Audio is Here Lesson Recap is below.
Lesson Recap
Dear Students,
Thank you for joining us for the opening lesson of Fascinating Facts, titled "The Story of Your Life". The audio of the class is available Here I welcome your comments and ideas.
Introduction
The Torah is the most popular book in history. But it is often misread, misunderstood and there are many myths associated with Torah due to bad translations and depictions.
Its not a history book, as it only deals with a limited amount of events. Torah is a guide to life as implied by its name, Torah which means instruction and guidance. We will look at a select group of Torah statements to have a better appreciation of the lessons of Torah.
Which Tree?
Although the Tree of Knowledge from which Adam and Eve ate is commonly viewed as an apple tree, the Torah does not tell us what kind of tree it was. The apple tree notion is based on a Latin translation, not on a Torah statement. Yet the Torah does tell us that it was in a thorn bush where G‑d first appeared to Moshe.
The Torah is protecting the privacy of the tree from which a terrible deed was done, but lets us know that whenever the Jewish people are suffering, as in Egypt, G‑d feels their pain as if he would be in a thorn bush. A lesson in life.
Get The Story Straight
True or False? The first time the Jews ate Matzah was when they left Egypt and had no time to let the dough rise. FALSE
The Torah tells us that they ate Matzah with the Pascal sacrifice the night before they left Egypt. But Matzah is a food of freedom as it represents the humility of the Jewish people in the presence of G‑d, when G‑d came to free his people.
Myths created by non-Jewish translations and Artists
Many times our image of Torah events is shaped by how non-Jews translated and drew artistic depictions of events. Many of them are in error. For example:
The Two Tablets: Were not rounded on top, but squared. Misrepresented by a non Jewish artist, perhaps Michelangelo.
Moses: Did not have horns. A mistranslation by a Christian scholar. The verse states that Moses' face radiated. It was translated as Moses had horns. Without vowels the Hebrew word can be read in either way. Looking at the context of the verse, the translation is obviously, For the light of his face radiated.
Read the Whole Piece!
To understand Torah, one must read all the parts of Torah associated with that law. An Eye for an Eye, sounds cruel and barbaric. Read all the parts regarding personal injury and damage, and its obvious that the Torah is referring to monetary compensation, not to respond with bodily damage.
How Can You Read This???
The Torah is written without vowels and punctuation. Many of the statements are undefined. G‑d gave the Oral Tradition to Moshe together with the Written Torah. Only together can we read Torah properly and understand its laws. This also made education so fundamental. Because you couldn't just read the book. You needed a teacher who would pass down the Oral Tradition as well.
A Parting Lesson
The last statement of the Torah recalls the wondrous acts which Moshe performed before the Children of Israel. The Midrash explains that this refers to Moshe breaking the Tablets, which seems to be a weakening of the Torah. Look closer at the story and we see how Moshe was protecting the people by breaking the Tablets. The last lesson in the Torah itself, is that there can be no Torah without the Jewish people. We need the Torah to explain the greatness of the Jewish nation.
Looking forward to seeing you next Wednesday, November 16, for Lesson #2 titled Sunrise, Sunset; Exploring the Jewish Life Cycle. Please provide your input by sending your questions on the various Jewish Life Cycle Celebrations. With G‑d's help, I will try to incorporate them into the lesson.
