QUESTION:
How could you prove to a small believer that the Torah was Divinely given and wasn't man made?
ANSWER:
Once a Rosh Yeshiva was sitting in his house, in America - this story is about 50 years ago. He was a European Rosh Yeshiva; he was on Henry Street sitting in his room where he was staying in America. A man came in with his son. The son brought his father, and the father said to the Rosh Yeshiva; "How do I know that the Torah was given at Sinai"? So the Rosh Yeshiva said, “Do you believe there was a Napoleon?”
“Oh yes,” said the man, “certainly.”
The Rosh Yeshiva said, “Did you see Napoleon?”
“No, never saw him.”
“Did you see anybody that saw him?”
“No.”
“How do you know that there was a Napoleon?”
“Everybody said so!”
So he said, “You know, there a lot of people in this world who never heard of Napoleon, a lot of people. Millions in India, millions, never heard of Napoleon. Millions!”
There are more people that heard about giving the Torah at Sinai, than heard of Napoleon. So if you believe what everybody says, that there was a Napoleon, means you're going after a great number of witnesses, or people who are handing over traditions. There's a still greater number, because all the Mohammedan's say that Hashem gave the Torah to the Jewish people at Sinai; there are millions and millions of Mohammedan's.
All the Christians say that Hashem gave the Torah to the Jewish people at Har Sinai, and the Jewish people surely say that. So you have so many witnesses. So therefore unless you stop believing in Napoleon or you stop believing in George Washington, then you have to believe in the Torah. Nobody saw George Washington today. Nobody saw anybody that saw George Washington, and still when Washington's Birthday comes they talk about George Washington all the time. They are convinced that he was there.
Oh, there are books of George Washington, you say.
There are books about Moshe Rabbeinu, certainly. There's the whole Torah that talks about Moshe Rabbeinu. Shmosand Vayikra and Bamidbar and Devorim, and Sefer Yehoshua, and Sefer Shoftim, they all talk about Moshe Rabbeinuconstantly. Shmuel Aleph and Shmuel Bais, “you should walk in the ways of the Toras Moshe”, and Melachim Aleph andMelochim Bais, and then comes Yeshaya and Yirmaya, many books speak about him So we have books upon books, besides the books of the gentiles. So therefore, how can you prove to a non-believer that there was a Napoleon? If you'll prove to him that there is Napoleon, then Al Achas Kama V'kama, you can tell him he can safely believe there was a Moshe Rabbeinu and a Matan Torah.
HaRav Avigdor Miller, zt"l
Comments
Post a Comment