One of the most famous and important statements in this week’s portion is the statement that the Torah is not in Heaven. That means that we have been given the tools to interpret the Torah. God wants us to use our abilities to make the world a better place.
It Is Not in Heaven — God Wants Us to Think
This week’s portion contains perhaps one of the most remarkable statements in the entire Torah:
“It is not in heaven.”
The Torah is telling us that its teachings are accessible to us. We have the Written Torah, but we also have the Oral Torah—the tradition through which the Torah is interpreted, debated, and applied to the circumstances of human life.
The Talmud illustrates just how powerful this idea is with the famous story of the Oven of Achnai in Bava Metzia.
There was a dispute concerning the ritual status of an oven that had been cut into sections and then put back together with sand between the pieces. Rabbi Eliezer ruled that the oven was pure. The other sages disagreed.
Rabbi Eliezer presented every argument he could, but the majority would not accept his position.
Finally, he said, “If I am correct, let this carob tree prove it.”
The carob tree miraculously moved from its place.
The sages answered, in effect, “We do not decide Jewish law based upon carob trees.”
Rabbi Eliezer then said, “If I am correct, let the stream prove it.”
The water began flowing backward.
Again, the sages refused to accept the miracle as evidence.
Then Rabbi Eliezer called upon the walls of the study hall to prove that he was correct. The walls began to lean inward.
Still, the sages would not change their ruling.
Finally, Rabbi Eliezer appealed directly to Heaven.
A heavenly voice declared that Rabbi Eliezer was correct.
You would think that would settle the argument. After all, what better authority could there possibly be than God Himself?
But Rabbi Yehoshua stood up and quoted the Torah:
“It is not in heaven.”
In effect, he was saying: God, You gave us the Torah. You gave us the principles by which it is to be interpreted. You commanded us to debate it and to follow the proper legal process. Now the responsibility is ours.
That is an extraordinary concept.
The Torah does not expect us to be mindless robots waiting for a miracle or a voice from Heaven to tell us what to do. God gave human beings the responsibility to study, argue, interpret, and ultimately make decisions according to the rules of the Torah itself.
And there is an equally fascinating conclusion to the story.
The Talmud relates that Rabbi Natan later encountered Elijah the Prophet and asked him what God had done at that moment.
Elijah answered that God smiled and said:
“My children have defeated Me; My children have defeated Me.”
God was not angry. Quite the opposite. His children had understood the system He had given them.
But there is another side to the story that we should not overlook. Rabbi Eliezer was subsequently treated very harshly, and the consequences were terrible. The Talmud therefore reminds us that even when the majority has the authority to make the final decision, that does not give it the right to humiliate the minority.
You can win an argument and still behave badly toward the person who lost it.
That may be one of the most important lessons of the entire episode.
“It is not in heaven” means that God has entrusted us with tremendous responsibility. He wants us to study. He wants us to debate. He wants us to interpret. He wants us to make decisions.
But He also expects us to respect one another while doing it.
God gave us the Torah—and then trusted us enough to think.
And that is something to think about.
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