14
votes
Accepted
Should we interpret the Torah literally or allegorically?
Almost everyone will agree that neither extreme is correct. That is to say, that almost no one will interpret every word of the Torah literally, and almost no one will interpret every word of the ...
- 49.1k
13
votes
Accepted
Did manna really fall from heaven according to Rambam or Gersonides?
Both Maimonides and Gersonides believed that manna fell from heaven.
Maimonides discusses the verse which describes the manna as raining down from the doors of heaven and asserts that the "doors ...
- 49.1k
11
votes
Accepted
What is the firmament?
The notion of a semi-spherical shell around the world, that the sun travels under during the day, and then back around and over at night is not necessarily the early Israelite understanding of ...
- 9,418
11
votes
Accepted
What causes a person to remain in this world as a ghost?
R. Ezekiel Landau discusses this aspect of the tale in his commentary there. He explains that the spirit cannot leave the body until the body decomposes, and that is why we conduct burials in a manner ...
- 49.1k
9
votes
Is it heresy to read the Bible literally?
the quote about what Rav Saadia Gaon believed regarding literal vs. non-literal interpretation is correct but incomplete. After he writes "it is a well known fact that every statement found in the ...
7
votes
Is it heresy to read the Bible literally?
I wrote to Rabbi Sacks and he said that he believes the story of Adam and Eve to be true, but that he did not have the time to explain it to Richard Dawkins in the debate. He, therefore, suggested ...
- 1,264
7
votes
How Should I Understand Gemaras Where People Quote Pesukim that Were not yet Written at the Time the Story Takes Place?
Tosafos (Gittin 68a, ד"ה וכתיב) addresses this very point, and refers to that episode in Bava Basra:
אף על פי שזה הפסוק לא נכתב עדיין היו יודעין כמו ארור עושה מלאכת ה' רמיה בפ' לא יחפור (ב"...
- 7,781
6
votes
Is there any sect of Judaism that interprets both the written Torah and oral Torah literally
Your question presents contradictory ideas.
Anyone that accepts the validity of the Oral law has inherently acknowledged that he is not translating the Written Law literally. That's the whole reason ...
- 70k
6
votes
Accepted
Drawing my own conclusions from the Torah
There are some areas where drawing your own conclusions is harmless, and some where it can be a big problem. Drawing your own conclusions when it will impact halacha is extremely dangerous, because ...
- 58.3k
5
votes
Drawing my own conclusions from the Torah
Welcome aboard @Gabe12. It's a good and understandable question.
In the beginning of learning Torah, like any other subject, it is important to get the data correct. That means quieting your own ...
- 14.3k
5
votes
Rashi and Corporealism
Rashi in Bereishis 1:26 mentions the Pasuk in Melachim that refers to right and left of Hashem. Rashi continues, Is there a right and left of Hashem? Only it means those saying merits, which is ...
- 4,988
5
votes
What is the firmament?
There are different opinions regarding the nature of the rakia. One opinion is that of R. Avraham Ibn Ezra who writes in his commentary to Genesis (1:6) (Shitta acheret) as follows:
והנכון בעיני, כי ...
- 35.4k
5
votes
Accepted
Does Jewish tradition hold the book of Jonah to be depicting historical events?
Mikra (the TaNaCh), as opposed to Aggadaic Medrashim and Talmudic passages, are not allegories. Even when the verse is hinting a lesson, we learn that אין מקרא יוצא מידי פשוטו, the verse does not ...
- 4,988
5
votes
Can Angels "fall"?
Yehuda Shirpin points out multiple sources where angels did indeed make a mistake -
Chagigah 15a where Metatron was whipped
Rashi (Bereishis 19:22) where the Angels destroying Sedom are handicapped ...
- 13.8k
5
votes
Accepted
Why does HaShem say, "I rebuke you Satan" in Zech 3:1-2.?
Read the Pesukim in context, with an assist from Rashi, and all will become clear.
וַיַּרְאֵ֗נִי אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙ הַכֹּהֵ֣ן הַגָּד֔וֹל עֹמֵ֕ד לִפְנֵ֖י מַלְאַ֣ךְ יְהוָ֑ה וְהַשָּׂטָ֛ן עֹמֵ֥ד עַל־...
