According to many Jewish thinkers, the rational basis of our belief in the truth of the Torah is the national experience of Divine revelation at Mount Sinai. This is viewed as national testimony to the Divine authorship of the Torah. Here are a few things to consider.
1) How did our ancestors know that it was G-d speaking to them at Mount Sinai? As we all know, G-d has no physical form, so what exactly did they see on Mount Sinai? The Torah describes a cloud, smoke and fire descending upon the mountain; why did our ancestors assume that the cloud, smoke and fire represented G-d? If they experienced prophecy, the Torah does not describe it as such. No other prophecy required such an awesome demonstration to prove its authenticity. What, then, did they see that convinced them of the Divine Source of the revelation?
2) The generation of Jews that received the Torah had many crises of faith throughout their travels in the wilderness. If the people who actually witnessed the revelation of G-d at Mount Sinai could later doubt the fundamentals of religious doctrine, how can we, so many generations later, possibly be expected to be steadfast in our religious convictions?
Eli, I question your Question #2.
ReplyDelete"If the people who actually witnessed the revelation of G-d at Mount Sinai could later doubt the fundamentals of religious doctrine..."
Your use of the phrase "fundamentals of religious doctrine" is fuzzy to me. Nobody who actually witnessed the revelation ever doubted that the revelation took place. Let's take Korach, arguably the greatest challenge to Moshe. Korach's own experience of the revelation was so life-changing that he felt it entitled his whole tribe to a more elevated status than the one they were given. (heard from Rav Yaakov Weinberg ZTL). But
I don't think there was any fundamental of religious doctrine with which he did not agree. He surely kept the written and oral laws of Shabbos as transmitted by Moshe. He felt that Moshe's assignment of jobs and duties was his own. I don't see that as a doubt of religious doctrine at all. He was part of the Dor De'ah. They didn't just believe...they knew (that's my own take on the term De'ah; one may quibble).
In contrast, people struggling with true fundamentals of religious doctrine, such as Hashem's existence, revelation, etc. have not had the extraordinary opportunity of experiencing the revelation. It is therefore perfectly natural for them to experience doubt.
Good luck with the blog.
Dear S.,
ReplyDeleteWhat I mean by "the fundamentals of religious doctrine" in this context are the fundamentals of Jewish faith, primarily as expressed in Rambam's 13 ikkarim. Your example of Korach proves my point. Korach, who witnessed the Revelation, later doubted the authenticity of Moshe's prophecy, which is one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith. I am not suggesting that anyone doubted the Revelation; I am suggesting that the Revelation did not necessarily clarify all of the fundamentals of faith.
Eli, what *happened* to Korach shows that whatever wasn't clarified by Revelation (i.e. Moshe's prophecy) was indeed clarified by Korach's untimely end. Call it a mini-Revelation, if you will. Taken together, I still see no comparison to those who question fundamentals today.
ReplyDeleteS.
(Jewish C-roads)
Where was the "mini-Revelation" that clarified the belief in the coming of Moshiach? In Techiyas hameisim? In the belief that no law of the Torah will ever change? If another "mini-Revelation" was required, then the "mega-Revelation" was not as comprehensive as some would tend to believe.
ReplyDeleteWhile you're last comment is certainly intriguing, you're missing my point. I'm saying that the following sentence in your question does not resonate with me:
ReplyDelete"If the people who actually witnessed the revelation of G-d at Mount Sinai could later doubt the fundamentals of religious doctrine, how can we, so many generations later, possibly be expected to be steadfast in our religious convictions?"