I was once reading a brochure published by a certain Christian sect in support of ‘the truth of the Jewish Scriptures’. They printed a pamphlet with various proofs that the Old Testament – it means our Torah – is true from beginning to end. That it was given at Har Sinai in the year 2448 from Creation to the Jewish nation at Har Sinai and that is the Torah the Jewish nation still has in their synagogues, their shuls.
And they wrote there that since the beginning of our history whenever the Torah is raised in the synagogue, the Jews get up and they point to it and they say, משה לפני בני וזאת התורה אשר שם ישראל – This is the same Torah that Moshe put before the sons of Yisroel. The Jews are testifying that this Torah that they are pointing at, is the same Torah that they received from Hashem at Har Sinai.
We all get up once a week – that’s what was written there; the author didn’t know about Mondays and Thursdays – we all stand up when the Torah is raised, and we testify: ‘This is it! This Torah is the same Torah that our ancestors accepted on Har Sinai.’
Testifying to the Words
That’s why, by the way, we don’t say it unless we can see the writing. If you see merely the back of the sefer Torah you don’t say that; you wait till the words are facing you. Because we’re not interested in proclaiming something in general, ‘this scroll’ or ‘this book’. No, it’s the words – every word in that sefer is emes. And so it’s when the writing is turned towards you, you say it.
Now, if you are far away and you can’t read the words – you see the script but you can’t make out the exact letters – that’s good too because you can rely on the people who are nearby. Most likely they’re not pulling one over on you. But whatever it is, we are all testifying – it takes place in the synagogue, the place of the Jewish nation. We represent everybody and we’re testifying that the words on that scroll, every word, is ‘the Torah that was given to us by Hashem, through His servant Moshe, at Har Sinai.’
Strong Evidence
Now, to the goy who wrote the brochure, it’s pretty good evidence. After all, the Jewish people have been doing this as far back as they’ve been around. A whole nation, week after week, month after month, year after year, decades and centuries and millennia, should declare that they know by means of tradition? My father heard from his father who heard from his father all the way back to Har Sinai. It’s as good as being there.
And believe me it’s good evidence; the goy doesn’t even begin to understand how strong this evidence really is because if ever there have been any naysayers, any defectors who would have strayed from the truth, it would have been dragged out into the light. We would have heard about it!
Centuries of Sin
And how! Because if you know anything about our history, if you know anything about Tanach, it’s a remarkable fact that any wrong thing that was ever done among the Jewish people was never covered up. Anything that was even under the shadow of suspicion – it looked like a misdeed – was dragged out into the light and was criticized with the very worst and most extreme terms. The Neviim blame us for everything. All of our sins, big and small, are laid bare in the Tanach.
We see that we had among us some people who worshiped idols; there were adulterers too. Not many, but there were. There were stealers, there were murderers. They were the best people in the world – never again was there such a good nation but it was a nation after all. A nation is made up of people, not angels. And it wasn’t one day, it’s a period of hundreds of years we’re talking about – from the time they accepted the Torah until the destruction of the first Beis Hamikdash was over eight hundred years; eight hundred and fifty years. In the span of eight hundred and fifty years you’re surprised to find sinners? You’re surprised to find that in a nation of millions there was some backsliding?
The Missing Sin
But of all the sins that we find that we are blamed for over our long period of time, you’ll find that there is one sin that is missing and that is the sin of disbelieving in the Torah. It’s a remarkable thing. Every other sin, yes. But we don’t find a single instance where a prophet accused anybody of disbelieving Matan Torah.
And that’s very significant. Because you can be sure that if there was even a whiff of such an idea the Neviim wouldn’t have kept quiet about it. The Neviim lambast us about everything and the whole nation is blamed even for the sins of individuals; and if someone would have opened his mouth to question the veracity of the story we would have been castigated with the strongest words.
You know what that means? It means that our nation was unified, b’peh echad. From the beginning down until about two hundred years ago we were all unanimous; there was no question at all that we received the Torah from Sinai. The whole nation stood behind this tradition without even one defector.
