This will be a regular feature on IsraelSeen by Dr. Yitzkak Hayut-Man. An innovator, futurist, visionary and Bible scholar. I am not sure he will agree but I certainly have the utmost respect for the man I consider a friend. He is among the few that is courageous enough to allow the “open source” of the Torah-Bible to be presented in new and interesting ways for our greater understanding. Enjoy.
Part II
Introduction: Genesis as Prophetic Book and Guide for Re-Biography
By Dr. Yitzhak Hayut-Man
Since the Giving of the Torah, the religions that are connected with and are nourished by it have put the Torah at the center. For thousands of years no one disputed its stories in theory or deed.
Only by the 18th century, when the sciences developed and new discoveries were being made about the world, and geological and biological evidence about the development of the universe in the course of millions and billions of years seemed to contradict the story of creation found in the Book of Genesis, there fell a mortal blow upon the simple belief in the Torah, among Christians and Jews alike. Also the modern historical and textual research which sought evidence that the scriptures of the Jews and of the Christians were edited and re-edited for many years after the date accepted by tradition have added to undermining the authority of the scriptures, the Torah included.
So what, then, is the Torah?
Is it an ancient literary text, which still merits to be read even today, because its literary-psychological value is still valid? Is it a sacred scripture, transcending human understanding and mediating between the human mind and the Infinite? (as claims, for example, the Chabad (?aBaD ??”?) doctrine).
Should we regard the Torah as the cultural-folkloristic background upon which Judaism and Christianity (and to some extent also the Koran) grew? Or perhaps, as the traditional exegesis claims – a means for creating and renewing the world: “The Torah says: I have been the tool of the Creator… the Holy One, Blessed be He was looking at the Torah and creating the world” (Bereshit Raba 1:1).
Whereas we shall present an approach which includes all the approaches listed above, and connects them. True, we shall claim, the Torah has served human needs in the past, and had a decisive influence – for good and also for bad – upon human history. But its major importance and possible influence is reserved for the future, from our generation and onwards.
This approach will also settle the apparent contradiction between the prophecies “a new Torah will issue from Me” (Isaiah 51:4), as well as “for out of ?ion will Torah issue forth” (Isaiah 2:3, Micha 4:2), where the emphasis is on the future mode: the Torah has not yet issued forth from ?ion, but it will, and between the principles of faith of Maimonides, which Judaism has been receiving as its principles, including “that all the Torah which we now have is what was given to Moses our teacher, peace be upon him” and “that this Torah will not be superseded and there will be no other Torah from the blessed Creator”.
Our claim is that the same Torah which is with us for many generations may be rediscovered in our times as a new Torah which our forefathers have never imagined, and that this new understanding will lead to a new creation, for which humankind will be a full partner.
Also among traditional interpreters we can find clues and references to radical innovations that will be discovered in the future, which for them was very distant, whereas for us it may turn into the present time.
In the Likutei Amarim of the Magid of Mezerich it is written about “for new Torah will issue from Me”, that the Torah is (like) a whole stature (of a man) – skin and flesh, ligaments (gidim) and bones. The skin is called the shell of the Torah, and flesh in the manner (as was said) that whoever tires himself (in studying Torah) tastes the taste of beef, and ligaments (gidim) in the manner (as written) “vayaged lahem” (and he told them), that he told them judgments that are hard as ligaments. And bones (?tsamot ?????) means that the essence (?tsmiyut ??????) of the Torah has not yet been discovered. For the whole of the Torah is gleaned from saintly people, from Adam and the Fathers and Moses, that (the Lord) has bestowed his presence (Shekhinah) upon their actions. And this is the whole Torah. But the lucidity of the essence (of the Torah) has not yet been discovered until the Messiah comes and the people will understand the clarity of its essence (?tsmiyut). And this is “a New Torah from Me”, namely my essence. And this is what Ezekiel prophesied, that he saw the future reconstruction and said “will these bones (?tsamot) live?”, namely the essence (?tsmiyut) of the Torah…” (According to “Magid devarav le-Ya’?qov”, item 6).
