Although the mitzvoth come literally from the Torah, studying the Bible alone does not help us much to understand them. For example, three times we find it written in the Torah: «You shall not cook a goat in its mother’s milk» (Shemot 23:19 and 34:26 and Devarim 14:21). What did God mean? Our sages interpreted the divine words, and their comments led us to the laws of kashrut that imply the separation of meat dishes from milk dishes. And the law applies to all types of meat: beef, goat and poultry, and in relation to milk, they do not refer only to the mother’s milk but also to that of other mammals. And they clarify: the precept of separating meat from milk is not exclusively in the pot where it is cooked, but in all dishes, and they teach us that we must try to have two sets of dishes, one for meat and the other for milk. How did all these rules developed, in many cases filling many volumes, just from such a simple phrase?

The task of interpreting and commenting on the word of God is where the essence of Judaism is found. And in this task, we can perceive a humanizing tendency in the way in which the Jewish people read and apply the sacred texts. For example, the Torah contemplates the death penalty for some transgressions, but the procedure established by the rabbis in the Talmud makes it almost impossible to carry it out.

There are several origins of the precepts (Halacha) that govern the practice of Judaism: We have first of all the commandments of the Torah. Secondly, the acts of rabbinical authorities called Ma aseh that came to have the character of law. Third, the Midrashim, understood as the interpretation of verses of the Torah, and which gave rise to many precepts. Fourth, the custom, Minhag, practices that developed over time, which were independent of the Scriptures and which the sages gave the status of obligatory. Fifth, the Takanot, edicts promulgated by the rabbis caused by social conditions, such as that of Rabeinu Gershom who prohibited polygamy. And finally, sixth, the jurisprudence, Hora’ah, instructions ordered by the Supreme Rabbinical Court, also with the force of law.

The process of forming the Halacha began at Mount Sinai, continues to this day and apparently will continue forever. Man’s circumstances are changing and Judaism adapts to them. Some currents within Judaism believe that this process can be stopped and even reversed, but they do not realize that this has been done since time immemorial and will continue to be done. It is a kind of Darwinian evolution of religious precepts, where the most solid are those that will endure over time. The question is: do we want dinosaurs or eagles?

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: An introduction to the history and sources of Jewish Law, edited by N.S. Hecht and others. And Settings of Silver, an Introduction to Judaism by Stephen M. Wylen.