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The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy contain a very strict and specific set of laws. Why don't modern Jews live as strictly to the scriptures and the ancient Israelites did?

Jesse
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  • Moses was not a book, he was a teacher. – kouty Sep 07 '16 at 15:17
  • Regarding Mosaic Law, Rabbinic Judaism believes that that the Sanhedrin (Supreme Court of Judaism) has the right to both interpret the Law, and legislate new laws. Thus, the final result may look very different from the implications of Mosaic Law. Regarding theocracy, the issue is moot, as religiously observant Jews generally lack political autonomy. See also http://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/73789/8775 regarding diverse views on the merits of secularism (a subset of which is democracy) vs. theocracy. – mevaqesh Sep 07 '16 at 15:29
  • So the Jewish higher-ups trump G-d's word? – Jesse Sep 07 '16 at 15:56
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    http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/67621/god-created-both-the-written-law-and-the-oral-before-the-world-was-created-why – rosends Sep 07 '16 at 16:12
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    Please define what you mean by "Old law". If these laws are applicable today (AFAIK, they most certainly are!) then, they are, very much new and current, not "old". If the focus of your question is why not follow just the written Torah laws w/o any Rabbinical interpretation, that's what the Sadducees and Karaites did. If we did this, we prob. would be wearing tefillin on our noses, among other things. – DanF Sep 07 '16 at 17:14
  • I mean animal sacrifice, grain offerings, clothing requirements. All the stuff modern Jews seem to ignore. – Jesse Sep 07 '16 at 17:39
  • @Jesse if you want another user to be listened of your comments, put a @ in front of his username in your comment. – mevaqesh Sep 07 '16 at 18:21
  • @Jesse the issue of rabbis introducing additional legislation is not necessarily pay of the conversation, as it does not oppose the law. To a lesser degree this is the case with interpretation as well. Rabbinic Judaism believes that it's supreme court had the right to interpret the law; this is not a matter of trumping. – mevaqesh Sep 07 '16 at 18:25
  • Animal sacrifice, grain offerings: We do do them in principle, but without temple (and other places are forbidden by Torah law) , we just cannot. Clothing requirements: You mean T'echeiles? Same issue; we don't know what it is, so we cannot. – Adám Sep 07 '16 at 18:28
  • In regards to sacrifice and offerings, that is interpreted as being limited to the Temple in Jerusalem. The current political climate does not allow for this.If by clothing requirement you mean not wearing mixed fibers, that is interpreted as referring to wool and linen in particular; which observant Jews do continue to practice. – mevaqesh Sep 07 '16 at 18:29

2 Answers2

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I don't want my answer to come off as insulting, or personal, but my answer has to address the reasons behind your question, as many Christians ask us many versions of this same question, all of these questions stemming from the same thought process.. It's been my observation that Christians tend to feel like they understand the Bible better than the Jews do, or at least know more about it than the Jews, and feel they are in a position to point out when Jews aren't doing something that "we are supposed to be doing."

In your comments you said one of the things we "should" be doing is animal sacrifices. To you it seems clear that we as Jews are obviously in violation of the laws of animal sacrifices. The reality is that you are in ignorance, because the Bible clearly states that it was God Himself through His teacher Moses who specifically forbade us from doing animal sacrifices. Deuteronomy 12:5-14

5 But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; 6 there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.

8 You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit, 9 since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you. 10 But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety. 11 Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name—there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord. 12 And there rejoice before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns who have no allotment or inheritance of their own. 13 Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. 14 Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.

Your presumption that we don't do things has little to do with Jews not following the law of Moses. It has to do with your ignorance of the law of Moses, and your presumption that you truly know what the law of Moses says (because otherwise you wouldn't feel you were in a position to ask the question the way that you did).

Another of your other claims is that Jews don't follow clothing laws. Most observant Jews do live by the clothing laws mentioned in the Bible, therefore many refrain from mixed fabrics. But i can assure you that many other things that you think Jews are shirking are really just either your personal ignorance, or ignorance caused by translations.