Rashi (RaShY, abbr. for, Rabenu shelomoh Yi??aqi), who is considered in Judaism as the greatest of the Torah interpreters, opens his exegesis of the Torah, and the Book of Genesis in particular, with a question that perhaps throws doubt about the relevance of the story of the Creation. “Said Rabbi Yitz?aq: it was necessary only to start the Torah with “This month is for you…. “(Exodus 12:2), which is the first commandment that Israel were commanded. So why did it start with Bereshit (in the beginning)? …so that if the nations of the world will come to Israel and tell: you are robbers that you have occupied the lands of seven peoples”, Israel will say “the whole earth is the Lord’s, He created it…..”.
This is actually a very surprising claim, on the background of medieval France, when Rashi lived, when might was right to conquer lands. And here this exegesis assumes an international regime which tries to assess “the legitimate rights” of each nation to their land. For what can this apply if not for our times, and to the bitter conflict between the Jews who return to their ancient land and the current “native people” (?m ha’Aretz). So does Rashi hint at the contemporary settlers of Gush Emunim and gives them the moral support to disregard the claims for rights to the Palestinians?
But if so, immediately another question rises: if the Book of Genesis is becoming relevant only in our generation, was it at all necessary to educate one hundred generations of Jews upon it before its time?
Let us continue and follow the exegesis of Rashi to the Book of Genesis.
After the first two chapters in the book, which incidentally contain two alternative creation stories that we shall return to discuss, appears the story of the Garden of Eden. God prohibits Adam and Eve (?avah) to eat from one of the trees. The serpent (Na?ash) has an explanation for this prohibition, and he relates to Eve: “for God knows that on the day you will it of it and your eyes will be opened and you shall be as God, knowers of good and evil” (Gen. 3:5), “for God knows… from this tree he ate and created the world”, and Rashi explains “you shall be as God – producers of worlds”. We can of course claim, metaphorically, that each person, at each generation, produces a small world of his own, and that the sum of all human production is the making of an artificial world. But it is only in our generation that there was produced technology that allows the production of entirely new worlds, in the deserts and Polar Regions and under the sea, and on our horizon appears the possibility of producing habitable worlds in outer space and in “terra formed” planets. Moreover, technologically and culturally this generation has produced the great creation (e.g. the Internet) that turns all the people of the earth to a kind of a single “Global Brain”.
Again we see here, in Rashi’s exegesis, a hint of evidence for future Rabbinical Judaism, or the establishment of the Catholic Church, which viewed itself as “the true Israel”.
Assuming that the ultimate aim of the exegesis of the Torah is not just for the Jews but to all our contemporaries who choose to relate to the Torah, in the sense of the prophetic “for out of Zion will Torah issue forth”, let us examine the meaning of the term “Zion” (and thus Zionism), in the Torah exegesis.
In the introduction to the Book of Zohar (Splendor, the major book of Jewish Kabbalah), there is an exegesis on the verse “to plant heaven and found earth and to tell Zion you are my people” (Isaiah 51:16), in which the word ?ion (Zion) is related to Me?uyan (excellent) whereas the word ?mi (My people) is turned into ?mi (with Me), so that the Zohar interprets: “to tell those….. who are excellent, who create excellent innovations in the Torah: you are with Me. Just as I have created heaven and earth through my words, as is said “with the Word of the Lord heaven was made” (Psalm 33:6), so are you, that with your words of wisdom you have produced new heaven and earth”. This can then be understood that the future Zion and future of Zionism, is in the partnership of excellent people to create new heaven and new earth, for the Acts of Creation are going to be present.
Let us start, then, with this. We shall base ourselves on the words of the Torah, but shall aspire to produce “a new heaven and a new earth”, excellent innovations and calculations, which will allow us (among other things to be discovered in our following treatment) to settle apparent contradictions in the chronology of the creation, contradictions which have distanced many good people from the Torah in face of scientific evidences. We might thus enable well educated contemporaries to return and regard the Torah as a guide and life-teaching, and not just as an interesting vestige of folklore.
