The Pentateuch is the first five books of the Bible. Genesis to Deuteronomy are basically the same for Christians and Jew. Contained in the Pentateuch is the Torah, or law. So far the Jews and Christians are on the same page but now things get murky. Christians as a whole are only aware of the written Torah. That is what is included in the five books. What most don’t know is that the Jews also have something called the Oral Torah. This was supposed to have been dictated by God to Moses and passed down orally over the centuries. It was not written down until about A.D. 200 and has been consistently added to over the following centuries. It is now called the Talmud and is 38 volumes in length.
I am wondering about this oral law. In my contemplation I have real questions about how a five book part of the Bible, which in the Bible I have with me takes up about 260 pages, can be expanded into 38 volumes.
I am wondering if the Talmud is an ancient example of “publish or perish”. The Rabbis had to find a justification for their privilege so they kept coming up with personal opinions that were then elevated to the point of inspired. They were the experts of their day. In my view their opinions have about as much validity as the announcements of Anthony Fauci during the covid fiasco.
Their peers approved just as they do today. I’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine.
Be careful whom you believe whether it is medicine, science, history or theology. Do your own reading and your own thinking. There are times when you will have to trust someone as speaking truth but make sure they are trustworthy.
We live in interesting times.
homo unius libri
Monday, December 4, 2023
Opus 2023-301: Who Says?
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.