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category:  Chassidut

Understanding Scriptures

The Rav Name: Rabbi Yitzchak Arad
  • Question

I’m omer and I will be more than happy if you can answer my question and I’m sorry if my English is not very well
It’s because my main language is not English.

In the Tanakh, there are some passages that I was very confused about when I read them because I can’t understand
them as one who believes in 1 G-d
like:
Exodus.18.11
עַתָּ֣ה יָדַ֔עְתִּי כִּֽי־גָד֥וֹל יְהֹוָ֖ה מִכׇּל־הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים כִּ֣י בַדָּבָ֔ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר זָד֖וּ עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃
Now I know that the LORD is greater than all g-ds, yes, by the result of their very schemes against [the people].

Deuteronomy.10.17
כִּ֚י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם ה֚וּא אֱלֹהֵ֣י הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים וַאֲדֹנֵ֖י הָאֲדֹנִ֑ים הָאֵ֨ל הַגָּדֹ֤ל הַגִּבֹּר֙ וְהַנּוֹרָ֔א אֲשֶׁר֙ לֹא־יִשָּׂ֣א פָנִ֔ים וְלֹ֥א יִקַּ֖ח שֹֽׁחַד׃
For the LORD your G-d is G-d supreme and Lord supreme, the great, the mighty, and the awesome G-d, who shows no favor and takes no bribe.

but It is wrong and should be translated as:

For the LORD your G-d is the G-d of the gods and the LORD of the lords,
the great, the mighty, and the awesome G-d, who shows no favor and takes no bribe.

In this verse, we might understand that there are more g-ds but less powerful than Hashem our G-d.

And then in Psalms:
Psalms.135.5
כִּ֤י אֲנִ֣י יָ֭דַעְתִּי כִּֽי־גָד֣וֹל יְהֹוָ֑ה וַ֝אֲדֹנֵ֗ינוּ מִכׇּל־אֱלֹהִֽים׃
For I know that the LORD is great,
that our Lord is greater than all g-ds.

Psalms.96.4
כִּ֥י גָ֘ד֤וֹל יְהֹוָ֣ה וּמְהֻלָּ֣ל מְאֹ֑ד נוֹרָ֥א ה֝֗וּא עַל־כׇּל־אֱלֹהִֽים׃
For the LORD is great and much acclaimed,
He is held in awe by all divine beings.

also, this verse should translate as:
For the LORD is great and much acclaimed,
He is held in awe by all g-ds.

Psalms.97.7

יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ ׀ כׇּל־עֹ֬בְדֵי פֶ֗סֶל הַמִּֽתְהַלְלִ֥ים בָּאֱלִילִ֑ים הִשְׁתַּחֲווּ־ל֝֗וֹ כׇּל־אֱלֹהִֽים׃
All who worship images,
who vaunt their idols,
are dismayed;
all divine beings bow down to Him.

and should translate:

All who worship images,
who vaunt their idols,
are dismayed;
all g-ds bow down to Him.

Psalms.97.9

כִּֽי־אַתָּ֤ה יְהֹוָ֗ה עֶלְי֥וֹן עַל־כׇּל־הָאָ֑רֶץ מְאֹ֥ד נַ֝עֲלֵ֗יתָ עַל־כׇּל־אֱלֹהִֽים׃
For You, LORD, are supreme over all the earth;
You are exalted high above all divine beings.

Also, this verse should be translated as:
For You, LORD, are supreme over all the earth;
You are exalted high above all g-ds.

After reading all these verses I was scared to believe that maybe according to all these verses, maybe Hashem in the Torah and Psalms is just the greatest of all g-ds and some researchers think that after the Babylonian exile Hashem became the one true g-d.

some verses like:
Deuteronomy.6.4
שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְהֹוָ֥ה ׀ אֶחָֽד׃
Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our G-d, the LORD alone.

these verses don’t describe god alone because this verse should be translated as:
Hear, O Israel! our G-d Hashem is one.

what the verse describes in the understanding of some researchers is that our god is 1 not that there is 1 G-d

  • Answer
Shalom Omer and thank you for your question! Your English and understanding of Hebrew seem to be very good!


