations, it is quite true that other nations had stories of a Great Flood. Does this not simply indicate that there actually was such a flood, and that it is "remembered" by other peoples slightly differently? There are also ideas in other religions that are parallel to our own, for the reason that the Divine Light in the world was experienced by many – but was best explained and put into practice by the Jewish People.
Rabbi Elyashiv Kafka
A Ram in Yeshivat "Avinoam" Tapuach
The Book of Kuzari How Can We Know That There Exist Desirable Deeds?
Translated by Sharona Eshet-Kohen
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
Rabbis in Midrash
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
