Shalom and thank you for your question. Why do we believe in the Torah? Let me answer a question with a question. What is the difference between belief and knowledge? Knowledge is something we have acquired and assimilated, at least on a superficial level, into our consciousness. We ‘know’ something either because we have experienced it., or because we have been told – whether by word of mouth, pen, or otherwise. We BELIEVE something we have not yet been exposed to. For example, I KNOW my spouse usually comes home from work at 6, and I BELIEVE he/she will do so today as well, because I have no reason to think otherwise. I experienced a situation like that this week. While on my way to physiotherapy yesterday, my friend who was driving thought he saw the physiotherapist on his way. I said “no way – he is there already.” I BELIEVED that he was there because he usually IS on time. (We were late.) How surprised I was to find that the physiotherapist was NOT there due to a family medical emergency! I thought I KNEW he was there, but really I believed…
Many more examples could be given. The point is – we believe something we don’t KNOW.
Now let’s ask another couple of questions. 1. Do we know that the Torah is true?
2. What IS the Torah?
1. Is the Torah true? Is it true that there was a French/Russian/American revolution? We know because the people who were there told the next generation who told the following generation etc. They wrote it down. We also see the results. The USA is no longer a part of the British Empire and Russia is no longer ruled by a Czar…The Torah was given on Mount Sinai to several million people. Moses taught it and explained it and it was handed down through the generations. There is no reason to believe it less than any other historical account. (Although the Torah is NOT just a history book – but that is the next point we will examine.) The Bible and the Talmud have become the basis of morality in the Western world- known as the Judeo-Christian ethic. Western law has been based to a great extent on the Bible and the Talmud. Any authentic scholar can testify to the above. It is written in Tractate Avot 1:1 “Moses received the Torah on Sinai and handed it to Joshua, Joshua to the Elders and the Elders to the Men of the Great Assembly.”
2. What IS the Torah? The Hebrew word Torah means ‘teaching’ or ‘instruction’. The Zohar, section 2 161:1 says “(G-d) looked into the Torah and created the world.” In other words, the Torah was G-d’s plan and blueprint for the world. G-d desired a place where there would be created beings like us, who possess souls – a spiritual side, and bodies – which cause us to be attracted to earthly needs and pleasures. Our job is to handle these conflicting tendencies in a balanced way according to the guidelines of the Torah. The aim of the world is to become a place where physicality has become refined to the point where it is all revealed for what it REALLY is, a part of G-d’s creation. Spirituality in disguise. This can only happen when we use our free choice to carry out the commandments of the Torah despite obstacles. Every effort made throughout history to do so brings us closer to the ideal. To the world to come where G-dliness is fully revealed.
The commandments we are referring to are six hundred and thirteen for Jews, and the Seven Noahide Laws for non-Jews. This takes much study from scholars who have been taught according to the Thirteen Principles by which the Torah is interpreted, which were handed down at Sinai. The Torah is comprised of the Written Law, which includes the Five books of Moses, the books of the Prophets, Psalms and more, as well as the Oral Law, which includes the Talmud, the Midrash and much more…
The Talmud relates the story of a potential convert to Judaism who came to two of the greatest Torah Sages and asked to be taught the Torah while he was standing on one foot. The Sage Shamai, who embodied a spiritual energy of Gevurah – contracted consciousness – strictness or severity – did not wish to answer the potential convert because the request did not come accross as reverent or relevant. The Torah is G-d’s infinite wisdom and cannot be condensed into a sentence. The Sage Hillel however, embodied the spiritual energy of Chessed – expanded consciousness – loving-kindness. He understood the potential in this man, and told him. “What is hateful to you, do not do to others. The rest is commentary, go and learn”. The man studied seriously and completed his conversion.
The Torah is the basis for true morality. We must try to live according to it’s rules, study it’s infinite wisdom, and make constant efforts to internalize it’s concepts and grow spiritually. For this we must remember what is written in Tractate Avot 1:6, “Make for yourself a Rabbi (a spiritual mentor and someone who can reliably answer Halachic queries – it could be a Rabbi AND a mentor or one person who is both,) and acquire a friend.” If we do not make efforts to expose ourselves to an environment of Torah conscious people, and people who are more knowledgeable and can guide us, we cannot really know what it is all about.
In today’s world we certainly need a lantern to light uo the darkness.
Happy searching!
