Anonymous asked Staff ago Dear Daat Emet,
Here is a question which was raised several times in conversations with a good friend who is National Religious. These are his exact words:
Can you discuss the essence of the main claim about the veracity and unique character of the Revelation at Sinai: “You saw” — Maimonides: “Our eyes, and not a stranger’s, saw..” Is it possible that an entire nation will change its entire lifestyle into one which contradicts the basic nature of the human race had they not in fact seen, accepted, and heard it for themselves? To this point we have not found or seen any such incident: “Has such a thing been seen or heard?”…
To be more specific, would you be willing to buy something like this from someone else, talented as that person might be, and do you believe that there is anyone who would be capable of selling such an idea? If so, the burden of proof about that person’s existence is upon you.
I add to this:
Even if we ignore the presupposition my friend makes, that the Oral Torah was also given at Sinai and so the Jews accepted all 613 commandments and not just the commandments listed in the Written Torah — the thin book of commandments, why would the first generation of believers accept upon themselves such strong ideas if they contradicted reality and what was in the Scriptural text (for the Torah tells the story of the Exodus from Egypt and the Revelation at Sinai, things which happened to the nation itself. Why would believers accept this if they had no testimony, memory, or experience of these events, particularly of the Revelation at Sinai)? Do you have alternative explanations for the formation of belief in the Scriptural text? My intuition says that many explanations based on common sense can be given, but I can think of none.
N.B.
I would be happy if you would refrain from wording which has even a whiff of taking the believing public lightly, for it distracts and prevents us from holding a fruitful dialogue. I know you are not against religion, but your manner seems to me (and to my friend) a form of mocking and generalization. I do know that my friend is not obscure, nor is he ignorant, and certainly not both.
Thanks for your help,
Amit
jsadmin Staff answered 20 years ago
Dear Amit,
It is possible that my brief answer will make you feel uncomfortable, but even so you should read the answer carefully and think about it, and you will see how simple and correct it is. (Don’t skip the links which are part of this answer.)
The story of the Revelation to the large group which left Egypt is a Scriptural story which was written hundreds of years after the event; it is not actual fact.
If you ask “How did a large group accept a story that once, many years ago, G-d revealed Himself to an entire nation?” the answer is simple: man’s almost existential need to understand his own existence and to “think” or “imagine” that there is an entity which directs and organizes the world, that our lives have a goal and purpose, that our lives are not a collection of happenstance events, that we are not like the ant or the turtle — these cause man to create a divine entity which directs and organizes the world. We invent meaning and goals for our own lives by stories and fantasies to calm our frightened souls. This characteristic of man was even discerned by Chazal, who said “Lead a man along the path he wishes to follow” (Makkot 10b).
Proof of this is the many outreach professionals amongst monotheistic religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, even now when we find refutations everywhere.
For more detail, see our answer to Belief in a Divine Revelation and the answer to How can an entire community be wrong?.
Sincerely,
Daat Emet