In parshas Devarim Moshe rabenu
starts to explain the law to the children of Israel . The book Devarim is also
called Mishna Torah משנה תורה. This literally means "reviewing instruction" and is
the route of the English name of this book, Deuteronomy. From it we receive
hints how to teach Torah to others as well as how to learn it ourselves.
Various themes are intertwined such as the conquest of the Holy
Land , suggesting that they are conceptually related.
The Chumash starts by giving
their location in the wilderness as just outside the land of Israel Egypt to their
current location is noted inviting a contrast to the long period of time they
have been in the desert. The wars with Sichon and Og are also described.
We can infer from this that a person who is about to learn
is like one who is in the wilderness but on the border of holiness. In order to
learn past errors must be righted, but the teacher should only gently remind
the student of these mistakes. The eleven days normal travel time between the
two locations indicates how easy the material can be to learn if done properly.
The forty years actually spent in the desert tells us how damaging blunders can
be. In any case there will be battles to be fought. However, when we prevail
there will be a rich reward.
Moshe tells the people that they
were aggravating, quarrelsome, and obstinate, particularly in their refusal to
enter the Promised Land forty years earlier. This is said within the context of
him rallying the nation to conquer the land of Israel
The Ramban comments that the
first phrase, "These are the words that Moshe spoke to all of Israel ",
(Devarim 1:1) refers to the repeating of Ten Commandments later on (Devarim 5:6
– 18). In fact the repetition is slightly different from what was said on Mount Sinai . This tells us that when teaching something
we should give it over in our own words and gear it to the people who are
listening.
Moshe opens saying that they have
dwelled at Mount Sinai long enough and the
time has come for them to enter the Promised Land. He then describes its
various regions and exhorts them to advance to the Euphrates River
The idea of leaving Mount Sinai
for the land of Israel
The Ramban explains that Moshe's introduction ends with the
verse, "You shall keep His way of life and His laws, which I am commanding
to you this day, so [|He] will do good things for you and your children after
you, and that you may have length of days upon the land which the Lord your God
is giving to you forever", (Devarim 4:40). The idea is that through keeping
the mitzvahs good things happen to a person and their household. Therefore
learning should be viewed as something that one receives a great benefit from.
The Chumash says that "Moshe
was pleased (הואיל) to explain the Torah", (Devarim 1:5). The Ramban explains
that this means that he was happy to do it and did it on his own initiative. We
learn from this that a when teaching religious values the teacher should
believe them himself and desire to instill them in his students.
In Memory of Sidney Schreiber
לע"נ שמואל בן נח ז"ל
15 Av 5769 טו באב תשס"ט
To view on YouTube click:
A discussion how to gracefully make concessions so as to
preserve a proper relationship
To download Audio click: https://www.box.com/s/ktzq6j8smb20m51w0w0h
Actually the Torah has nothing whatsoever to do with the Mishna or Talmud. The Jews of the world who were sent into the diaspora never heard of the "oral Torah" and have never needed a NEW TESTAMENT ORAL TORAH to understand Hashem's original Torah, Neviim or the Ketubim.
ReplyDeleteAll one need do is examine the Talmud (oral second testament) to see that it always violates Hashem's words to "never add to or delete" anything from His Torah Har Sinai.
One example is in Talmud, MOED, Eruvin 21(b) for one to see that the unannointed new oral law scribes felt that their new precepts should be accepted over Hashem or be subject to be boiled in excrement.
There is absolutely nothing in the Torah of Hashem that hints of any oral reinterpretation of His words.
Read in Torah, "thou shalt not kindle a fire in your 'moshvosechem' on Shabbat. Simply these evil scribes have ignored His words that admonish not kindling a fire in your dwelling place. Just one of many false teachings.
Why do you think the Jewish people who follow the traditions of the Talmud scribes have turned their faces away from the Creator and in turn He has placed the Jewish people as an outcast and subject to so many extinctions since the time of the Talmud?
Your comment deals with a number of issues, however I will only focus on your question. Just like there is an evil inclination to ignore the Torah so to there is an evil inclination to distort the Torah. Sophistry for example can be a real problem.
ReplyDeleteSadly not all orthodox Jews are good people and from time to time those that are very distant prevail. There are also times the religious precepts seem illogical and impractical. However upon examination they are very logical and beneficial in practice. Consequently some observant Jews will stumble and believe that foolishness and difficulty are proofs of sanctity.
At times learning the precepts of the Torah is a trial and correction endeavor. In addition small mistakes sometimes must grow large before it is clear that they must be corrected. As a result there are periods of decline and renewal. This cycle will end with the coming of the Mashiach and the perfection of man.