Zoo Torah

No this is not about my wild experiences in the yeshiva classroom. Nor does this respond to those who feel I belong behind bars but that’s another matter. This here is about Rabbi Slifkin and his attempts to reconcile Torah and science.

I heard three lectures by Rabbi Slifkin this past weekend and he makes a lot of sense. He has helped me reconcile some troubling aspects of Torah. For instance, scientifically the creation story in Genesis is inaccurate. Even those who claim that each day was an era, still plants couldn’t come before the sun. Simple answer: It’s an ALLEGORY serving to teach us a lesson. It is not a scientific document. Its message is to combat creation mythologies of other religions where cosmic battles are fought and the victor creates the world. Other creation myths begin similarly with chaos and then a great battle ensures. The reader of Genesis is primed to hear such a tale with the preface that the universe was a void. But then a very different story emerges. Here the unity of God is espoused and from that unity levels of differentiation occurred (He said differentiation was explained in his book so I can't elaborate on this).

The specific mention of Tanin on a later day of creation is a direct challenge to those who believe that Tanin (one of the cosmic sea creatures) was one of the gods involved in the battles before creation. Here the Torah says, God created everything in the universe even the likes of Tanin. The theological lessons of Genesis are in no way minimized by its lack of scientific authenticity precisely because it isn't meant to be a blueprint of actual creation.

In similar vein, the DINOSAURS are not mentioned because the people who this Torah was meant for, the Jews of 3,500 yrs ago knew nothing of dinosaurs and it would be meaningless to them. If they were told the age of the world and the millions of years, which dinosaurs ruled, mankind would suddenly feel insignificant. The creation story focuses on man being the culmination of God's creation. Revelation of creatures that ruled the earth far longer would minimize the message of the Torah but more importantly it would be meaningless in the context of the people's lives at the time. Context is critical. Know your audience. It boils down to the first people who were to receive the message of the Torah. Giving them such a radical, earth shaking perspective of the world; one so different from their level of understanding nature, would be more confusing, require more explanation, be harder to swallow. The truth…you can’t handle the truth!

The Jews were familiar with the animals of their region that is why kangaroos are not mentioned (as it was unknown and meaningless to the first adherents to the Bible). I read a 99-page "letter to my rabbi" a while back, which challenges the Torah's supposed all-encompassing details regarding the animal kingdom.. In the past, “4 animal species [are] mentioned in the Torah as irrefutable proof of it being God's word” (as per Ari the skeptic). Yet there are exceptions not listed in the Torah but do exist and thus a great proof went up in smoke. So we need to look at scripture and see if we can understand it correctly in light of new evidence. Well simply put, the Torah spoke to its original audience where extraneous information might make it unacceptable to buy into (as described in the previous paragraph).

Rabbi Slifkin had an interesting approach to MIRACLES. God created the laws of nature/physics. Like Rambam and Ralbag, Rabbi Slifkin tries to minimize the occurrences of miracles. Miracles actually DETRACT from the greatness of God. Picture Windows XP program. Suddenly difficulty crops up and a repair or update program must be added. This signifies a deficit in the original programming. If it was originally perfect, all contingencies would have been accounted for. God, in his infinite wisdom created a perfect set of laws that during the course of history would unfold as needed in the divine plan. If we say He needs to make miracles that defy his original laws that shows an inherent weakness in His original program. Thus miracles having a logical explanation actually enhance His greatness.

Timing of ‘miracles’ is probably a more appropriate way of defining miracles. That is what I would call the essence of the miracle. Timing, as I see it, does not detract from God.

I see no harm in trying to reinterpret text in a way that make then not only meaningful but valid as well. I recognize that the testament to the value of a religion is its ability to make itself meaningful to successive generations. And while I see many of the stories as allegorical or metaphorical, I still derive important life lessons. So even if something is not literally true it is still possible for it to yield truth.

Overall, I felt that Rabbi Slifkin had a very honest approach to Torah and science. We just need to recognize God's hand in the wonders of science.

I should just conclude with Joseph Campbell. He expressed concern that we have fallen short, today, in our potential ability to take ancient mythology and religion (with all their valued lessons) and make them relevant and meaningful today. The story or more accurately the interpretation of the story must change, mold, and morph to assume its role as our guide to the world. I don't know too many people brave enough to walk that path but I think Rabbi Slifkin might be one of them.

I just found a more detailed blog about Rabbi Slifkin's speech here .