mentalblog.com comments:
"Was I correct?"
it depends on who the interviewer was. if he was a jew the answer is correct, if he was a gentile the answer is definitely wrong! if he was a goy you should have answered 1.
I speak the truth and let others open it to the interpretation.
ok, let me paraphrase, if the interviewer was a jew your answer was TRUE, if he was a gentile the answer is definitely false! if he was a goy the truth is answer #1.
While your answer was true, it may also be misleading.
(As in, the poll could have said 1. Fundamentalist 2. Moderately Religious and 3. Heretical and have had the same effect.
People who don't understand how Judaism works assume that a Fundamentalist would have answered 1. You answered 2, thereby pigeon-holing yourself.
But, at the end of the day, I probably would have done the same.
Definitely correct. Although the Jewish version would have added "within certain guidelines."
TA, not that a survey from Indiana University is as significant as a Gallop poll, but...
Results of such surveys have political implications as well. Even the purely academic surveys are often used to gain political ground. In light of that, let's translate the multiple choices you site into the political positions implied in them:
1. literal word of G-d = "no to gay marriage, G-d gave Israel to the JEWS, etc"
2. word of G-d open to interpretation = "maybe to gay marriage, Jews have some legitimate claim to Israel, etc"
3. authored by man = "yes to gay marriage, Jews must accommodate the indigenous population of Palestine, etc"
My point: answering such surveys is not about theological "truth seeking", rather it is akin to voting for president – an opportunity to sway what happens toward the side of "good" (aka "truth"). With this in mind, IMHO you should have answered "1".
Taken literally as interpreted by Chazal, Not open to our interpretation.
We believe that the literal meaning of the Torah IS the way Chazal viewed it in the sense of "Kol ma she talmid vasik asid Lechadesh" !
Bingo. Nothing much to add here.
In theory at least, reform believes that they are the continuation of "talmid vasik".
(1) is a Christian answer. (2), the answer you gave, is a Karaite answer. The correct Rabbinical answer is "... that cannot be understood or followed without another revelation called the Oral Torah".
Tzemach, like I said, this is why you should think twice before deleting comments. למען ישמעו וייראו
Both 1 and 2 are correct. Sometimes it is to be taken literally; sometimes it is open to interpretation.
Commenting by HaloScan
