The Choice in the Judaic Belief

The notion of the choice in the Torah

The concept of Belief in the Torah

The doctrine of belief in the Torah is founded on the idea of the one and only eternal unique God. He is the creator of the universe. The Old Testament in the Genesis we are informed about the successive acts of creation by God:

‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.' Genesis 1: 1

In its presentation Genesis informs of a creation already programmed with precise finality characteristics. In order to achieve these stages of creation the creator has initiated things from ‘nothingness'. He had a precisely detailed plan. He had executed His plan according to His own will. The Torah confronts constantly man with the idea of creation as an immediate act of God's will.

Creation is an Act of God's Will

In this perspective there is no place for either auto-creation or for Darwinian evolution, or for any other natural forces such as nature and energy. The idea of order and organization are primordial to the creation of the universe. Chaos and disorder is totally rejected according to this concept. This perspective of creation is based on the word of Genesis. As is the case in all religions there is no attempt to provide with evidence, or proof, or index for its assumptions. The whole structure of Judaism, as it is in Christianity and Islam, is founded on the premise that there is no appeal to factual evidence of its proclamations, i.e. to the origin of, the divine will or the intentional directives underlying creation. The Old Testament does not discuss the nature of the God-creator nor the questions of matter and time nor for what purpose creation was made.

To the question of Moses concerning God the Book of Exodus informs us:

‘But Moses protested, "If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you', they won't believe me. They will ask, ‘Which god are you talking about? What is his name? Then what should I tell them?" God replied, I AM ONE WHO ALWAYS IS. Just tell them, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'" God also said, "Tell them, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob- has sent me to you.' This will be my name forever; it has always been my name, and it will be used throughout all generations."' Exodus 3: 13-15

First Reference to Choice between belief and Disbelief

In this text we have ample evidence for a choice of belief and disbelief in a God creator presented verbally to the Israelites. The argument of the existence of such a God is founded on the word administered to Moses. Belief in God is based entirely on the verbal encounter. There is no way of verifying its authenticity or its reality, let alone its originator and the proclamations made in the message.

The Historical Perspective

Historically, and factually, there is no reference found in the old texts of ancient Egypt and even less any reference to the Old Testament. According to Egyptologists the term ‘Israel' is mentioned one time in ancient Egyptian texts in the twelfth century before our time (about 1172 B.C.), in which the Exodus took place hypothetically. This, it is claimed by Egyptologists as well as Jewish history archeologists, is due to either the none existent evidence for the actual eventualities proclaimed by the Old Testament or the intentional extraction of ‘the history of the Israelites' from the Pharaonic texts. In this study we consider the second assumption as more plausible.

The message of the Torah

In Exodus, we are informed of the content of the message sent in terms of the particular to the Israelites and in the absolute general to mankind. The Ten Commandments constitute the content-essence of the divine message, according to the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, and ultimately in the Qur'an. In Exodus we are told about the first and foremost important Commandment:

‘Then God instructed the people as follows: "I am the Eternal your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. "Do not worship any other gods beside me. "Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds or animals or fish. You must never worship or bow down to them."' Exodus 20: 1-5

The choice

The principle thesis of the Torah is ‘God is'. The notion of the choice is to believe or disbelieve and to obey or disobey the word of God. The consequences of such a choice are clearly marked in terms of reward and punishment. The following Biblical text concludes the conditions of such a choice:

‘I, the Eternal your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god! I do not leave unpunished the sins of those who hate me, but I punish the children of sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations. But I lavish my love on those who love me and obey my commands, even for a thousand generations.' Ex. 20: 5-6 These above texts constitute the first commandment and the Beginning of conditions of the Alliance of the Torah (the Law). It is offered in terms of a choice where the Israelites may or may not comply by the Law with all the consequences that will harvest by the chooser.

