Appendix
D
The
Talmud: Inspired or Uninspired?
The Talmud is the collection of
ancient Rabbinic writings constituting the basis of religious authority for
traditional Judaism. It consists of the Mishnah, the textbook of the Talmud, and
the Gemara and is published along with other commentaries, including those of
the Babylonian Geonim (8th-10th centuries), Rashi (11th century), and the
Tosafot (France/Germany, 12th-13th centuries).
The Oral Law?
According to the Rabbis, God gave
Moses two Torahs (laws) at Mount Sinai, the written and the Oral Torah. The five
books of the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy) comprise the written
Torah. The Oral torah was allegedly handed down by word of mouth to Joshua, by
Joshua to the Elders, by the Elders to the Prophets, and by the Prophets to the
men of the Great Assembly (the soferim Avot 1:1).
The Mishnah is the codification
of these oral traditions by Rabbi Judah Ha Nasi. Around 200 A.D., he compiled
and committed to writing the Oral Torah. The Gemara is a commentary on the
Mishnah, one being compiled in Israel (the Jerusalem Talmud) and the other in
Babylon (the Babylonian Talmud). One Jewish Encyclopedia had this to say about
the Gemara:
In the course of interpreting and
discussing the laws and decisions of their predecessors, the Tannaim, they often
found obscure passages and contradictory opinions in the Mishnah. The Amoraim
sought to reconcile the varying opinions, and to draw clear conclusion from the
mass of conflicting material. For over two hundred years after the completion of
the Mishnah, this intellectual activity continued (c.2000-c.450). The
commentaries on the Mishnah by the Amoraim are known as the Gemara, an Aramaic
word meaning study.1
The Importance of the Talmud
The Talmud regulates virtually
every aspect of a Jew's life, from the time he gets up to the time he goes to
sleep. His prayer life, down to the very words he must say, work, sexual
relations with his spouse, are just a sampling of its regulations. Obedience to
the oral Torah is incumbent on all Jews. It is averred that if one does not
adhere to the oral Torah and Rabbinic tradition he has no inheritance among the
sons of Israel:
R. Johanan: God made a covenant
with Israel only for the sake of that which was transmitted orally, as it says,
'For by the mouth of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with
Israel' (Exodus 34:27). (Babylonian Talmud Tractate Gittin 60b).
Supersedes the Written Word
Traditional Judaism exalts the
Talmud above the Bible itself. Quoting the Jerusalem Talmud:
Some matters of law were
transmitted orally, and some matters of law were transmitted in writing, but we
do not know which of these are deemed more weighty. But [we can derive an
answer] on the basis of that which is written [in Scripture], 'For in accordance
with these commandments I make a covenant with you and with Israel' (Exod.
34:27). This proves that those [commandments] transmitted orally are more
weighty (Jerusalem Talmud Tractate Peah 2.6).
By What Authority?
You would think that with all the
reverence given to the Talmud by traditional Judaism, there would at least be
one unequivocal allusion to it in the Bible.2 But, shockingly there is no
mention of it in the Tanakh whatsoever. The reference in Exodus 34:37 refers to
the written Torah!
And the Lord said unto
Moses,...Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made
a covenant with thee and with Israel...And he wrote upon the tables the words of
the covenant, the ten commandments (Exodus 34:27-28).
It is clear that Moses, by Divine
inspiration, wrote down precisely what God had conveyed. If anyone would have
been acutely familiar with the so-called Oral Torah, it would have been Joshua,
Moses' successor, friend, and confidante. But far from commending the "Oral
Torah" to us, Joshua enjoins strict adherence to the written text:
Only be thou strong and very
courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses
my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left,
that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall
not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that
thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then
thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success
(Joshua 1:7-8).
This emphatic injunction to
meditate on God's law day and night precludes a life-long study of the Talmud.
Feeling the weight of these clear references, Judaism appeals to spurious proof
texts in search of biblical authority. R. Jeremiah cites (Lamentation 3:6) and
states: "In dark places that he has set me to dwell," [Lam. iii.6],
which means the Babylonian Talmud" (Sanhedrin 25a). Truly from virtual
darkness (no Scriptural authority), has evolved the immense "sea of the
Talmud" with its two-and-a-half million words. Tragically, many traditional
Jews mistakenly believe that the knowledge of God's will lies hidden amid its
endless labyrinths.
False Doctrines
When Jesus charged the Pharisees
with making void the commands of God by adding their own man-made tradition of
the religious washing of hands before eating (Matt. 15:1-9), He reinforced the
principles previously laid down by Moses and the prophets:
"Ye shall not add unto the
word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may
keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you." (Deut.
4:2).
"What thing soever I command
you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it."
(Deut 13:1).
"Add thou not unto his
words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." (Prov. 30:6).
These verses serve written notice
to anyone who would presumptuously tamper with God's Word. By exalting the
Talmud above the Tanakh itself, traditional Judaism has inadvertently violated
the "do not add or take away" prohibitions.
Messiah Ben Joseph
Rejecting Zechariah's (12:10)
clear illusion to the suffering Messiah Jesus, Sigal turns to the mythological
Messiah Ben Joseph: "Then they [Israel] shall mourn for him [the slain of
Israel as personified by the leader of the people]...the warrior Messiah, the
Son of Joseph who will die in battle at that time [B.T. Sukkah 52a]" (Sigal,
pp. 80,82).
There is not one reference in all
the Tanakh to the warrior Messiah Son of Joseph. This is why Sigal had to resort
to the Talmud for authority. But, as demonstrated, there are numerous references
to the suffering Messiah Ben David. Why invent another Messiah, when the Bible
clearly teaches but one?
Marriage and Divorce
Where in the Tanakh is the
legislation referred to by Levine in the following quote?
Thus the Talmud (Shabbos 56a)
says that all of the men in David's army divorced their wives before they went
to war, just in case they disappeared and their wives would not know if they
could remarry. Thus, it was not adultery, but it still was not proper, since
they planned to remarry as soon as the war was over (Levine, p.112).
Here is a prime example of how
Judaism is led away from the truth of the written text by undue veneration of
the Talmud. If Uriah divorced his wife before going to battle, why did he refer
to Bathsheba as his wife when he spoke to David about her afterwards (2 Sam.
11:11; cf. 11:26)? Jesus said: "Therefore what God has joined together, let
not man separate" (Matt. 19:6).
In view of the foregoing, we must
conclude that the Talmud is not inspired, but is rather the tradition of men.