- Everything is not in the Torah
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- Moshe Ben-Chaim
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- Reader: I had just asked you the question about dinosaurs
existence and you gave a great answer but there was one thing in your
answer that I didn't understand so well and I was wondering if you can
go further into what you meant by it so there are no misunderstandings
here. You said "The Torah does not contain every bit of
information in the world." Well it says in the first midrash in
Genesis that "God looked at the Torah and created the
world." Now if I know what I am talking about I believe that
everything that exist has to be in the Torah, you may not be able to
point it out and it may not be clear, has to have purpose demanded by
Hashem and if it is not in the Torah then it hasn't, doesn't, and
never will exist. So I was just wondering what you meant by what you
had said before.
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- Mesora: What I mean is that the
Torah is not meant to have every bit of information. It is a book
which contains ideals for the perfection for man. Therefore, it won't
have discussions about why certain birds have blue feathers, and why
certain rocks are softer than others. On the surface, that information
doesn't help man in his perfection. However, once man perfects his
thinking, and becomes wise, he may be fortunate enough to see some of
these wondrous creatures and elements as having a purpose for man. But
the Chumash doesn't contain this information in specific. The Gemara
says that the birds are so many and different so that man will praise
God for His works.
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- The medrash you quoted could simply mean that the world and the
Torah reflect each other. "God looked at the Torah and created
the world" means that He made the world based on what man
requires for his Torah adherence and perfection - just like He created
the Earth for this same purpose. So the medrash is trying to equate
the world and the Torah, that the Earth's existence is only so man can
follow the Torah. Just as a blueprint for the house and the house
itself have the same design, so also the Torah and the Earth have the
same design, or purpose. God looked at the what man needs for his
perfection - the Torah - and then created the world in line with this
objective. Nothing more, nothing less.
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- God made earth in a way where man's basic needs are readily found;
air which is most essential is everywhere. Water is less essential,
but still plentiful - both are free as man cannot exist without
either. Food is less needed than water, so it is more scarce. But
these elements are only placed on Earth for the sake of man having his
physical needs taken care of in order that he is now rendered fit for
a life of Torah study. The physical is only a means for the
intellectual life.
- Therefore, the way I would explain this medrash is, "God looked
at the Torah to see what man needs for an intellectual life, then
created the Earth for that purpose."
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- The medrash you quoted in no way suggests that every bit of
information is in the Torah. It doesn't even suggest that the Torah is
a resource for knowledge, even though it is. That's not the point this
medrash is aiming at. This medrash's purpose is to teach what God's
considerations were when making earth. "What should the Earth
include?" God's answer, "it should include only that which
assists man's goal of Torah study". God may have been able to
make the Earth with bread ready made in the ground, or metal which
never rusts. But as a Rabbi explained, the curse of the Earth in
Genesis of "thorns and thistles will sprout" means that God
purposely redesigned the Earth to be imperfect physically. The reason,
since Adam and Eve sinned by overindulgence in the physical world, God
created inherent problems with the physical so man should be
frustrated with physical pursuits and redirect his energies to the
intellectual areas. Had man been satisfied completely with the
physical, he would never leave it, thereby, not involving himself in
God's goals for man, Torah study.
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- See the "Daily Song" article
for elucidation on these points.
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