One example is that many Christians ask why Jews don't wear blue threads in their tassels anymore. The reality is the normative Hebrew word for blue isn't used in the Bible regarding tassels, but rather a SPECIFIC word for a SPECIFIC type of blue. When the tradition of how to make that specific shade of blue got lost, Jews stopped wearing blue. Imagine if your English Bible said "and the children of Israel shall put a string of Prussian Blue on their tassels." More than likely, you would assume that this string needs to be that exact color of blue. But because your English Bible just translates the word as blue, it appears to you that any blue will do. Thankfully, now that some claim to have rediscovered the specific shade blue, it is starting to appear again and be worn by Jews.

By no means am I insinuating that you aren't intelligent. But the Bible is a vast book, and the history of its people is larger still. There are many chapters dedicated to animal sacrifices, but only one or two verses that show you can't sacrifice without a temple. So it's a mistake to do a cursory read of the Bible and assume that one has grasped it. Rather, one has to study these specific laws in very large detail before one can make assumptions about how these laws are being practiced or interpreted.

You probably still have many other "but what about X" questions in your mind regarding the practice of Jews, or possibly some assumption that we care about following Rabbis more than God. You should not approach the questions from that viewpoint, but should rather think, "I wonder why Jews don't do x the way I assume it should be done." Because that thought puts everyone on the same plane and allows for open dialogue. The majority of the time Jewish practice has to do with a nuance in the text that Rabbis picked up on, or even a direct verse from the Bible you hadn't read. I'm not saying we are perfect, nor am I saying that we always follow God above following Rabbis. But the majority of the time, you will find that we are following the laws of Moses, and we are doing so because we love God.

