[Avodah] Lying to protect the simple of faith

Akiva Blum ydamyb at gmail.com
Fri Apr 25 04:59:15 PDT 2008


Mikha'el Makovi:
>>>>>>
> > Most importantly, the Gemara
> > itself opines that Yehoshua wrote the end of the Torah - surely Rambam
> > cannot declare Chazal to be heretics!
> > Mikha'el Makovi

> What's the question? Moshe Rabeinu couldn't have written them because that would have
> been not true. But he certainly could have instructed Yehoshua on the exact text to write.
> So the entire Torah is the direct prophecy of Moshe Rabeinu.
>
> Akiva

The Gemara says Moshe could in fact have written them - that's one of
the two (AFAIK) answers the Gemara gives - G-d dictated and Moshe
wrote with his tears.

And yes, Moshe could have instructed Yehoshua on what to write. But
could this Gemara not be read just as well that Yehoshua himself wrote
them independently of Moshe? Unless you can refute my reading, it's
still a valid one. In fact, I'd say my reading is more valid than
yours:

Javing Yehoshua write them literally sitting next to Moshe is
certainly possible, but it is too similar to Moshe himself writing
them, and so I see no reason why the Gemara would offer this as an
alternative to Moshe himself writing it. The Gemara is trying to solve
the difficulty of how a Moshaic Torah could describe Moshe's death -
an obvious problem of chronology; one answer is that Moshe wrote down
his own death at the dictation of Hashem (hence the tears as he wrote,
and with which he wrote), and the other answer is that Yehoshua wrote
it down after Moshe's death ...

<<<<<<<<


What I meant was, Moshe received from Hashem the text for the last 8 pesukim, dictated them to Yehoshua with instructions to write them only AFTER his death.
Thus the chronology is in order, and the entire Torah text is the prophecy of Moshe Rabeinu. The gemorra does not entertain the idea the anything could have been written independently of Moshe (that would be kefira). Even if it would be a valid reading, there is no proof now that the gemorra sanctions post-Moshe additions, since my reading is no less valid (and, I think, the only correct reading).

Git Shabbos and Yom Tom

Akiva



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