The Torah is not a book, history journal, story, fable or whim; nor is it some chronology. It is the living word of G-d. The Torah begins: Bereishis Bara Elokim et hashamayim v'et ha-Aretz. בראשית ברא אל-הים את השמים ואת הארץ. G-d spoke those words. It is impossible to capture these in another language. There are so many different shades of meaning, it is like trying to explain to a Desert dweller, the concept that there 100s of different types of snow, that the native peoples of the northern parts of Canada describe and live in.
When we speak about Torah, it is the source of everything in this world. It is the life-force behind everything, it is the foundation of everything. The very understanding of our universe, the very atoms that cause there to be stars seemingly billions of light years away, are the same atoms that form life, they are the building blocks behind amoebas and humans and flies, and frogs and fish and birds and plants and animals - everything, all that is imprinted as DNA of creation is the Torah. The Torah is the blue-print for our universe, our world and everything in it.
It is the fundamental source of truth and wisdom. Everything is contained within it. On a superficial level, what it says, is. Any contradiction to it, is a denial of its essence, and is false beyond question. The Torah contains two aspects - a written text and an oral interpretation. The interpretation was given together with the text. In as much as a person who buys a car, can take the car out for a spin, he also receives an instruction manual, and a few words of caution, explanation by the seller. By analogy, doctors receive oral instruction on how to perform surgery, as do pilots of airplanes, etc. Every field acknowledges the interplay of a written text, and oral explanation as integral to the learning and education experience.
The Torah is no different - it has a written component that contains the essential elements, and an oral exposition that brings it out in all its depth and application.
It also stands to reason. The Torah read on a simple level is ambiguous and unclear, it demands explanation. G-d set out His word in a way that requires it to be unlocked by the Oral Interpretation that He gave with it.
This is the source of everything in this world. This is the key to unlocking the mystery of the universe, creation - everything.
This fundamental point is the basis of all of Torah and Judaism and everything in the world. It is spelled out specifically in Exodus 18-20, and Deuteronomy 4-6, 30:15-16.
This point is absolutely essential. The Torah is not the inspired words of some prophet. They are the living words of the Creator of the Universe! When we look at the first Five Books of Moses - the Torah these are the words that G-d spoke. They are the fundamental, essential aspects of the entire universe. They are the very fundamental building blocks of everything in this world, physically and spiritually!
The Torah therefore represents the sum total of G-d's expression and desires in this world, and we are to obey Him, and accept His word as absolutely fundamental, essential, unchanging, and above all His words.
While we accept that the Prophets from Yehoshua (Joshua) until the Last Prophets (Malachi etc.), they were prophets and represent the inspired words that they heard, dissected and interpreted, and then told the people the words, and their interpretation. This is fundamentally different to the Torah. In practical terms, the prophets cannot contradict the Torah, they cannot introduce a new idea, command or concept in the Torah, and they cannot remove or alter the Torah in any way (Deuteronomy 4:2).
This is absolutely fundamental to any understanding of Scripture. We refer to G-d's Holy Words as the ultimate source of everything. Thus, any concept not found in the Torah, must be human made.
In this respect, the Torah is G-d's word, and nothing can change it, no prophet can override its message, and nothing can alter it. Whenever we refer to anything as legitimate or truthful, we must ascertain if it is in the Torah!
It stands to reason that if this is what G-d said, we have to understand it. If G-d said to Moses: "I command you to do 'X'", obviously, Moses has to understand what 'X' is. If Moses didn't understand it, and the people didn't understand it, what would be the usefulness of stating X without some explanation of what is meant by 'X'.
The fact is that G-d spoke the written Torah and He also told the people the interpretation, the understanding, and the derivations of all that G-d wanted His people to obey and follow at Sinai. The Jewish people understand that the text is a text that G-d said, and not every passage is to be taken literally, not because it can't be, but because G-d said it mustn't be taken literally.
The idea that what G-d said must be taken literally, is entirely a Calvinist, Protestant perspective of Scripture based on the concept of Sola Scriptura. If it is literal it must be the truth, which is absurd. Imagine interpreting the US Constitutions statement "the right to bear arms", literally. This means that your average Joe in America has the constitutional right to own a gun as a means to protection. The Federal Government nor the State has any right to regulate the right to own a gun, according to the literal meaning of the words. However, this is not necessarily the case. The Right to Bear Arms, is a legal injunction of the State's right to have a militia: (see this link about the State Vs.Buzzard 1842).
In this respect then, the meaning of the Torah is subject only to what G-d says is the meaning. For the most part the meaning is clear, and for the text that is difficult, or requires explanation, G-d has provided for the necessary means of perfectly clarifying exactly what is meant by His Holy Words!
For more information please listen to Rabbi L. Kelemen's Lecture on the Divine Origin of the Torah.
