Special Summer Memberships
The experience of Israel at
Sinai as described in the Bi-
ble was extended even fur-
ther by the rabbis into a
potentially universal expe-
rience, properly available to
all peoples everywhere.
The rabbis taught that
Noah, the father of mankind
after the Flood, was given a
code of seven laws basic to a
person's very existence.
These Noahide Laws forbid
1) idolatry 2) adultery and
incest 3) bloodshed 4)
blasphemy 5) robbery 6)
eating any part of a living
animal and 7) enjoining the
establishment of just law
courts. Inconceivable to the
rabbis, apparently, was a
world lacking at least these
minimal requirements of
morality.
Moreover, we are told, "all
the peoples of the world
(ummot ha'olam)" heard the
Ten Commandments at
Sinai, for the Decalogue was
spoken simultaneously in all
the 70 languages of humans.
In the same vein, the
Midrash asks: "Why was the
Torah given at Sinai, in a
wilderness so far from
human habitation?" And the
answer given is: "Just be-
cause it is a wilderness,
belonging to no one, so that
no people can say the Torah
was given in its land; thus
no people will be able to lay
exclusive claim to the
Torah." The Torah is really
meant for all people, not just
for Jews.
Sometimes individuals
read the Bible for what is
called "proof texts": to prove
that God exists, to prove a
miracle, to prove a point, to
prove that if you say this
prayer or believe that idea
you will find instant heal-
ing, or redemption or
whatever.
But this approach misses
the whole point of Torah:
that the verses of the Bible
as well as rabbinic phrases
are not mystical or magical
utterances but distilled
wisdom.
A verse from Scripture
does not represent the Holy
One only because Moses
taught it, but also because it
expresses a fundamental in-
sight into human behavior
or a vision toward which we
should strive. It is not just
the source but the content as
well that is important.
Shavuot comes to remind
us that "the Torah is our
life and the length of our
days." Shavuot is a renewal
of that commitment.
Shavuot is a faith lift. Ell
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
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West Bloomfield
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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