I find that I get a lot of random Jewish questions over Facebook, of all places, mostly from people I haven't seen in years but who know that I'm a rabbi. So I figure I'd share the most recent one, purely in case anyone else was interested. It's from a college acquaintance.
Q:
"I just read on Wikipedia that Jewish scholars concede that Exodus probably never happened, not even as the basic history without the supernatural elements. Would say this is true of rabbis as you know them?"
A:
"Hi X,
I think it's a toss-up among Reform rabbis, and a definite no among Conservative and Orthodox. I personally would agree - I think the structure of Exodus was created by authors looking to build tribal identity among a disparate people. By forming a common source story it helped unite them. The interesting part though is when you get into defining holiness - for many if not most Reform Jews I'd say, the historical truth of the Bible doesn't matter as much as the symbolic truth. So we/I can admit it never happened, but that doesn't take away from how the text has contributed to the identity formation of the Jewish people down the centuries."
Living in Israel where the history recounted in the Bible is real, physical and tangible, it is clear to me that the symbolism and metaphorisms of the Bible are drawn from its history.
ReplyDelete