Click here for the Scholar chat schedule.
Email us your question and we'll try to respond within 24 hours.
Type in your email address here:
Select a topic:
Type in your question here:
The Scholar is ready to answer your question. Click the button below to chat now.
A Scholar is currently unavailable at this time, so please check back again. In the meantime you can click here to email Moses your question or search our archives for related topics.
PRINT EMAIL COMMENT
Why, pray tell me, doesn't the Torah allow for changing times and customs? Why does our all-knowing G-d, who certainly knows what the future will bring, tell us that the laws of the Torah are not subject to change? In fact, one of our Thirteen Principles of Faith, penned by the great philosopher Maimonides, is the belief that the commandments of the Torah are permanent and irrevocable.
This is not a small detail in Judaism; rather this is at the very core of our belief-system. To understand the answer to this question we must first examine the essence of the Mitzvahs. Mitzvahs all emanate from G-d's supernal Will (Ratzon). True will transcends logic and intellect, and this is evident in many mitzvos which don't have (and never did have) any logical reason, such as the laws of Kosher, Shatnez, the Red Heifer, etc.
Intellect is a creation, as much as everything else in this physical world, and therefore just as G-d Himself transcends creation so too He transcends intellect
[Now you might be thinking, "Why should I perform a Mitzvah which doesn't make sense? Why would G-d be commanding us to do acts which defy logic and rationality?" But the truth is that such questions arise do to the fact that in the human consciousness, intellect is the greatest faculty which we possess, and (almost) everything of value is dictated by the laws of logic.
Anything which does not agree with the laws of logic is considered childish and irrelevant. This is all true in human terms, for G-d created us in this fashion, but G-d is not limited by the Laws of Nature with which Hife created us. Intellect is a creation, as much as everything else in this physical world, and therefore just as G-d Himself transcends creation so too He transcends intellect.
Kabbalah tells us, that to G-d, intellect and a stone are of equal value for both are merely creations. Therefore, according to the teachings of Kabbalah, the Mitzvahs, which are G-d's will, actually stem from an infinitely higher level than the Torah, which is G-d's wisdom!]
Now back to our question... If G-d were to want us to do Mitzvahs because of one reason or another, then if the conditions which caused G-d to tell us to do the Mitzvah would change or cease to exist, the Mitzvah would become "outdated" and extraneous. But if Mitzvahs are a product of G-d's intrinsic Will, how can it be changed by the times?
To properly understand the abovementioned concepts it is essential that you join a class on the subject of Chassidut. Contact your local Chabad rabbi to find a Chassidut study group in your area.
ADD A COMMENT
Editor's Comment
Torah » Modifying Torah
