[Avodah] RSRH on nature of Torah; implications for Dox vs. Prax

[T613K at aol.com]

From: "Yitzchak Schaffer" <yitzchak.schaffer at gmx.com>
Hello  all,

In contrasting the Torah with "religion" and its trappings  (theology, 
worship), R' Hirsch comes to contrast thought/belief/opinion with  practice in a 
way that seems like it might have relevance to the recent  Orthoprax 
discussion. I haven't thought it out yet, but I thought I'd share now.  This is 
from Sivan I in the Collected Writings, v.1. ....
 
 --quote--
[...] But unlike "religion" the Torah is not the thought of man, but  the 
thought of God, expressed in Divine Laws which are to be carried out by man  
as symbolic actions. It is by these symbolic actions ordained in the Torah 
that  the Divine thought is first implanted in man. This symbolic action is,  
therefore, of primary importance; 
 
....This idea has important legal consequences. ..... He who  celebrates 
Sabbath in the Divine symbolical language of abstention from work has  
proclaimed the truth that God created the world; ....
 
--end quote--
 
 
>>>>>
 
It may help to recall that Hirsch was (at least in part) addressing the  
arguments of the Reformers, who said that you could transmit the spirit of  
the law -- including the belief that G-d created the world -- without having 
to  get hung up on the minutiae of Sabbath laws.  Christians have a similar  
belief, namely, that they -- Christians -- emphasize the spirit of the law,  
while Jews (or Orthodox Jews) emphasize the letter of the law at the 
expense of  the spirit.  Yes, what Reform says about Orthodoxy parallels what  
Christianity says about Judaism (and sometimes, what MO say about RW), and  
Hirsch knocked down their fatuous arguments over and over throughout his  
brilliant and inspiring writings.



--Toby Katz
================





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