The Story That Could Never Be Invented (AI)

What’s said in this shiur

The opening of this shiur, in Rabbi Zamir Cohen’s own words — taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.

We are approaching the holiday of Shavuot, the festival of the giving of the Torah. And this is an opportunity to reflect on a Jewish claim that has existed for thousands of years. A claim unlike anything else in the world. The Jewish people say, "In our hands is the only document ever given directly by the creator of the world." Other religions acknowledge that the revelation at Mount Sinai took place, that the Jewish people received the Torah, but they claim there were later additions or changes. The Jewish people maintain that God, to put it in simple human terms, is not like a car manufacturer who every few years says, "I have a better idea now. I want to redesign something." The Holy One, blessed be He, sees from the beginning until the end of all generations. He does not upgrade or replace his Torah. As our principles of faith declare, God will neither replace nor exchange his Torah forever. He promised that he would never replace the people of Israel with any other nation. Even within the Torah itself, God tells us, "In the future, you will make mistakes. You will go into exile, and you will return to the land of Israel." And yet he says, "Even when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them nor despise them to destroy them and break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God."

Jump to a moment

1. 0:00We are approaching the holiday of Shavuot, the festival of the giving of the Torah. And…
2. 6:12spoke the words to Moses, and Moses wrote them down word for word from the mouth…
3. 12:25toward the floor. Then he quietly answered, "It comes from guarding the eyes." At that moment,…
4. 18:37Torah. The same is true for "You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You…
5. 24:44Only 611 came through Moses. The remaining two came directly from God Himself. When a person…
6. 30:49such a story into history and suddenly demand that an entire nation begin observing Shabbat, wearing…
7. 36:58What would you naturally expect? Torah scrolls copied independently for thousands of years across every Jewish…
8. 43:03We are completely at peace with that certainty. This completes one line of evidence. When a…
9. 49:10Now, let us read the words of the Sifre, a Midrash written nearly 2,000 years ago.…
10. 55:19healthier for human consumption. A few years ago I saved several news reports because I knew…

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