Part of what makes Judaism so special is how it has always changed and adapted to its context. The Judaism of the Jews who live in wildly different places simultaneously is unique with customs and traditions of their own, while also recognizable and connected to the Judaism of everywhere else.
One of the reasons for that is that Judaism is always in the hands of the actual Jews who live it, in those places, and throughout history. It is an essential quality of Judaism.
Many rabbis, including me, use the story of the Oven of Akhnai, a story about the rabbis debating Rabbi Eliezer about halakhah. In that story, Rabbi Eliezer is objectively correct, even God says so, but the law is ultimately decided by the majority, because, lo bashamayim hee, “[The Torah] is not in heaven,” (Deuteronomy 30:12). In each generation, we have the power to decide the halakhah based on our context.
Paid subscribers can check out my teaching on this story here. (Class 5, 27:30)
Here’s the full set of verses:
It is not in the heavens, that you should say, “Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?”
Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?”
No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.
This quote from our Torah portion this week, Nitzavim, teaches us that we, lowly humans, can decide what Judaism actually looks like. We choose to draw from the Tradition, to stay connected to what has come before, while adapting and changing it to suit our needs.
But that isn’t the only way that the rabbis approach this source. Here are a few Talmud sugiyot connected to this verse.
1. We Forgot the Laws after Moses
In the tractate, Temurah, we learn about the after-effects of Moses’ death.
Rav Yehuda says that Shmuel says: Three thousand halakhot were forgotten during the days of mourning for Moses. The Jewish people said to Joshua: Ask for guidance from Heaven so that you can reacquire the forgotten halakhot. Joshua said to them: “It is not in heaven” (Deuteronomy 30:12).
Shmuel teaches us that after Moses died, the people were in mourning. In their mourning, they forgot a tremendous number of halakhot given down by Moses. It is unclear if they were known by the people at large or only by Moses.
However, we should understand that there was a desire to restore them and they turned to Joshua. His response? Our verse.
Rabbi Steinsaltz suggests a similar interpretation to that of the Oven of Akhnai above, each generation must decide the halakhah according to their context.
The page of Talmud continues with different individuals approached to resolve this issue of lost halakhot.
Samuel, the prophet, Pinchas, and Elazar are asked to consult God, and all say prophets are not allowed to introduce new elements. We also learn that one of the sin offerings is forgotten.
Even later on that page, we learn:
It is taught in a baraita: One thousand and seven hundred a fortiori inferences, and verbal analogies, and minutiae of the scribes were forgotten during the days of mourning for Moses.
Not just the laws but many nuances, analogies, and tiny details were lost as well. However, these seem to be restored by Othniel, son of Kenaz, through his erudite study.
All of this comes to say that the Torah is not just this esoteric, “only God knows” kind of document. It is shared by all of us, not to add (or subtract) elements, but to dig deep with study, learning all of the nuances and analogies.
Our humanness is an important part of the equation.
2. What is Joy? When you have Torah.
Drawing on that same idea of studying Torah, we learn this on Eruvin 54a:
Rav Ami said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; let them be firmly attached together to your lips” (Proverbs 22:18)?
When are words of Torah pleasant?
When you keep them within you and know them. And when will you keep them within you? When they will be attached together to your lips, i.e., when you articulate them audibly and expound them.
Rav Ami interprets this verse from Proverbs, by asking and answering the question, “when are words of Torah pleasant?”
When we actively engage with words of Torah, they become pleasant.
It is not meant to be passively experienced, but something that comes from within, recited with one’s body, heard by one’s ears, engaged with by one’s intellect.
But that’s not all.
Rabbi Zeira said that this idea is derived from here: “A man has joy in the answer of his mouth; and a word in due season, how good it is” (Proverbs 15:23). When does a man have joy?
When an answer related to Torah study is in one’s mouth.
Another version: When does a man have joy in the answer of his mouth? When one experiences the fulfillment of: A word in due season, how good it is, i.e., when one knows when and how to address each issue.
Rabbi Zeira adds, from another verse in Proverbs, that joy is the satisfaction of understanding an element of Torah. When something is “in one’s mouth,” it is close, understood, and able to be articulated.
It is often said that you may not truly understand something until you are forced to explain it.
Rabbi Yitzḥak said that this idea is derived from here: “But the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it” (Deuteronomy 30:14).
When is it very near to you? When it is in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
The context of the verse, “it is not in Heaven,” is that it is not far away, but instead, “the thing is very close to you.” Rabbi Yitzhak draws on this verse, from the same thought as our text, and says that this feeling, of Torah being close is when you are able to share a piece of Torah.
When that Torah is internalized, comprehended, and acted upon, that is when it is “not in heaven…but very close to you.”
3. Torah is for those who chase after it, with humility.
In connecting to the broader context of “it is not in heaven,” the Talmud continues this discussion but from a new angle on Eruvin 55a, just a page or two later.
And this idea, that one must exert great effort to retain one’s Torah knowledge, is in accordance with what Avdimi bar Ḥama bar Dosa said:
What is the meaning of that which is written: “It is not in heaven…nor is it beyond the sea” (Deuteronomy 30:12–13)?
“It is not in heaven” indicates that if it were in heaven, you would have to ascend after it, and if it were beyond the sea, you would have to cross after it, as one must expend whatever effort is necessary in order to study Torah.
In order to experience the joy and pleasantness described above, we are meant to put in the effort to engage in Torah. How much effort?
As much effort to ascend to heaven and cross the sea. That is a serious commitment. We should do what we can, what we must, to really engage in Torah.
But it isn’t just external effort, internal effort too.
Rava said: “It is not in heaven” means that Torah is not to be found in someone who raises their mind over it, like the heavens, i.e., they think their mind is above the Torah and they do not need a teacher; nor is it to be found in someone who expands their mind over it, like the sea, i.e., they think they know everything there is to know about the topic they have learned.
Rava aligns his thinking to be about us, and how we approach our learning. One who is arrogant and presumes they know everything already is not engaging with Torah authentically.
Rabbi Yoḥanan said: “It is not in heaven” means that Torah is not to be found in the haughty, those who raise their self-image as though they were in heaven. “Nor is it beyond the sea” means that it is not to be found among merchants or traders who are constantly traveling and do not have the time to study Torah properly.
Rabbi Yohanan takes a similar approach. He says more specifically that haughty and arrogant people who see themselves as heavenly or perfect are not found to contain real Torah.
I disagree with his second point fully, though. He argues that those who travel do not have Torah either. He’s right that those individuals who do not invest the time and effort will not have Torah accessible to them.
On the other hand, we live in an era where Torah learning can be done anywhere and everywhere. One’s job does not limit them anymore with their access to Torah.
In each of these approaches, we understand that Torah learning (and doing) is something we have to do actively. It does not just happen.
We each have a role in owning our Judaism, our relationship to God and Torah, and making Judaism relevant to our lives and contexts.
The question then becomes: what will you do?