How Can Believers Relate to the Talmud?

Read the transcript below, or watch the video teaching by Samuel.

Shalom, this is Samuel from Netivyah. This is the third video in our short series where we talk about what the Talmud is, how it came to be, and, in today’s session, about how one as a believer can relate to the Talmud.

Heritage

I would like to start by briefly talking about one of the reasons why studying parts of the Talmud can be valuable - especially for Jewish believers, but also for non-Jewish believers living in Israel. Simply put, it's part of the people's heritage. It has shaped the thinking, culture, and way of life of our nation for centuries - and still does today.

Understanding the culture we live in, which was so deeply shaped by these writings, helps us stay connected to our own people rather than becoming estranged from them. This also strengthens our witness as followers of Yeshua here in Israel.

Heritage plays a big role in shaping identity. It’s important - for everyone, Jew or not - to know where they come from, who their ancestors were, how they lived, and what they believed.

When we talk about heritage, it is important to note that usually, not every aspect of one’s heritage is entirely good, just like not every aspect of one's heritage is entirely bad.

The Bible Above All Else

Which brings me to my next point, that is: while some things in the Talmud are good, beneficial, and reflect a great deal of wisdom, there are also a lot of things that are negative and definitely not good.That’s why one should approach this subject with caution, and with the right perspective.

Our foundation needs to be first and foremost the whole Bible - from the beginning of the book of Genesis to the end of the book of Revelation. This is our only binding and authoritative foundation. A lot of what we study or read outside of it can be beneficial and helpful, but should always be tested with the word of God, and should never be given the same level of authority or importance as God’s word. (This is not only true for Talmud but for any kind of religious literature, whether Jewish or Christian.)

Here I believe it is important to bring up the principle that we find in the New Testament, especially in Paul's letters, that what might be o.k. for one person might have a negative effect on another. And this principle can be applied to every aspect of life.

Everyone of us is on a journey of faith, but not everyone of us is in the same place on that journey. And everyone of us started this journey with a different background and past.I assume that 5 years ago you were not where you are today in your journey of faith, just as I am not today where I was then. And that’s a good thing!

Sometimes it is hard to draw one line as a universal standard for everybody when many people are finding themselves in different places in their journey of faith as they worship the God of Israel and follow His Messiah, Yeshua, and aspire to grow more and more into His likeness.

Despite the difficulty to draw one boundary or establish one principle for all, I believe it is good and safe to have everybody first put the Bible above all else and then examine his own heart and to heed the counsel that whatever pulls or draws us away from Yeshua or might cause friction in our relationship with Him, we do well to stay away from it.

Is it Useful?

Now we get to the burning question: whether there could be a general benefit of dealing with the subject of Talmud for all believers in Yeshua?

My answer to that question is yes. And my first point in this regard is very practical: many sections in the Talmud provide a help and a practical way to put the word of God into practice. This is especially helpful when it comes to issues where the meaning and the ‘why’ of certain commandments in the Bible are stated very clearly, but the ‘how’ is very vague.

Like for example, how do we celebrate Pesach? How do we build a sukkah, and what are we even talking about when we talk about a ‘sukkah’? What about the four species that we wave on Sukkot?

Now, are these exact Talmudic instructions and traditions on the “how to” the only way to obey the biblical command behind them, and are they binding? No; but one could say: ‘why try to reinvent the wheel when we already have it?’

My second point briefly goes back to the last two episodes, where we discovered what the Talmud talks about and how it came to be. I also mentioned that since the Jerusalem Talmud predates its Babylonian counter-piece by 200 years, that it is of special interest for people who are trying to better understand the background and context of the time of Yeshua, the land of Israel, and the New Testament along with its content.

For example, the scene we encounter in Matthew 19 about marriage and divorce. Through the context of the Talmud, we know that when it says that they came to "test" Yeshua regarding this subject, that they wanted to know - or ‘test’ - whether he supported the position of the house of Shammai or of the house of Hillel.

In our last video we spoke about the time period of the ‘zugot’, and Shammai and Hillel were one pair, and probably the most famous one that presided over the Sanhedrin. There were quite a few spicy disputes at the time of Yeshua and even before, between the legal interpretations of the house of Shammai and the house of Hillel.

So, even though Shammai was a more extreme and strict character, and Yeshua's teachings certainly don't align in many ways with the house of Shammai, in this specific answer He "sided" with the ruling of Shammai - or at least gave the same answer - because according to the word of God, it was the right position on this subject.

There are many more such examples, and if you would like to learn more about them, I highly encourage you to check out our content referenced in the description of this video below, where we have added several resources that we have published over the years.

Having said all of that, I’d like to say that I’m not trying to promote the Talmud in any way, nor completely shun it. Our goal is to provide you with information, and for those who wish to approach this subject, we hope to convey to you a healthy perspective and balance in this regard.

I hope that you enjoyed this short series and that it indeed was helpful to you to get a better understanding of the subject.

If you did enjoy this mini-series and would like for me to record a short “bonus episode” giving a brief panoramic overview of Rabbinic literature as a whole, with a short overview of some of the most important works besides the Talmud, and to answer questions like what are the Targumim and what is midrashic literature, then let me know in the comments below, and we’ll be happy to provide you with a bonus episode!