I will try to deal with some of the passages from the Scriptures that you quote, but before I do,  I must explain some things in general about understanding the Scriptures. The Torah is Divine, meaning that it is the word of G-d, but it is not only the Five books of Moses and the writings of the Prophets and the Judges. The word Torah means teaching or instruction. It is also the Oral law, the Talmud and the classic  commentaries accepted by Torah leaders, and the esoteric aspect as taught in Kabbala and Chassidic teachings. In the tractate of the Talmud called ‘Ethics of the Fathers’, the first passage explains that the Torah –  meaning the entire body of Jewish law and teaching, was given to Moses by G-d, and handed down to Joshua, from Joshua to the Prophets,  from the Prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly,  and so on to the spiritual leaders throughout the generations. If we were to take the Scriptures at face value, without the Oral law, we would be in a very different and difficult situation. We would not know exactly how to make Tefillin, (phylacteries,) since the Torah says ‘a sign between your eyes,’ but only the Oral law specifies what kind of sign, and for the same reason we would not know on which part of the head to put the head part of theTefillin.

The Torah says ‘an eye for an eye’ and we might think that if we poked someone’s eye out by accident we now must let our own eye be poked out G-d forbid! This is not the case! The Oral law explains that we are obligated to pay the medical expenses and other expenses incurred due to the lack of an eye. In other words, the VALUE of an eye for an eye… Thus one cannot properly understand the meaning of the Scriptures without delving into the commentaries,  and since the Torah is Divine wisdom,  it is infinite, and indeed there is always more to learn about it. There are indeed various levels of interpretation,  ranging from the simple meaning to the esoteric, or inner dimensions of Kabbala and Chassidic teaching. All these levels come to teach us something. Whether it is how to conduct ourselves on a practical level, or how to attain love and awe of G-d so that our practice of the Mitzvot will truly connect us with G-d and elevate the physicality of the world to a more spiritual level.


The Sages of the Talmud teach us that one of the principles in understanding the Torah is that ‘the Torah speaks in the language of people,’ meaning that when we find expressions that refer to G-d being ‘angry’ or ‘jealous’ for example, far be it from us to attribute such emotions- or in fact ANY emotions to G-d.  G-d created (and Chassidic teaching explains that G-d constantly RE-creates) the world and everything in it. The source of everything is G-d, so He is above ‘having’ emotions because He is the SOURCE of them. For created beings like us, however, the Torah speaks our ‘language’ to convey what G-d wants from us. If it is stated that He is ‘angry’ it means we weren’t behaving, like when the teacher or your parent uses your full name instead of your nickname or your first name. We must take this idea into consideration when trying to understand passages in the Scriptures.

Having said that, let’s take a look at your quotes.


The passage you quote from Exodus 18:11 is where Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, expresses his newfound belief in the One G-d, (as you rightly point  out,) Jethro had worshipped every known form of idol worship in his era, until he found the true G-d of the Jews, the classic commentator Rashi explains. The rest of the passage refers not to ‘gods’ per se, but to the Egyptians who had schemed against the Jews and G-d had saved them from their hands.


It must be pointed out that whenever other ‘gods’ are referred to in the Scriptures,  it is only a matter of how PEOPLE relate to them, as I explained above. There have always been PEOPLE who focus on some form of idol worship or some external or material belief which in a certain sense constitutes a ‘god’ other than the real One. This could be the ‘god’ of ego or of success  or of fashion. It makes no difference. If it distracts us from our true belief and goal it is ‘other gods.’ So, no matter how correct or incorrect the translations are, you may rest assured that there is no intention in the Torah of referring to any TRUE deity other than the One G-d that the Jewish people believe in.


In the passage you quote from Deuteronomy 10:17 the translation that you quote is more accurate in a sense than yours, since it does not give credence the other ‘gods.’ The translator wanted to convey the true meaning,  that there are no other REAL gods. Only HaShem,  the Holy One Blessed be He. The Torah is trying to convey that while PEOPLE may be misled, the truth is only in Torah.


Again in Psalm 135:5, when it states that G-d is greater than all the ‘gods’, it does not mean that there ARE other ‘gods’, it means that we humans may be misled and worship other ideas instead of the truth. In Psalm 96:4 the idea is exactly as in 135:5. The ‘other gods’ are only from the perspective of people.


When ‘other gods’ are mentioned it does not help to call them Divine beings, since we do believe that there are angels for example. There is however NO OTHER G-D.


You are correct in saying that in the verse of ‘Shema…the L-rd is One, ‘ it should be One and not ‘alone’, which would imply that there are G-d forbid others…


I hope this has been helpful. Please feel free to ask other questions.

All the best!

Sources

התורה ופירושה, חלק ב, עמוד 74. שמות יח, יא. דברים י, יז, ומפרשי התורה על אתר.


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