10:40 AM
Gil Student
Biblical Proofs
Aside from our tradition of the eternal nature of the commandments and the logical proofs for it, medieval scholars also cite biblical proofs for this idea. R. Sa'adia Gaon (Emunos Ve-Dei'os 3:7) wrote:
When I checked in the books I found that what primarily proves this is that many commandments have written about them "beris olam" (an eternal covenant) and "le-doroseikhem" (for your generations). Also, that the Torah writes "Moses commanded us a law, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (Deut. 33:4).In other words, regarding some commandments we are told that they are forever, such as Shabbos (Ex. 31:16) and Yom Kippur (Lev. 23:31). We, therefore, see that the commandments are not for a limited time but forever. This is also seen from the fact that we are told that the commandments are an inheritance of our people, implying a continued application.
The Rambam wrote in Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Yesodei Ha-Torah 9:1:
It is a clear and explicit matter that a commandment is forever, without change, detraction or addition as it says "All this word which I command you, that you shall observe, you shall not add to it nor diminish from it" (Deut. 13:1). And it says, "But the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever (ad olam), that we may do all the words of this law" (Deut. 29:28). We see that we are commanded to perform all the words of the Torah forever. And it also says "It is a statute forever (hukas olam) throughout your generations" (Lev. 23:14).R. David Luria (Radal), in his Hagahos Yad David ad loc., points out that it is out of the ordinary for the Rambam to cite verses, explain them and then cite another verse proving the identical point. Rather, he first quotes all of the verses and only then explains them. If so, why did the Rambam cite two verses (Deut. 13:1, 29:28), explain that we see from the that the commandments are forever and then cite another verse (Lev. 23:14)?
R. Yosef Qafah (ad loc., n. 2) explains that the first two verses prove that the commandments are "le-olam" however the Rambam has not yet proven what "olam" means. Therefore, he cited a further verse (Lev. 23:14) which demonstrates that "olam" refers to all future generations. However, as we shall see, the Rambam later modified his view in Moreh Nevukhim.
An important point of contention in this discussion is the definition of the world le-olam, a qualified of many commandments in the Torah.
1. R. Sa'adia Gaon (Emunos Ve-Dei'os 3:9) wrote that there are three definitions of this term: A. a period of 50 years, B. the lifetime of the referent, C. for the entire span of the existence of the world.
2. R. Yonah Ibn Janah (Sefer Ha-Shorashim sv. al"m) wrote that it means either: A. the distant past, B. the lifespan of something.
3. The Rambam (Moreh Nevukhim 2:28) wrote:
We must, however, bear in mind that olam only signifies perpetuity when it is combined with ad: it makes no difference whether ad follows, as in "olam va-ed," or whether it precedes, as in "ad olam".
R. Yosef Albo (Sefer Ha-Ikkarim 3:16) poses significant challenges to those who argue that one can proof the eternity of the Torah from the biblical usage of the word "olam." He argues from the following verses:
1."Remove not the ancient landmark (gevul olam) which your fathers have set" (Prov. 22:28) which refers to something ancient, not eternal.
2. Similarly, "For of old time (me-olam) I have broken your yoke" (Jer. 2:20).
3. And, "Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant to the Lord as in the days of old (ki-yemei olam)" (Mal. 3:4).
4. "I will dwell in Your tent forever (olamim)" (Ps. 61:5) which refers to a long but limited time.
5. Similarly, "O Israel, that is saved by the Lord with an everlasting (olamim) salvation" (Isa. 45:17) that refers to the salvation from Sanheriv.
6. Also, "It has been already, in the ages (le-olamim) which were before us" (Eccl. 1:10).
7. It can also mean a short time, such as in "And he shall serve him forever (le-olam" (Ex. 21:6).
8. And in "When I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord, and there abide forever (ad olam)" (1 Sam. 1:22) which the Sages tell us refer to the olam of Levi, a relatively short period.
9. "For the palace shall be forsaken; the city with its stir shall be deserted; the mound and the tower shall be for dens forever (ad olam)" (Isa. 32:14) and then in the next verse "Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high" implying a terminal period.
10. "And He bore them and carried them all the days of old (kol yemei olam)" and then in the next verse "But they rebelled and grieved His holy spirit; therefore He was turned to be their enemy, Himself fought against them" (Isa. 63:9-10).
These all seem to indicate that olam does not refer to eternity. However, according to the Rambam above, the only valid challenges are from ad olam or olam va-ed, which appear in only numbers 8 and 9. However, from the context of those verses one can see that the phrases were not meant literally. The simple meaning of the verse is that it is referring to Shmuel's lifetime (as the Radak explained) and the phrase is not meant literally. Number 9 above is not only not a challenge to the Rambam's view, but a proof for him. The phrase "ad olam" is insufficient on its own and must be immediately modified (see Rashi and Abarbanel, ad loc.). If it actually meant a long but limited time, then there would not have been any need to modify the phrase. However, since it literally means forever, the prophet had to immediately modify it to indicate that he did not mean it literally.
(B"n to be continued)
Note that translations here are only slight modifications of the JPS 1917 translation. Convenience trumped accuracy.
