Does Judaism Need to be Packaged?

The Scroll

This week's Torah Reading (Vayelech) relates the dramatic events that transpired during Moses' last day on earth. Among the many things he did on that fateful day was committing the entire Pentateuch (the Chumash, the Five Books of Moses) to writing (Deut 31:9).1 The Torah scrolls we use today are copies of copies of copies of the original Torah scroll written by Moses on the day of his passing, on 7 Adar of the year 2488 after Creation.2

After completing the writing of the full Torah, Moses commanded the Levites, "Take this Torah scroll, and place it as the side of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your G‑d, and it shall be there as witness for you." (Deut. 31:26) The Tabernacle in the desert and later the Temple in Jerusalem housed a Holy Ark containing Two Tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments and the newly completed Torah scroll needed to be placed at the side of this Ark.

The exact location of the Torah scroll vis-à-vis the Ark inspired a debate between the Talmudic Sages.3 Rabbi Meir stated that the Torah scroll needed to be placed inside the Ark, at the side of the Two Tablets. Rabbi Judah was of the opinion that a shelf protruded from the outside of the Ark and on it the Torah scroll was placed.

The logic behind their argument lay in the proper interpretation of Moses' above quoted words, "Take this Torah scroll, and place it at the side of the Ark." According to Rabbi Judah, "at the side of the Ark" is to be understood literally — that the Torah scroll ought to be placed not inside but outside the ark. Rabbi Meir, on the other hand, believes that the words "on the side of the Ark" are merely coming to tell us that the Torah scroll should be placed not between the two Tablets, but rather at the side of the tablets, next to the interior wall of the Ark.

Three Questions

Three questions come to mind.

Firstly, why did Rabbi Meir feel compelled to impose an apparently twisted interpretation to the words "on the side of the ark"? Why would Rabbi Meir not embrace Rabbi Judah's simple and straightforward explanation that when Moses instructed the Torah scroll to be placed "at the side of the Ark" he meant it literally?

Second, why was there a need all together to have the Torah scroll situated in such close proximity to the Ark?4

Finally, we have stressed numerous times that the Torah and all of its commandments and episodes were transcribed to serve as a Divine blueprint for living, as a road map for life's challenging journeys. How can a 21^st century human being glean wisdom and inspiration from an ancient commandment to place a Torah scroll at the side of an ark, at a time when we have no Ark and no Tablets? What type of relevance can Moses' instruction to the Levites carry for our lives today?

The Root vs. the Branches

Our Sages have said5 that the Ten Commandments presented at Sinai and inscribed on the Two Tablets of the Covenant embodied the quintessence of the entire Torah, all of the Five Books. All perspectives, themes, ideas, laws, ethics and stories of Torah are encapsulated in the brief 620 letters of the Ten Commandments.6 The Five Books of Moses, then, serve essentially as a commentary to the Ten Commandments, elaborating and explaining the background, meaning and significance of these ten pillars of Jewish Faith.

The Tablets, in other words, constitute the source, the epicenter, the nucleuses of Judaism; the Five Books are the elaboration, the explanation, the outgrowth.

The debate between Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Judah on the kinship between the Torah scroll and the Tablets is not merely a technical argument concerning the proximity of two physical entities; but rather a profound disagreement on the fundamental methodologies of the development and communication of Judaism.

How close need we uphold the connection between the expansion of Torah and its core? Are we capable of "leaving the box" containing the Tablets without losing the real thing?

This is by no means an abstract dilemma. How does one communicate ancient truths to a young generation molded in a secular weltanschauung? How does one present a Torah which is over 3,000 years old to a modern 21^st century social-media addict? How do we pass on the gift of "And G‑d said, 'Let us make man' to Yale and Oxford graduates for whom Charles Darwin holds more sway than Moses?

Are we to present Judaism in its original form and composition, without employing modern-day terminology, techniques and structures of thought? Or must we take Judaism "out of the box" and re-package it in contemporary language?

The argument rages to this very day. Some teachers and presenters of Judaism are accused of lacking the ability to communicate to a "new generation" of Jews, while other teachers are accused of "liberalizing" Judaism, of diluting its pristine ideas on order to accommodate the modern Jew or non-Jew.

The Light and the Vessels

The Talmud says something profoundly moving about Rabbi Meir: "It is known to the creator of the world that Rabbi Meir surpassed his entire generation and he had no equal. Why then did they not establish the law according to his opinion? Because the sages could not comprehend the depth of his wisdom." (Eiruvin 13b, 53a) Rabbi Meir was misunderstood by his own colleagues; his ideas were too advanced for his times.

"Meir" in Hebrew means "the illuminator." The light that emanated from Rabbi Meir's mind and heart was too profound for this colleagues and students. Why? Because Rabbi Meir was of the opinion, that all interpretation and development of Torah thought must remain intimately bound with its source. The commentary and exposition may never be removed from the space of their progenitor. The Torah must be placed right near the Tablets. To dilute the light in order to accommodate the vessels will do an injustice to the integrity of the message.

According to Rabbi Judah, however, the word of G‑d needs to leave the perimeters of the sacred Ark, and be brought outward.

Judah, Yehudah in Hebrew, means acknowledgement or submission. One has to surrender his or her own elevated state of consciousness in order to reach out and present the Torah to the student who would not be able to absorb the intense light dwelling "inside the box." Judaism, Rabbi Judah argued, needed to be presented in a manner that would make it accessible, relevant and pertinent to people trained in a different mindset and educated in the schools of Athens and liberal modern universities.

For according to Rabbi Judah this is not a cop-out, but rather a great noble act of self-surrender (Yehudah.) It is easier to just repeat the old phrases and sayings, to remain secure in the ancient pathways; but you need to transcend your comfort zone in order to bring the light and truth of Torah to those outside.

Loyal to the Source

Yet here is the critical catch: Even according to Rabbi Judah, the Torah must always remain connected to its source by means of a plank of wood.

What this means is this: There is a difference between presenting Judaism in terminology and methodology that can penetrate modern man, vs. attempting to prove that Judaism conforms to modern trends of thought. The former path is noble; the latter path is intellectually dishonest, as it does not seek to discover the authentic message of Judaism, only to create a fluffy Judaism that does not challenge the comfort zones of the progressive man and woman.

This distinction between the two approaches has been profoundly blurred in recent years, and the results have been obvious. The former approach has given countless students the opportunity to challenge themselves by the divine truths of Torah; the latter approach has brought down to Torah to suit the fancy of modern man. At the end it comes down to the question of how confident you are in the truth of Torah? Are you employing modern thought merely to communicate Torah, or are you employing it in order to confirm to yourself and others the authenticity and appeal of Judaism?

What Rabbi Judah is saying is that as far out of the box as you travel, a "plank of wood" ought to always connect you to the original, pristine "Tablets" inside the box. The link between the nucleus of Torah and its expansions must always remain evident. If not, you may be depriving yourself and your students from the vibrant, pulsating, divine wellsprings of G‑d's word.

Who has the right to "re-package" Judaism? Only someone who is selfless (Yehuda), has no ego involved, and his only agenda is to share the word of G‑d with others, a person who is completely loyal to the authentic source. But if someone lacks these qualities, they will frequently compromise and dilute, if not pervert, the pure waters of Judaism with the tarnished bacteria of trends and notions that are alien to Torah.

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[Based on a talk delivered by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Shabbat Vayelech 5729 (September 1968). Published in Sichot Kodesh 5729 pp. 9-19. Large parts of the talk were later published in Likkutei Sichot vol. 9 pp. 196-203.
For another English rendition of this talk, see "Week in Review" (edited by Yanki Tauber) vol. 5 number 32.]