If you are new to learning Torah, it helps to have some guidance and instruction. It is similar to Shakespeare. His work is brilliant and displays an understanding of human nature better than perhaps anyone. However, it was generally written in poetry using English as it existed in Elizabethan England in the 17^th Century. It really helps to have guidance to help understand the linguistic and cultural references.

The Torah was written 2,500 years ago, in ancient Hebrew. Not only are there multiple ways it can be translated, but the cultural references can be obscure to a novice.

Part of my job as a Community rabbi is to help you understand the Torah, and empower you to begin studying it on your own. Sefaria.org is a free website that offers multiple translations and access to line-by-line commentary. I’ll teach you how to use it.

The Torah was written during the Babylonian exile, incorporating pre-existing scrolls written by multiple authors. We do not know who these writers were, nor do we know who the redactor was that put together the different versions. It is kind of cool because the work of different writers is spliced together.

Look at the creation story in Genesis. There are actually two creation stories, written by different authors. Who Wrote the Bible by Richard Elliot Freeman is a very readable book that explains the Documentary Hypothesis, one of the main theories about how the Torah was written.

No, the Torah was written by humans. In fact, there were multiple authors of the Torah, whose writing was put together into a single work of five books. While this has been known to academics since the nineteenth century, and to most Rabbis for the last 100 years, there still is a misconception by many that the Torah was written by God or Moses. These views persist today among the ultra-orthodox. I’d love to talk to you about it and explain more.

In the Jewish tradition, absolutely not. Jews have always intended the Torah to be interpreted and not read literally. In fact, many other books of the Jewish bible are a subtle or not-so-subtle commentary on the Torah. We have records of the rabbinic commentary on the Torah going back thousands of years. I’d love to empower you to join this conversation with your own interpretations.

Many Christian traditions do interpret the Torah literally, but not Jewish tradition.

As a community rabbi, I have no independent source of income and ask for compensation for my Torah classes after the initial meetings. I charge on a sliding scale – no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Sacred literature refers to a book or written work that has spiritual significance. Some people see sacred literature like the Torah as an absolute cannon that can’t be changed, only interpreted.

While I believe the Torah is sacred literature, my emphasis is more on the literature than on the sacred. It was written and edited by people, who I think were inspired by the Divine. As a writer, I know what this feels like.

Other people consider The Talmud as sacred literature and refer to it as the Oral Torah. While the Talmud has a lot of really good commentary, it was written for the Jewish community of the late Roman Empire, to help establish Jewish religious practice after the destruction of the Temple. I do not consider it sacred and prefer to write commentary that is applicable to life in the 21^st century.

The Oral Torah refers to the Talmud, which was written down in stages between 200 and 600 CE. The Rabbis who authored it called it the Oral Torah, claiming that they were just writing down information that was given to Moses orally on Mount Sinai along with the written Torah.

The Rabbis did this to give their innovative teachings of the time the same authority as the written Torah. While some Orthodox communities still refer to the Talmud as the Oral Torah and hold its words as sacred and immutable, more liberal denominations view the Talmud as a source of wisdom and Jewish Law, but not authoritative in the same way.

As a 21^st century community Rabbi, I see the Talmud as an important Jewish text, but not divinely authored, any more than I see the written Torah as divinely authored. 

Yes. The Talmud is an incredibly important document that covers 22 volumes. It has great guidance for Jewish legal questions as well as moral teachings.

We should never forget, however, that it was written to establish how people should be Jewish in the time of the Roman Empire after the destruction of the Second Temple. Putting those views in conversation with life today is powerful.