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He notes that if the text of the Bible is not Divine revelation—a premise about which modern liberal (i.e., non-Orthodox) Jews have a great deal of uncertainty—then where is the obligation to observe the mitzvot? For if the Bible is not the Revealed Word of God, it must be in whole or in part a human product.
Feb 20, 2024 · By Jacob Kornbluh February 20, 2024. Orthodox Jews in the U.S. have embraced Zionism more strongly since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, but groups within Orthodoxy hold widely divergent views ...
- God’s Law Is Unchanging, But Its Application Does Change
- Who May Authorize Changes in The Application of Halakhah?
- Change in Jewish Law Is A Reality, Not A Value
Torah does not change. But in one sense, halakhah does change. For halakhah is the application of Torah to specific circumstance, and circumstances change. What then are the parameters within which the law is given to adjustment? This is Maimonides’ classic formulation: "God knew that the judgements of the Law will always require an extension in so...
This is compounded by the issue of juridical authority, hinted at in Maimonides’ reference to the Great Sanhedrin. This supreme court had considerable powers to create new law. But as its jurisdiction grew more circumscribed under Roman rule and as the center of Jewish life shifted to Babylon, Jewry was left without a central authority. According t...
But it would certainly be wrong to see change as a value in Jewish law. To the contrary, the central underlying proposition of the halakhah is that it articulates, within the limits of human understanding, the will of God as set forth in the Torah. Rabbinic tradition sees all valid Jewish law as inherent in the original revelation at Sinai. It is u...
- Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
The mitzvot are the commandments by which Jews have to live. In total, there are 613 commandments. The mitzvot stretch into every aspect of life for a Jewish person. Keeping these means living a ...
Out of the 613 Mitzvot mentioned in the Torah, there are six mitzvot which the Sefer Hachinuch calls "constant mitzvot": "We have six mitzvot which are perpetual and constant, applicable at all times, all the days of our lives". To know God, and that God created all things. Not to have any god(s) beside God; To know God's Oneness. To fear God.
Aug 21, 2013 · Aug 21, 2013. The Jewish religion is not heavy on doctrine, nor does it have a credo that its followers must accept in order to be Jews in good standing. Leading a Jewish life, at least from the religious point of view, is to take on the “yoke of the mitzvot,” the commandments that include instructions for how to comport oneself in almost ...