- 34.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Did Shem's physical body (or) Shem's teachings remain alive 600 years?
There are a number of sources that point to the fact that Shem did indeed live a long life and also lived to see some of the personalities that you mention above.
Firstly by way of introduction, the ...
- 30.3k
4
votes
Accepted
Is the Leviatan real?
In general, rabbinic commentators (e.g. Maimonides, Maharal, Ramchal, Vilna Gaon) have been strongly opposed to the literal interpretation of medrash, and these midrashim are no exception.*
To quote ...
- 17.7k
4
votes
Plants before the Sun in the Order of Creation
Ralbag has two explanations of the order of creation that can address this. The first explanation is that everything existed at once. The sequence delineated in Genesis is just the order in which they ...
- 49.1k
4
votes
Drawing my own conclusions from the Torah
Scripture, meaning Tanakh, is only Cliff Notes (or Spark Notes, if you prefer) to a larger body of knowledge. The "Oral Torah". Yes, one plane of understanding it is the simple meaning, and anyone can ...
- 9,418
4
votes
Is the story of Gan Eden Literally true?
Ralbag writes that the serpent is allegorical but Adam and Eve are real. His proof is that it would be very improper to say that a creature originally had the faculty of speech, but was then given a ...
- 49.1k
4
votes
Does the story of R. Bena'a in the Cave of Macpelah imply that G-d has a physical form?
Depending on what you mean by "imply", yes, the Talmudic passage does imply that God has a physical form/image.
The simple reading of the passage is that God has an image/form. If not for the fact ...
- 49.1k
4
votes
Are there any respected rabbis who say that the Avot did not follow all of the laws of the Torah before it was given?
Rama in teshuvos yud. Says only Avraham kept the Torah not rest of Avos. The Rambam malachim implies that the Avos didn't keep the whole Torah, only a select few mitzvos. Which is difficult since the ...
- 2,525
3
votes
How was the world created through the even shesiya?
Art Scroll Talmud Yomah 54b1 note 9 explains that the even shesiyay is symbolic of the purpose of the world and the ideal on which it is founded (Meiri). Notes 10, 12, and 25 cite Rashi, that it was ...
- 42.9k
3
votes
The snake slept with Chavah?
There are two possible issues here:
1) Did Chava commit adultery against Adam by having relations with the snake?
2) Did Chava commit bestiality by having relations with the snake?
Now of course ...
- 10.7k
3
votes
The Stones of Yaakov
The Meiri suggests a non-literal interpretation of the Midrash in his introduction to Beit HaBehira:
וכן דרכי התורה יודיעו הטוב והרע והיודעיו ישוב בנקל מחטאיו או ישמור עצמו מתחלתו שלא לעשותם...שאם ...
- 35.4k
3
votes
Sources for seeing the Exodus as metaphorical rather than historical
In K'tav Hitnatzlut, an apologetic letter Rabbi Yeda'ayah Ha'pnini wrote as a reply to a cherem from the Rashbah on his philosophical views, he only makes a passing mention of Yetziat Mitzrayim, but ...
- 24.9k
3
votes
Did Og exist or was he a metaphor?
R. David Tzvi Hoffman in his commentary to Deuteronomy 3:11 gives a large size for Og based on the bedstead described there. However, he then quotes the opinion of Jean Leclerc (?) that Og ...
- 49.1k
3
votes
Do we know of any animals that behave this way? (Bava Basra 16a)
Dr. Slifkin writes (The Torah Encyclopedia of The Animal Kingdom p. 234) writes:
Taken at face value, these descriptions do not concur with our knowledge of what actually happens; deer are observed ...
- 11.9k
3
votes
Biblical description of the firmament vs. round earth in the Zohar
There is no contradiction; they talk about two points of view.
The litteral meaning of the Bible's verses, doesn't talk about a physical/scientific reality. But rather from an everyday-life point of ...
- 1,495
3
votes
Migdal Bavel during the times of the Gemara?
Indeed, some rabbinic travelers identified the tower:
R. Benjamin of Tudela
ומשם ארבעה מילין למגדל שבנו דור הפלגה והוא בנוי מלבנים הנקראים אגור ואורך יסודו כשני מילין וברחבו כארבעי' אמה וארכו כמו ...
- 49.1k
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