3. The Application of the Law
Together, the books of scripture, the living teaching process, practical observance and the Rabbinic decree enabled the nation to discharge her duty in the preservation of the Law.
In addition to preservation of the Law, the nation’s duty towards the Law includes the practical application of the Law as well as identifying the leaders and teachers of the Law. The key tool the nation uses to discharge these duties is her sense of judgment and perception.
The application of the Law takes place on multiple levels. Every individual who strives to live the Law will have to make decisions concerning the Law on his own individual level. He may be faced with a choice between two positive activities, he may need to determine the parameters of a specific law for his specific situation, or he might have to decide on the proper balance between justice and kindness in his relationship with another person. Let us step back a moment and define the enormous weight of such a judgment. A created being – a mere mortal, is trying to determine the will of his Creator. The man is asking himself – what is it precisely that God wants me to do or not do here and now. At first glance we are tempted to protest the audacity of the very thought. Who are you that you have the temerity to approach this realm? Then a sense of hopelessness sets in. How can a limited being make a decision about the will of the Creator of all? Is it at all possible? In such a situation one is tempted to address God directly and exclaim – Please tell me what You want me to do! There is no way I can figure this out on my own!
A prayerful entreaty to God is certainly the first step in the process of discovering God’s will, but it is not the only step. Even during the times when our nation experienced prophecy on a regular basis, the prophet was not the arbitrator of the Law. God had already spoken through the Law, and He addresses all of Israel (Malachi 3:22). God’s voice as it resonates through the Law stands on the plane of the prophecy of Moses – a plane of prophecy superior to that of any other prophet (Numbers 12:8, Deuteronomy 34:10). The Law of Moses legislates the role of the other prophets and it is clearly distinct from that of the priest and the judge. The voice of prophecy directs the people in their relationship with God, and brings the people specific commandments for certain particular situations. The priests and the judges are the arbitrators of the Law (Deuteronomy 17:9). Throughout scripture we see how the respective roles of the prophet and the judge remain distinct and separate (Leviticus 10:11, Deuteronomy 33:10, Malachi 2:6,7, Ezekiel 44:23, 1Chronicles 26:32, 2Chronicles 19:11). When the Jew is faced with a dilemma in relation to the Law he will not expect a new directive of God to guide him, for that expectation would constitute a rejection of the completeness of God’s Law. Rather, the Jew will look into the perfect Law of God (Psalm 19:8) and hear the voice of God as it personally addresses him (119:102).
With the humble awareness of his own limitations and with the proper respect for the totality of God’s Law, the Jew will search the Law for the answers to his questions. The first step after beseeching God for guidance and direction, would be to search the Law for a static statement which directly addresses the particular situation under question. This may be a verse in the Five Books of Moses, it may be a teaching of Moses as retained in the memory of the nation or in the books of Mishna or Talmud. The Jew may look into the national living discussion and find that the Jewish people have come to a consensus of understanding concerning the issue at hand. If the Jew finds that his particular situation has not been directly addressed in the static portion of the Law, he will turn his focus towards the discussion process and try to apply his understanding of the personality of the particular set of laws affecting his question. His knowledge of the letter of the static law, his grasp of Eternal Israel’s national discussion pertaining to the Law, and his understanding of the spirit of the Law will all contribute to his ultimate decision. In the situation where the individual feels that his own grasp of the Law is inadequate to handle the question at hand, he will refer his question to those he recognizes as possessing a mastery of the Law greater than his own.
This same process repeats itself on the level of the community. A specific community as a whole might be faced with two paths in their dedication to God as a community. The decision will be made according to the understanding of the Law that resides in the community. In situations where the community senses their inadequacy to deal with the situation, they will refer the question to those they recognize as possessing a mastery of the Law greater than their own. The same process can repeat itself on the level of the nation as a whole on an international scale, and it can apply to the nation as it stands in its eternal position before God.
This process is not always smooth and uniform. Since the process is a living process taking place amongst a living nation, disagreements will arise. One leader or perhaps a group of leaders may understand that the Law is to be applied one way in a given situation, while others may disagree. This is the nature of a living discussion. In the times when the nation possessed a universally recognized body of central leadership, this body would resolve the conflict (Deuteronomy 17:10). As the nation dispersed and the cohesiveness of the national discussion began to deteriorate, the authority of the central leadership went into decline. As the office of central leadership slowly disappeared, the nation could no longer resolve her disagreements so easily. Still, the living discussion continues. In the absence of a recognized body of central leadership the nation recognizes the prerogative of individual leaders or bodies of leadership to maintain their own opinions. As long as the discussion remains within the parameters of the universal living discussion, and as long as each opinion is rooted in that living discussion, every position is respected. As time moves on and the living discussion continues, the nation may come to a consensus over any of these disagreements. If the flow of the living discussion has more and more scholars taking one side of a given argument, the practice of the nation will eventually consolidate behind that view-point. In other situations the disagreement remains as part of the fabric of the nation, with one group of scholars holding to one position while another group maintains the other position. In these situations the nation recognizes the validity of both positions and the conflicting opinions live on in the eternal discussion of the nation.
When the nation exerted itself to the fullest in her attempt to determine from within the body of the Law, the nation can confidently stride forward and act upon the knowledge they acquired. It is not the role of the nation to discover the answer to every question. God recognizes our humanity and it is to us humans that He presented His holy Law. God holds us responsible to do and to follow “that which is revealed”, the details of the Law that are hidden belong to God and to God alone (Deuteronomy 29:28).
Originally posted on: https://yourphariseefriend.wor...