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Aaron
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  • Aaron, this is a good concise answer ("concise " in terms of its content and message; not in terms of word count, but, OK.) However, you've made an assumption about the questionae that I'm not seeing at all. What makes you assume that the questioner is Christian. Furthermore, why do you assume that even if he is, he is ignorant? – DanF Sep 07 '16 at 19:56
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    @DanF His previous question was: "I will just start out by saying that I am a follower of Jesus Christ, and that I have a deep concern for the non believing Jewish people. I personally have been unable to find even one (prophecy that Jesus did not fulfill) Which particular prophecy that went unfulfilled by or prophecies do Jews believe Jesus. Perhaps you may have answers. Toda raba! did not fulfill?" – Aaron Sep 07 '16 at 20:03
  • I see ... you have prior "experience". Perhaps, some of his questions may best be answered by Prager and Telushkin's "9 questions" book? It's been a while since I last read it. – DanF Sep 07 '16 at 20:08
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    @DanF As for asking why he's ignorant, i don't mean this to say he is uneducated or dumb or anything like that, but i don't know of another word that means: "lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something in particular." He is a Christian who has probably read more of the Bible than most Jews, but that doesn't mean he knows the specifics of the Biblical text. – Aaron Sep 07 '16 at 20:17
  • "Ignorant", I think is an appropriate term, here. Unless you want to use "misinformed" or "miseducated". – DanF Sep 07 '16 at 20:26
  • What some folks have to say about my level of intelligence isn't something that gets a rise out of me. I simply wish to gain the Jewish point of view on the problems that I have with Judaism. I don't wish to offend anyone, I'm just looking for answers. I truly appreciate the feedback. (By the way, sorry for the typo in my last question at the end there.) – Jesse Sep 08 '16 at 02:17
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    @Aaron One more thing, just to clear up any misconceptions, I'm not trying to bash on Jews nor convert anyone, I simply want to gain insight on your faith. I have the utmost respect for the Jews. They are God's chosen people and I love and respect them. – Jesse Sep 08 '16 at 02:29
  • @Jesse i don't think you or most Christians think they are being insulting, but in general there are a certain assumptions that are made that are somewhat problematic. My wife was raised in a Christian community for nearly 30 years ago. Last year she converted to Judaism, wanna guess what happened? She had lots of people "concerned" for her, who started sending her "information" and tried "revealing" the truth to her. Everyone assumed that she must somehow had forgotten "the truth" or had been "led astray" by alien ideas. It never once occurred to anyone that my wife still knew all the same – Aaron Sep 08 '16 at 02:56
  • @Jesse Bible passages, or that she still knew all the church teachings. No one assumed that she was a well informed reasonable adult whose learning led her a different direction. It also never occurred to them that her knowledge of Hebrew could lead her to interpret the Bible better, since she no longer prayed to Jesus that meant she could only interpret the Bible worse since she isn't being "guided by God." Now, if you asked all of those individuals if they were being arrogant, or disrespectful, they would say no of course not! And they would believe it. But you wanna guess how my wife felt? – Aaron Sep 08 '16 at 02:59
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    @Aaron I'm sorry that you feel this way. All I seek is insight into your faith. My intent from this post was nothing more and nothing less. If you are offended by my faith, I'm sorry. I think that you are quick to become angry with Christians. In the words of King Solomon, "Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools." Ecclesiastes 7:9 – Jesse Sep 08 '16 at 03:11
  • @Jesse i'm not angry with you. But the wording in your questions is rather pointed. By asking "Why Jews don't follow the law..." you are stating that 1. You know what the law is and how it should be followed. And 2. That the Jews are clearly not following it. Your words do not reflect your intent very accurately. If i went to the Christian version of this site and asked "Why do Christians believe Jesus is the Messiah?" That's a non pointed question. If i asked "Why do Christians believe Jesus is the Messiah when he obviously doesn't fulifll all the prophecies," it would be pointed – Aaron Sep 08 '16 at 03:18
  • @Jesse And in your other question you argued that those who answered your question were taking things out of context, without ever asking yourself if your points were taken out of context. i'm not offended by your faith, but most Jews are offended by how you ask questions, and how much you assume you think you know already. – Aaron Sep 08 '16 at 03:20
  • @Jesse FWIW, I did not see a problem with this question other than it being a vaguely phrased question. On its own, I find it non-pointed. I politely disagree with Aaron only regarding this question. He revealed info about you gleaned from a previous question, and extended that assumption to this one. Hence, his comments. I think that in terms of this forum, each question needs to be evaluated on its own without making assumptions about the one asking it gleaned from info from other questions. I don't consider that totally unbiased judgment. I apologize that I inadvertently "stirred the pot". – DanF Sep 08 '16 at 15:12
  • @DanF Oh, you definitely stirred the pot. In fact, i've named my new pot stirring spoon after you! J/k ;) Yeah maybe i overreacted, but people still like my answer a lot for some reason. And for the record, one of my best friends is a catholic deacon, my wife and i did marriage counseling with him before getting married, it was amazing. However, the way we approach dialogue is entirely different than how it was approached here. – Aaron Sep 08 '16 at 15:52
  • @Aaron Your answer is great. I appreciate the time. It definitely helps me and grows my knowledge of Judaism and that was my goal. I think getting so "stirred up", so to speak, is the wrong way to go about it. Christians and Jews disagree on much, but we can agree that G-d is loving and He calls us to do the same. Leviticus 19:18 "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord." – Jesse Sep 08 '16 at 16:00
  • @Jesse Glad to hear it. Here is some more information regarding another topic which is the topic of Satan/Lucifer : https://www.quora.com/How-do-Christians-interpret-the-Old-Testament-in-ways-that-contrast-with-Jewish-readings-or-critical-scholarship – Aaron Sep 08 '16 at 16:58
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For a partial answer. The Orthodox Jewish Community does follow the Torah and its statutes.

(Quoted from Wikipedia. Click on the link above or here to look into this topic further)

Orthodox Judaism is the approach to religious Judaism which subscribes to a tradition of mass revelation and adheres to the interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Tannaim and Amoraim. Orthodox Judaism includes movements such as Modern Orthodox Judaism (אורתודוקסיה מודרנית) and Ultra-Orthodox or Haredi Judaism (יהדות חרדית)

Hope this is helpful.

TrustMeI'mARabbi
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  • As the question seems quite vague, I'm uncertain if you have answered it, or not. I suspect, though, that the question is more generic and not specifically targeting one "sect". – DanF Sep 07 '16 at 17:26
  • @DanF - Vague but hits the point. – ezra Sep 08 '16 at 01:27