The Old Testament indicates the behavior of the Israelites in their choice. First, with regard to their reaction to belief. Second, is the choice to accept or to reject the terms of the Alliance with God and to believe in these terms as divine law. Third, the choice between obedience and disobedience to the terms of the Alliance.

The choice of Moses

The first choice that can be traced in the Law is the mission of the divine message assigned to Moses and addressed to the Pharaoh of Egypt and the Israelites in ancient Egypt (estimated towards 1165-1172 B.C.)

According to the Old Testament, as it is the case in the Qur'an, Moses was addressed directly by God's voice the following message: ‘"I am the God of your ancestors- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."' Ex. 3: 10

‘"Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You will lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."

Moses has responded by objecting to his mission:

‘"But who am I to appear before Pharaoh?" Moses asked him. "How can you expect me to lead the Israelites out if Egypt?"' Ex. 4:1

The second time where Moses objected to be sent to the Israelites is mentioned in the following reference:

‘But Moses protested again, "Look, they won't believe me! They won't do what I tell them. They'll just say, "The Lord never speared to you."' Ex. 4: 1

But the Torah informs us that in both cases he was persuaded to deliver the divine message first to the Pharaoh and second to the Israelites. Signs were given to him to assist him in his mission:

‘"Perform this sign, and they will believe you." The Lord told him. "Then they will realize that the Eternal, the God of their ancestors- really has appeared to you."' Ex. 4: 5

Moses conceded to choose to accept the mission:

‘Then Moses went back home and talked it over with Jethro, his father-in-law. "With your permission," Moses said, "I would like to go back to Egypt to visit my family"…Before Moses left Midian; the Lord said to him, "Do not be afraid to return to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead." Ex. 4: 18-19

The choice of the Pharaohs:

The first indication of the choice between belief and disbelief in God is indicated in the Torah in terms of the reaction of the Egyptians including the Pharaoh of Egypt to the signs given to Moses:

‘Then the Eternal said to Moses,…"If they do not believe the first miraculous sign, they will believe the second." The Eternal said. "And if they do not believe you even after these two signs, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on the dry ground. When you do, it will turn into blood."' Ex. 4: 6, 8-9

We observe in this text that the choice between belief and in the Torah. We will see as well that similar symbolic belief- systems and the imposition of the choice dependent thereupon are displayed in the Gospel and the Qur'an respectively.

Absence of Proof

The choice of these belief-systems never advances any proof or evidence for its proclamations, but remains only on the level of symbolic linguistic promise. This method of symbolically oriented systems of belief leaves humans in the doubt sending back full responsibility to the individual decision maker. Should a proof, or an evidence, or even a solid argument, be presented then the need to believe and disbelieve becomes superfluous and the choice is automatically annulled.

Precisely, the whole idea of belief and disbelief and the choice between these two is founded on the absence of such a proof or evidence. In this way the task of man denoting his very reason of being is annulled and man's life-cycle, and his confrontation with the universe becomes unnecessary. Worldly life becomes meaningless and the whole idea of resurrection, a day of judgment, advanced by religious texts as consequences of the choice, become unnecessary. The task in man's life is to believe or to disbelieve, act or not act in accordance with religious beliefs.

The Divine Message of Moses and the Choice

The divine message confined, according to the Old Testament, to Moses, assisted by his brother Aaron, was destined to obtain belief of the Pharaoh of Egypt, and to let the Israelites depart from Egypt, terminating an age of slavery and servitude that lasted four centuries:

‘Moses and Aaron went to see Pharaoh. They told him, "This is what the Eternal, the God of Israel, says: "Let my people go, for they must go out into the wilderness to hold a religious festival in my honor."' Ex. 5: 1

The Choice of Pharaoh

The Pharaoh of Egypt was given the choice to believe in the divine message and believe in God or to reject this belief. He had the choice to obey the demand of Moses or to disobey by letting the Israelites go. The Pharaoh of Egypt decided to reject belief in God and refused the demand of Moses and so did not accept to release the Israelites from Egypt: ‘"Is that so?" retorted Pharaoh. "And who is the Eternal that I should listen to him and let Israel go? I don't know the Eternal, and I will not let Israel go."' Ex. 5: 2

