Spiritual and
Ethical Issues in the Historical Books of Tanach;
JOSHUA, JUDGES, SAMUEL, KINGS (Nevi’im Rishonim) These four books ostensibly are merely the history of Israel from the entry into the Promised Land until the destruction of the Temple and the temporary loss of independent statehood. In fact they are actually, in a specifically Jewish sense, the most deeply religious and spiritual books of the Bible. One does not have to be specifically Jewish to see or feel the religion and spirituality in the revelations of the prophetic writings or in the words of the Tehillim. They speak to all people, as evidenced by the fact that the Bible is still the world's bestseller and there are millions of non-Jews who regularly recite the Psalms. However, it is specifically and intrinsically Jewish to understand that G-d is revealed in the prosaic material, in the political, social and military events in the lives of ordinary men and women, kings and leaders that are described in the Nevim Rishonim. Here are described the ideology and religious thoughts in Judaism, while in Chronicles we have the purely historical.
What is the Message of Sefer B'reishit? "This is the Book of the generations of Man" (Gen. 5:1); said Ben Zoma, "This is a greater principle in Torah" (Yerushalmi Nedarim 9:4). "This is the only place in Tanach where the generations are spoken about, as a book" (Ramban); and that is what B'reishit is about, men and women. According to Rambam, originally Hashem considered Mankind to be a suitable vessel for His Holiness, and only when they were not capable of this did He narrow it done to the family of Avraham. B'reishit then is the story of that narrowing down to one special nation. Ramban argues that a priori Israel was chosen to be the vessel for the world to learn of Hashem and to keep His ways. The purpose of B'reishit was to show that Israel came from a pure and holy seed; so it is the story of how they came from Seth, Noah, Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov and his 12 sons. Irrespective, both Rambam and Ramban agree that B'reishit is an introduction to the other four books in which the central player is Am Yisrael, their meetings with Hashem, and their historical experiences which become spiritual revelations.
In B'reishit we are told of pious and saintly
personalities whose lives, stories and meetings with G-d have inspired and
served as religious models for millions of people, Jewish and others, for
thousands of years. They have sons and daughters, populate a physical world
and earn their livelihood. These are spiritual giants and even their
wrongdoings are those of people on a high spiritual level. They are exposed
to severe and trying moral and spiritual dilemmas, yet overcome them. Hashem
guides and teaches them, doing acts of Chesed to them, but also judges them,
albeit always in love. They in turn have spiritual and religious
experiences, pray to Him and He speaks with them and grants them glimpses of
His Glory. All this demonstrates conclusively and repetitively that human
men and women can reach the highest ethical and moral levels through being
in contact with HaShem, directly, without an intermediary in any form,
celestial, natural or human. The religiosity and spirituality of individuals that is a need and an achievement sufficient for all mankind, is not the purpose and mission of Judaism. Therefore, B'reishit is only an introduction, a necessary condition yet an insufficient one for Jews. For us there is," And I shall take you to Me [G-d] to be a nation" (Exodus 6:7). Rabbi S. R. Hirsch explains that in Judaism we do find also what is understood normally as religion; gods have temples, churches, priesthood and congregations, while the nations are built on utilitarian relationships between people and kings, rulers and governments. However, only in Judaism do we find religion as expressed through the social, political and commercial activities of a whole people. Judaism envisages an 'Am' creating on its destined Land a complete social structure devoted to G-d, beyond what 'Goyim', a collection of individuals, can achieve in their spiritual and moral strivings. Usually a faith is continued through disciples or through relatives but here it was to be carried on through children who would constitute a biological basis for Avraham's faith - 'Am'. That 'Am', like any other nation required a land. However, unlike all other nations, their chosen land preceded the formation of the people; "Hashem said to Avraham, 'Go unto a land that I will show you. And there I will make of you a great nation'" (Gen.12:1-2). At first the promise was a vague one but gradually, the specific country and its boundaries were identified step by step with the definition of the Abrahamic family-nation. When his nephew Lot separated from him, Avraham was told, "Look northward, southward, eastward and westward. All the land that you can see to you and your descendants I shall give it". When his disciple Eliezer was discarded, the boundaries of the land were given and Avraham was promised a son. A further refinement was made by the exclusion of Ishmael, the son of Hagar in favor of a son to be born to Sarah and to Avraham. Later, Eisav, envisaged by the mystics as the dross of Avraham and Yitschak, was cast off, and the land became the inheritance of the 12 sons of Jacob. In all other religions and spiritual movements the founders are given the teachings of that religion and then the faith is spread to others. However, as befits the nation to G-d, our Torah was only revealed to Am Yisrael after leaving Egypt and not to the Founder Patriarchs. Even the promise "And I shall be a G-d to you" (Gen. 17:7) was only revealed to Avraham, after the promises of a clearly defined land and of the offspring that would constitute a nation. The story of the realization of those promises is the story of B'reishit. This is the 86th installment in Dr. Tamari’s series on “Tanach and its messages for our times” [The
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