"...their own mortal intellectual opinions and interpetations."

Submitted by orange yonason (United States), Jul 23, 2006 at 05:04

BS"D

You are misinterpreting what I said. If you read what I wrote (and more importantly what was on the reference I gave), you will see there is no room for our opinions or interpretations unless they agree with the Torah. We are often falsely accused of "misinterpreting" Torah by those who think their feelings are more accurate than adherence to G-d's instruction.

We received not only the Written Torah from G-d at Sinai, but also the Oral Torah which expounds on and explains the Written portion. We do NOT rely exclusively on human interpretation, because we don't have to. What we do rely on (and the G-d requires of us) is using our intellect to learn G-d's explaination of Torah concepts as transmitted to us by our Rabbis for the purpose of making our behaviour conform to the standards of human conduct set by G-d, which is what life in this world is all about. And if you say that we aren't perfect, I will tell you that is why we need the Torah; because we can't do it by ourselves.

And we certainly don't rely on our feelings, because until they have been refined by our adherence to Torah they can lead us astray, since they are from the animal side of human nature and hence much less reliable than intellect.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something important to keep in mind, and help one keep one's sanity as what we call the "end of days" approaches, is this thought from Chabad.org, entitled "UnApocalypse" ...

"This world was not created for some apocalyptic finale; its magnificence was not formed to dissipate into ionized gas. Each thing was formed for the glory of its Maker who stands forever.

Only the darkness must wind itself to its end, and it must be robbed of the treasures it holds. For the most precious things of this world are held in darkness.

A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe
-words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman
Tammuz 15, 5766 * July 11, 2006 "

And when darkness has run it's course, it and only it will cease to exist. And as darkness' end approaches, the world can see with ever increasing clarity what is darkness and what is light.

Yes, time IS running out: for evil. May that day be today!

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".