Wednesday 17 September 2014

Laws of Inheritance - Polyhedrin






More claims from Gil Student:

10. The laws of inheritance as stated in Numbers [27:8-11] cannot begin to address all of the many complicated situations that can and have arisen throughout the generations.  Without an oral law, how does a society apply the biblical inheritance laws [Kuzari, ibid; Rashbatz, ibid.]?

The above claim by Student/Kuzari, is not even an alleged proof for oral law, but a question.     It has 2 parts to it.

1)   It claims that the laws in Numbers 27 cannot address all of the inheritance situations. 

2)   It asks how does a society apply Biblical law, in the absence of oral law?

Firstly, the laws in Numbers 27 do address most of the normal type of inheritance situations. Rabbis tend to argue that some very rare complicated case is not covered by a regular law, and hence they need the oral law.  But that is not a proof of the existence of an oral law.  It is seeking an exception to the rule. This tactic, is also used by Islam.


The 2nd part  has several answers.   In absence of an oral law, society applies Biblical Law the way it is written in the Bible.  

However, if we read the same chapter in Numbers that is cited by Kuzari, we see that the Torah refutes the oral Law, the Talmud, and the concept of a Polyhedron, or Sanhedrin.  The Rabbis claim that Torah is not in heaven, that asking God for legal instruction is not valid, and that all “halacha” is decided by a rabbinical court of 71, the Hellenistic Sanhedrin.   This is the total opposite of what the Bible  teaches, in the very same chapter of Numbers 27:

4 Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he had no son? Give unto us a possession among the brethren of our father.'
5 And Moses brought their cause before the LORD.
6 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
7 'The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.


The rabbinic fable of the oven of Akhnai is in total violation of the Law of Moses. (see http://tanakhemet.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=akhnai)


Furthermore, the Biblical legal system for the complicated or unusual cases is also explicitly stated in the same chapter:

18 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is spirit, and lay thy hand upon him; 19 and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. 20 And thou shalt put of thy honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may hearken. 21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD; at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.' 22 And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation. 23 And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the LORD spoke by the hand of Moses.

There is not an Oral law mentioned here. The system is one of enquiry through the Kohanim, to determine a specific case law.  This procedure was opposed by the rabbis, who brought impurity of the dead into the Temple to disqualify the Kohanim, murdered those who would not go along with rabbinic inventions, took power from the Priesthood and abolished or changed the Temple  practices, so as to erase any Priestly authority from the Temple and from Biblical law.



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