TORAH: LITERAL OR?
Excerpt from Mind
over Matter
The
Lubavitcher Rebbe On Science, Technology & Medicine
The Rebbe’s
[Rabbi Menachem
Mendel Schneerson] Approach
In the Rebbe’s works we find a repeated emphasis on the statement of our Sages, “A verse never leaves its literal meaning.” The Rebbe consistently demonstrates how the diversity of Torah interpretations, be they allegorical, homiletical, philosophical or kabbalistic, are all consistent with and alluded to within the pshat, the straightforward meaning of the verse. Moreover, as a general rule, we are to consider even the statements of our Sages as literal and exact.
The Rebbe’s approach to explaining Rashi’s
[RAbbi SHlomo Itzchaki, 1040 -
1105 CE] commentaries on
the Torah is original. He does so in accordance with Rashi’s
self-stated objective: “I am here only to explain the simple meaning
of the text.” Accordingly, there can be nothing
in Rashi — neither a Midrash nor an interpretation, etc. — which is superfluous to the most basic meaning of
the text itself, as it should be
understood by a “five-year-old studying the Torah.” 1
The Written Torah
Ray Sa’adya Gaon writes in his book Emunot VeDe’d 5 that one cannot remove a verse in the Torah from its literal meaning, 6 except ...
a) When our senses tell us that it is
not meant literally, i.e. “For
she (Eve) was the mother of all life.” It is obvious that the animals are not
descended from Eve. It is therefore clear that the intent of “mother of all
life” is only human beings.
b) When
our intellect disallows the simple interpretation, i.e. “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire.”4 Obviously, God’s essence is not actually a fire, since fire
constantly undergoes changes; fire can be lit and extinguished, etc. We
therefore have no choice but to explain the verse as a reference to God’s
revenge or vengeance burning and consuming like a fire.
[...]
Footnotes:
1 See Kelalei Rashi, Kefar Chabad 1991, p. 15 ff
2 7:1.
3 Shabbat, 63a. Bereishit, 3:20.
4 Devarim, 4:24.