Lunacy, Not Heresy
Now, the fact is that it couldn’t have been any different. To sin, to fall into sin, even the worst of sins, is one thing. It could happen to anyone. But להכחיש המציאות, to deny reality, to dispute something that an entire nation saw, only a lunatic would do that.
The Rambam explains that when the Torah was given, it wasn’t done in secret. Like it states לא מראש בסתר דברתי – At the beginning, I did not speak to you in secret (Yeshayah 48:16). The entire Jewish nation witnessed the giving of the Torah.
That’s a very important point, especially when compared to the other religions. A whole nation saw Hashem and heard His voice! It’s unequaled in the claims of all the nations. They make big promises and they tell about big incidents, but never in all their literature is any statement to be found that Hakadosh Baruch Hu appeared to their entire nation and spoke to them. Because even the biggest falsifier has limits to what he can claim. It would be too much to be so bold and have such effrontery to say such a big falsehood. A claim like that wouldn’t get anywhere; it wouldn’t get any traction.
Testimony of Islam and Christianity
The most Mohammed could do was say that Allah appeared to him in the tent – when he was alone of course – and spoke to him. He came out of his tent and he said, this and this was told to me. So, go believe him.
It was a problem. Why should anyone believe him? That’s why he came out with his sword and he said either you believe that Allah spoke to me from Heaven or with the fire and the sword I am going to destroy you. That’s why the Rambam calls him ‘the meshugeneh who came out of the desert’. Because that’s how he spread his doctrines – a meshugeneh holding a sword.
J.C. was no different. He never claimed, and neither did his disciples ever claim, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu spoke to him in the presence of the multitude. He couldn’t get away with such a thing. Even the ‘miracles’ of the New Testament didn’t take place among a crowd. They always ‘happened’ in the presence of one or two people. And not important people at all. According to the New Testament two harlots saw something happen and they came and told their story. So you have to believe two zonos that this neis took place. The foundation of Christianity stands on the testimony of two degenerates.
So how did Christianity spread in Europe? Did the two degenerates tell their children who told their children who told their children and from them a nation, a nation of degenerates, came? No. Missionaries came to the kings and converted them and the king said to the ignorant masses: this is it, accept it. The masses didn’t know what to do; if the king tells them to accept, they accept it. It’s the only way you’ll keep your head on your shoulders.
Testimony of Millions
But, lehavdil elef havdolos, when our nation heard the Voice of Hashem at Har Sinai, millions heard that Voice! Millions! Millions claim that they were there! That’s our history! They saw with their eyes! The only case in history where such a claim is made is by the Jewish people because such a story can’t be falsified.
And therefore when you tell your children about Har Sinai, who told you about these things? Millions of parents told it to millions of their children. Children heard from their father what he saw. The mother also spoke about it. Always! They heard it from their grandparents too. And so they believed them; it went into their blood and later, when they had families of their own, they told their children what they had heard from eidim neemanim.
The Unparalleled Testimony
The Rambam calls it the טענה המביאה לאמת – it’s the best argument that leads to the truth. We can bring a lot of arguments for the Torah but here is the one that’s the biggest argument of all. Our entire nation claims not that they heard it from one individual, not that somebody wrote a book and said that this book came down from heaven; the entire nation claimed that we were present and we saw and we heard. All of us! It was ויחן כנגד ההר; like one man they encamped around the mountain witnessed everything.
It’s a remarkable thing, unparalleled, unequaled in history. And that’s why we have the confidence to say it boldly to the whole world. Our tradition is intact, ben achar ben, bas achar bas and that’s why we’ll never stop testifying. And therefore, we get up in the shul and we say with confidence, with boldness, with veracity and assuredness and conviction, וזאת התורה – ‘This Torah, these words, אשר שם משה לפני בני ישראל – it’s the same Torah that our forefathers received on Har Sinai!’ And nobody and nothing will ever budge us from this truth.
