PTIJ: Is there any evidence that Tolkien’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are based upon the teachings of the Torah? [closed]

Question

Many of the outer trappings of the popular fantasy novels by J.R.R Tolkien, (John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, that Reuel was one of the alternate names of Yitro, Moshe's father-in-law) The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy and even his posthumously published The Silmarillion appear to have similarities with the teachings of the Torah, like the creation of the universe, the contrast and struggle between light and darkness, good and evil, angelic creatures like the various elves including Galadriel, the elven Queen associated with starlight and the constellations and even shepherd type characters, like Gandalf in comparison to Moses.

Is there any deeper evidence of Torah teaching within the storyline that validates this observation?

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This question is Purim Torah and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the Purim Torah policy.

Answer 1

The concept of the Hobbit, the archetypal, small underdog, who overcomes all challenges etc. was actually based on Moshe Rabbeinu and him gaining the power of the ring!

Refer to Shemos 2:12

הוא הביט לכאן ולכאן וראה שאין איש, הוא הרג את המִצרִי וקבר אותו בחול

He (Moshe) was the only Hobbit around here, and he saw that there was no one about, and he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.

Thus, he gained the ring and so his adventures began...

Obviously, Tolkien took some poetic license and created the character Gandalf, but truth be told, this too was based on Moshe who was also a famed wizard (along with Aharon), refer to his staff and his battle with the Egyptian Necromancers עיין שם.

In fact such was Tolkien's audacious show of plagiarism the Targum Yonasan on that very pasuk hints to the authors impending appropriation...

וטלקון אֵינַשׁ חוּטְרֵיהּ וַהֲווֹ לְחָרְמָנִין וּמִן יַד אִתְהֲפִּיכוּ לְמֶהֱוֵי כְּמִן שֵׁירוּיָא וּבְלַע חוּטְרָא דְאַהֲרן יַת חוּטְרֵיהוֹן

Either read it literally i.e. "Each cast down his rod, and they turned into serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed their rods." Or rather see b'derech remez:

And the man Tolkien, will adopt a snake-like (read devious) behaviour. But Aharon's stick (i.e. the genuine Torah-true mehalach) shall swallow that of those fame-seeking pretenders..."

Answer 2

גנדולף is gematria 173. He who understands, understands.

Answer 3

• I am a servant of the Secret Fire... You cannot pass! : This is a clear reference to the primordial form of the Torah which was written in White Fire on Black Fire.
• Even the discords of Melkor contributed to the glory of creation. : When the world was created, Melkor, an evil angel, sought to wrest the world to his own purposes. This caused great chaos throughout time, but ultimately resulted in a greater glory of creation than would have been possible without Melkor's dischords. This is a clear reference to the idea that by overcoming the yetzer ha'ra we achieve a greater kavod shamayim than would have been possible had we not have had bechirah.
• The destruction of the One Ring: In a private letter, Tolkien explains that it was actually impossible to destroy the ring because as the ring bearer approached the place of creation of the One Ring, the lust for power would inevitably overwhelm him. It was only the guiding hand of God that pushed Gollum and caused him to fall into the lava flow, causing the destruction of the One Ring. This is a clear reference to (Kiddushin 30b) "ואמר ר"ש בן לוי יצרו של אדם מתגבר עליו בכל יום ומבקש המיתו שנאמר צופה רשע לצדיק ומבקש להמיתו ואלמלא הקב"ה עוזרו אין יכול לו"

Answer 4

From your comment:

There were 19 rings made. 3 were given to the elves, and 7 to the dwarves and 9 were given to men. But there was another ring apart, to bind them. One ring to rule them all.

This is the Sefirot. The three rings for the elves are Chochma, Bina and Da'at, the Mochin מוחין. The 7 middot were given to the dwarves and the 9 rings given to men hint to the letter Tet ט, which is like an empty vessel ready to receive. That the 9 is comprised of 3 times 3, alluding to the 3 aspects of the service of all mankind (that שם וחם ויפת, the three sons of Noah, who are the ancestors of all mankind, are comprised of 9 letters), through thought מחשבה, speech דבור and action מעשה, Teshuvah תשובה, Tefillah תפילה and Tzedakah צדקה, Fasting צום, Voice קול (including the voice of the Shofar) and Money ממון.

The 1 ring apart, (the 20th ring) to rule them all is Keter. That the letter Kaf כ is 20 and stands for the Crown כתר of Kingship.

In the books by Tolkien, it is explained that the 20th ring bound the others together and ruled them through the desire for gold.

According to Chassidus, Keter is sometimes equated with Ratzon, which can be thought of as a dictator, meaning a determinator of ultimate expression. Keter is makif. But Keter is also associated with desire תאוה, that which precedes even the level of will רצון, like is found in the first chapter of volume one in Sefer HaMa’amarim בשעה שהקדימו by the Rebbe Rashab. And this is based upon the teaching from Midrash Tanchuma:

אָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָן, בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת הָעוֹלָם, נִתְאַוָּה שֶׁיְּהֵא לוֹ דִּירָה בַּתַּחְתּוֹנִים

If considering the expression, Rings of Power טבעות פווור, by spelling the word "power" phonetically, it will include the Nekuda of Cholam, which also pertains to what transcends even Keter in the kabbalistic concept of Crowns תגים, Ta'amim טעמים (also called Trop), Vowels נקודות, and Letters אותיות. It is represented orthographically with letter "Vav". Similarly, the "W" sound is usually represented with a double "Vav". So the inner letters of the word פווור are 3 "Vavs" or Chai, חי. The word פווור is in small sum, 26, which is represented in prayer as יי. If you look at the small sum of the name represented by יי, meaning יאהדונהי (the name indicating G-d's Kingship), you discover a gematria of 28, כח, which means "power". Rings of Power!

Rings are also associated with and compared to Jewish marriage, symbolizing the union between husband and wife. A ring has no beginning, no end, no Above and no below. It is also the symbol of the eternal bond between G-d and the Jewish people. That the No expressed in all these dimensions actually alludes to the ascending levels of Bittul, nullification of the sense of self that makes possible the true union. In the language of Chassidut, this is compared to the moon one instant before the Molad, when it is at its smallest point, when there is not even a point of light. לית לה מגרמא כלום

And like is noted in the answer from @The GRAPKE, "In a private letter, Tolkien explains that it was actually impossible to destroy the ring because as the ring bearer approached the place of creation of the One Ring, the lust for power would inevitably overwhelm him. It was only the guiding hand of God that pushed Gollum and caused him to fall into the lava flow, causing the destruction of the One Ring."

In this context, it should also be noted that the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai is compared to a marriage between HaKadosh, baruch Hu (the King) and the Jewish people (the Queen). The mountain served as the Chuppah and the Torah was the Ketubah. Moshe was the escort of the King and Aharon was the escort of the Queen (Kenesset Yisrael).