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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>From: "Yitzchak Schaffer" <yitzchak.schaffer@gmx.com><BR>Hello
all,<BR><BR>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. ....</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial> --quote--</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>[...] 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; </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>....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; ....</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>--end quote--</DIV>
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<DIV>>>>>></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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.</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR><B>--Toby Katz<BR>================</FONT><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR></B><BR><BR><BR><BR>_____________________</FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>