Studying the Torah gives rise to several challenges that we need to be aware of in order that we defend our understandings of the text from being distorted.
Language
The language in which the Torah was written is not the same as ours. Although it may appear on the surface that the language we speak is the same language that the Torah is written in, there is actually an important difference between modern spoken Hebrew and the Biblical Hebrew of the TaNaKh.
Biblical Hebrew is prophetic Hebrew. When the TaNaKh was written, prophecy existed in the world, and the entire relationship between humanity and the Divine — and with creation in general — was vastly different from what it is today. In the post-prophetic era, people understand concepts and ideas entirely differently than during the prophetic era.
As a result, studying the Torah requires us to reconstruct the intended meaning of words according to the original context in which they were spoken.
We can see this linguistic difference between the TaNaKh and our present-day understanding very clearly when examining the word “Elohim.”
In our post-prophetic culture, when a person says “Elohim” (often translated into English as “God”), he usually means what philosophers would call the “First Cause.” In the Biblical era, however, a person might have used the word to refer to the Creator or to a human judge. What results from the difference is how humans relate to Divinity.
For example, we see in Sh’mot 22:7: “If the thief is not found, the homeowner shall approach the judges, [to swear] that he has not laid his hand upon his neighbor’s property.”
Our sages in the Talmud interprets “elohim” here as “judges” (Sanhedrin 56), where it states: “‘Elohim‘ refers to judges, as it is written, ‘the master of the house shall be brought before elohim.'”
Similarly, the Ramban writes on Sh’mot 21:6: “Rabbi Avraham [Ibn Ezra] explained that judges are called ‘elohim‘ because they uphold the judgments of God on earth. In my opinion, the verse hints that ‘God will be with them in judgment,’ affirming the correctness or guilt… as Moshe said, ‘for the judgment is upon HaShem’ (D’varim 1:17). Yehoshaphat similarly said, ‘for you do not judge for man but for HaShem, and [He] is with you in the matter of the judgment.’ (D’vrei Yamim II 19:6). And so it is written, Elohim stands in the congregation of El; in the midst of the judges He will judge.’ (Tehillim 82:1), meaning that God judges amid the congregation of judges. As it is also said, ‘Then the two men between whom the controversy exists shall stand before HaShem (D’varim 19:17), and hence, ‘for I will not vindicate a guilty person’ (Sh’mot 23:7).”
In Biblical times, the relationship was experiential. When the prophet Yeshayahu says, “I saw HaShem sitting,” he’s talking about an encounter – an experience and not a philosophy.
If someone from our time were to ask Yeshayahu, “When you said you saw HaShem, did you mean an essence or an appearance?” the prophet might not even understand the question. Not because he couldn’t understand it philosophically but because his encounter with HaShem was a direct experience, not a philosophical abstraction.
The prophetic period
When we study the TaNaKh, we often encounter stories involving all kinds of actions that Jews today find highly offensive.
For example, it’s nearly impossible for us to imagine a scenario in which a great Torah scholar or the head of an important yeshiva being tempted to worship idols. Our generation of Jews sees idolatry as completely out of bounds. A Jew discovered to be engaged in Christian practices, for example, would be excluded from the community.
But if an Israelite from the Biblical age, when idolatry was a far greater temptation and was more widespread throughout Israeli society, were to visit our generation and engage in conversation with a “religious” Jews, he might be shocked by the way Jews speak about one another.
Despite the fact that Biblical era Israelites were sometimes tolerant of idol worship, lashon hara (evil speech) was highly offensive and beyond the pale of what society could accept.
What actually causes this difference in perception between these periods is the existence of prophecy and the experience that it generated. The values of life in the prophetic era were perceived entirely differently than they are perceived today.
Understanding the difference between these periods helps us to study the TaNaKh more successfully.
Amongst contemporary Torah scholars, there exists a sharp debate over studying the TaNaKh “at eye level.” The disagreement is over whether we should treat the Biblical figures as if they were people like us or as giants far beyond our ability to relate to or judge.
Understanding the difference between the prophetic era and today, however, reveals that both sides of this debate are missing the full picture.
We shouldn’t treat the Biblical figures as ordinary people or as un relatable giants. Rather, we should understand that they lived in a completely different spiritual reality than what we experience today. The encounter with the Divine was present for them. It was real. Therefore, their deeds – both positive and negative – should be understood according to the era in which they lived and according to the Divine light shining into the world in those days (it should be noted that one of the most significant tools still available for understanding the TaNaKh through the lens of the prophetic experience is the wisdom of our Kabbalistic teachings).
The Influence of Christianity
Aside from the fact that we live in a post-prophetic era, many concepts are not only understood differently from their intended meaning in the prophetic period but have also been perverted through the distorted lens of Christian ideology, which has unfortunately penetrated the thinking of many Jews – including great scholars.
Many of our people’s ancient concepts have been twisted: God, sin, spirituality, holiness redemption, nature, miracles, repentance, reward and punishment, and many more.
When we talk about fundamental Hebrew concepts in our Torah, there is a need to reset our thinking and understand the original meanings of these concepts before the corrupting influence of Christianity polluted them.
The Purpose of the Written Torah
When we approach the study of the Written Torah, we must first understand the purpose for which this text was written.
The Torah is not merely “wisdom” but actually Divine speech. And it is addressed to a very specific identity in this world.
Therefore the correct understanding (or understandings) of the Torah can only be found amongst the children of Israel.
