EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK
Who Cares Who Wrote The Bible?
he controversial inquiry of
often the most upset because they
"Who Wrote the Bible?" is
have rejected Halacha [Jewish law]
back in the headlines. While
and adopted the Bible as an expression
always hot in academic cir-
of national identity."
des, the topic occasionally creeps into
None of this is a lightning bolt for
popular conversation — which is
those who follow the field. What's
where it belongs.
known as biblical criticism — show-
In Israel, the most recent flare-up
ing that the text was written at differ-
comes after the left-leaning
ent times by different peo-
newspaper Ha'aretz ran an
ple and then woven togeth-
article by archaeologist Ze'ev
er — has been around since
Herzog.
the mid-1700s. It gained
"In the past, we saw our-
much steam toward the end
selves obligated to prove the
of the 19th century. In
Bible," he wrote. "We've freed
recent years, it's literally
ourselves from this feeling,
been a bestseller through'
probably in the past decade,
The Book ofJ grid other
and are looking at things
works.
more objectively."
This is all high treason
NEIL RUBIN
He and others find that
to those who believe in the
Senio r Editor
Jewish history prior to the
Divine nature of the Torah.
seventh century B.C.E. can-
Or is it?
not be validated by existing
Judaism; I was taught,
evidence. Further, surviving records
encourages questioning everything. So
from surrounding cultures minimize
why would the Torah be exempt?
the grandeur of the kingdoms of
Admittedly, this can drive one to intel-
David and Solomon. Of course, there
lectual and, for some, emotional
also is no proof for the era of the
despair. But such pursuit is at the core
patriarchs and matriarchs, let alone
of the ongoing struggle of being a Jew.
Moses and the exodus from Egypt.
Besides, these are theories. There is no
Surely, such a massive exit would have
absolute proof or disproof — to date
been mentioned by the Egyptians,
— of the Bible's historical accuracy or
fanatics about recording their history.
inaccuracy.
No dice.
Of course, as products of Western
Interestingly, as Herzog told the
thought and literature, many of us
Jerusalem Post, "Secular people are
have great difficulty accepting the
Torah at face value. But not embrac-
To reach. Neil Rubin, e-mail
ing the text verbatim is strongly sup-
nrubin@jewishtimes.com
ported by our tradition. That's what
T
effort toward a renewal of spirit and
dedication in the Jewish community
that celebrates the traditional Jewish
institutions of responsibility, respect,
family, justice, knowledge and
Torah.
Mike Havis
Southfield
Is There Alarm
Behind Numbers?
"This year will go down in history.
For the first time, a civilized nation
has full gun registration. Out streets
will be safer, our police more efficient
and the world will follow our lead into
the future."
Are these the words of a gun-con-
trol advocate? No. These words were
spoken by Adolf Hitler in 1935. Since
all guns in Germany had been regis-
tered, the next step taken was to take
them away from those who were not
trustworthy, the enemies of the state
— in other words, Jews.
For us Jews to take a stand in favor
of gun control, like your editorial
("Stand Up For Gun Control," Jan.
14) suggests, is irresponsible consider-
ing the amount of antisemitism that
does, and will, continue to exist as
long as there are Jews.
A study done by Dr. John Lott in
1998 at the University of Chicago
determined that guns are used 2.5
million times a year in self-defense. In
addition, since laws allowing law-abid-
ing citizens -to carry concealed
weapons took effect, there have been
1,500 fewer murders, 4,200 fewer
rapes and 61,000 fewer aggravated
assaults in the United States.
commentary is about; it explains what
the Torah meant in ancient days as
well as now And studying it is a great
intellectual challenge.
Let's look at it this way. Say you
fervently believe, as Jewish tradition
explains, that Moses wrote the Bible as
dictated to him by God on Mount
Sinai. It's unlikely that any amount of
biblical archaeology will change that
Judaism
encourages
questioning
everything.
Why would
the Torah
be exempt?
view. Besides, many Jews conveniently
argue — as do I — that the Bible was
divinely inspired, meaning that our
ancestors recorded events in ways that
they understood them. And they did
so based on ancient stories that had a
framework of reality, the details of
which were lost long ago.
We would record such events dif-
A few more statistics to consider.
While 17,000 people were murdered
by a firearm in 1996, 42,000 were
killed in automobile accidents, 82,000
died from pneumonia/flu, 537,000
died from cancer and 734,000 died
from heart disease (National Center'
for Health Statistics, U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services,
1996).
Our gun-control effort should be
directed elsewhere. While - there is no
doubt that innocent people die, the
facts speak for themselves. There is no
epidemic occurring as we are told in
the media.
As Jewish people, we are, and
should be, concerned with the events
that occur around us. But keeping in
mind the attacks in Los Angeles and
Chicago, isolated attacks for the
moment, we would be foolish to sup-
ferently today. But centuries from now
others should not discard our beliefs
without seeking to understand them.
Surely something remarkable hap-
pened at Mount Sinai. Was it Divine
revelation? We do not and never will
know. But of this I am certain: An
event occurred in the desert that
shook and shaped our people's con-
sciousness. It put into motion a jour-
ney that continues unto this day, one
that has evolved into as intense a
philosophical, ethical and religious
framework as could be created.
Besides, does it matter if King
David or Moses or Abraham actually
lived? Perhaps they were archetypal
figures designed to tell us more about
humans in general than themselves in
specific. We learn much from the
humble and effective leadership style
of Moses, about how strong leaders
(King David) are subject to great
flaws; and, through Joseph, about the
need to check the desire for revenge.
The list goes on.
By the way, American culture has
its parallels. Ever hear about the cher-
ry tree that as a youth George Wash-
ington confessed to cutting down
because he couldn't tell a lie? Well, the
story's a lie. That long-established fact
in no way diminishes the deeds of
Washington and hi's peers.
So when it comes to "Who Wrote
The Bible?", the academics are intrigu-
ing and deserve debate. And the pur-
suit is ensconced in the comfort zone
of Jewish tradition.
port gun control. We have history and
Hitler to learn from.
Shira Drissman
Farmington Hills
Did We Learn
From History?
It was with disappointment that I read
the editorial advocating control of
firearms ("Stand Up For Gun Con-
trol," Jan. 14). It also brings to mind
that those ignorant of history are
doomed to repeat it.
It has been a generation now since
the rise of Hider to power. Among the
many things we should not forget is
that one of the first actions taken by
the German government was to dis-
arm its citizens. They were unable to
resist an evil, corrupt government.
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2000
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