In this episode, Rabbi Reinman explores the true nature of the Torah and discusses how the Giving of the Torah transformed the world.
Chapter Twenty-One: The Mysterious Torah
By the Giving of the Torah God promised to “betroth you to Me forever.” Both sides pledged their vows. The Jewish people swore to remain faithful to God and obey His commandments, and God swore to bring them into the Promised Land if they remained faithful but never to spurn them to the point of extinction even if they were not.
If the Giving of the Torah was the marriage of God and the Jewish people, where was the ring? What did He give the Jewish people to seal the bond? Obviously, it was the Torah. But what exactly is the Torah, and how is it similar to a ring? Is it a set of instructions for better moral living? Is it a set of instructions for rituals that commemorate important events in Jewish history? Is it a narrative of the early history of the world? Is it a program for conducting a relationship with God? Is it all of the above?
Furthermore, did what happened at Mount Sinai ever happen before? God promised Isaac abundant progeny because Abraham, his father, “heeded My voice and observed My sacrament, My commandments, My laws and My teachings.” The Gemara derives from this that the Patriarchs fulfilled all the commandments, including those that commemorate future events. Clearly, the Torah is a mysterious entity that takes many forms so that Abraham eating matzah on Passover and our doing the same thing today are both expressions of a common esoteric principle. But did Abraham have the Torah in the same way the Jewish people have it after Mount Sinai?
We can ask a similar question regarding the Torah’s statement that God “instituted decrees and laws for the Jewish people” at a place called Marah to familiarize them with Torah study and observance before they arrived at Sinai. These were the laws of parah adumah, which involved the use of a red heifer for spiritual purification; the laws of the Sabbath; and an introduction to the Torah system of civil law. Did the Jewish people have these parts of the Torah at Marah without the heavens parting in the same way they received the entire Torah afterward at Sinai?
What happened at Sinai that had never happened before?
Before we address this question, let us consider a dispute among the Sages regarding the relationship between Torah and mitzvos. If a person is faced with the opportunity to study Torah or to perform a mitzvah that can be delegated to others, which should he do? Rabbi Akiva considers Torah study greater than deeds. Rabbi Tarphon gives deeds precedence to Torah study even when someone else is available to do them. The scholars in the yeshivah discussed this question and all agreed that Torah study is greater because it leads to the performance of mitzvos.
How can Rabbi Tarphon give precedence to a mitzvah if Torah study is itself a mitzvah, in fact the greatest mitzvah of all? And how can the scholars say that Torah study is greater because it leads to practical observance? Wouldn’t that indicate that mitzvos are greater? …
Read full chapter and earlier chapters at www.rabbireinman.com.