- Torah Authorship
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- Rabbi Reuven Mann
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- Question:Dear Mesora, Could you give some arguments against
the opinion of some scientists, that the Torah wasn't written at once
(I mean the Pentateuch) by G-D through Moshe, but later in the times
of Nehemiah and Ezra ? And can you give me also some arguments to
support the opinion, that the Torah was completely written by G-D
through Moshe in the times, when Moshe was still alive?
Response: The question is: did
the Torah exist in the time of Ezra or not. Were the Jews aware of it's
existence or not? If it was created (by whoever wrote it) at the time of
Ezra then the question arises: How was he able to convince the people at
that time to accept as their authentic history a book containing a story
which was totally foreign to them. Moreover, even if they accepted Ezra
as a valid historian (in spite of the fact that his history had no basis
in their own experience) still the book they were being asked to accept
stated that it was the work of Moses who received it from G-d. How can
you convince a people to accept a completely fabricated account of their
history and a very demanding religion which comes attached to that
history, all on the basis that it comes from G-d, when their own
knowledge of their history is completely at odds with the account in the
book? You must conclude that the people who accepted the Book did so
because it corresponded to the own experience. Hence you must conclude
that the people to whom the book was given knew their history that they
were slaves in Egypt, that Moses performed miracles and led them out and
everything else contained in the Torah.
- The same argument leads to the conclusion that Moses wrote the
Torah, for if he did not, then you have to assume that the Jews were
somehow duped in believing a fabricated account of the authorship of
their most important book. Do we have to prove that Shakespeare wrote
Hamlet? We accept it because the people to whom it was given had no
reason to doubt it and we dont assume conspiracies. The burden of
proof in such a case is on the position which wants to assert
something which is contrary to all the rules of ordinary reason and
common sense. We believe that the source of the Torah is G-d because
of the
- proofs of Torah MiSinai. The degree of prophecy which Moses attained
and on the basis of which he received the Torah, is referred to in the
Torah (in the story of the lashon hara of Miriam). The belief that
every word came from G-d is generally made clear by Moses in the
Torah. It is spelled out specifically and rendered into a basic
article of faith in the oral law.
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- Rabbi Reuven Mann
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