The Old Testament informs us of the attitude of Pharaoh of Egypt of continuing his rejection of belief and refusing to let the Israelites depart from Egypt. The Pharaoh and the Egyptians were subjugated to many plagues and afflictions until the Pharaoh decided to let the Israelites leave from Egypt. It informs us of the Exodus of the Israelites and the following change of attitude of the Pharaoh who pursuit the Israelites in the attempt to bring them back to Egypt, but his attempt failed and he was faced with drowning in the Red Sea along side his army:

‘When Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and charioteers rushed into the sea, the Lord brought the water crashing down on them.' Ex. 15: 19

All along the encounter between Moses and the Pharaoh of Egypt we have ample evidence in the Torah of the free choice given to Pharaoh and his court to believe or not to believe in God, and the freedom to act in the way they chose.

The choice of the Israelites between belief and disbelief inGod:

The choice to believe or disbelieve was advanced in the divine message of Moses to the Israelites, according to the Torah. This choice, expressed in terms of an ‘Alliance with God', was administered after the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt (about 1172 B.C.):

‘The people of Israel had walked through the middle of the sea on dry land, as the water stood up like a wall on both sides. This was how the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians that day. And the Israelites could see the bodies of the Egyptians washed on the shore. When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Eternal had displayed against the Egyptians, they feared the Eternal and put their faith in him and his servant Moses.' Ex.14: 29-31

The Alliance of God with the Israelites

The Conditions of the Alliance is exemplified in the Ten Commandments following the immediate the Exodus where the Israelites swore allegiance to God:

‘Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord: "I will sing to the Eternal,… the Eternal is my strength and my song; he has become my victory. He is my God, and I will praise him; he is my father's God, and I will exalt him…The Eternal will reign forever and ever." Ex. 15: 1-2, 18

Shortly after the Exodus Moses was assigned the pact of between God and the Israelites:

‘Then God instructed the people as follows: "I am the Eternal your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. "Do not worship any other gods besides me, do not make idols of any kind,…You must never worship or bow down to them.' Ex. 20: 2-5

The principle condition of the Alliance

In Leviticus we are further told about the principle condition of the Pact with the Israelites following the Exodus:

‘"Do not make idols or set up carved images, sacred pillars, or shaped stones to be worshiped in your land. I, the Eternal, your God."' Leviticus 26:1

Promise of the Israelites to obey the Law

The Ten Commandments with details of the Law were written on the Sacred Tablet, according to the Torah, and were administered by Moses to the Israelites:

‘When Moses had announced to the people all the teachings and regulations the Eternal had given him, they answered in unison, "We will do everything the Eternal has told us to do."' Ex. 24: 3

In this verse we have evidence of how the Israelites chose to obey the Law brought by Moses following the Exodus from Egypt.

Change of choice of the Israelites with regard to belief inGod:

Three months after the Exodus from Egypt, the Torah informs us, that during the period where Moses was waiting to meet with God, the Israelites changed their belief in God and took the Calf of Gold as a god:

‘When Moses failed to come back down the mountain right away, the people went to Aaron. "Look," they said, "Make us some gods who can lead us. This man Moses, who brought us here from Egypt, has disappeared. We won't know what has happened to him." Ex. 32: 1

Aaron agreed to make a Calf of Gold and demanded of the Israelites to bring him their jewels of gold:

‘All the people obeyed Aaron and brought him their gold earrings. Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded and tooled it into the shape of a calf. The people exclaimed, "O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!" Ex. 32: 3-4

The Israelites then made an altar of offerings and festivities:

‘When Aaron saw how excited the people were about it, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord!" So the people got up early next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and indulged themselves in pagan revelry.' Ex. 32:

The Torah informs us of the divine reaction that followed the Israelites' change of choice:

‘Then the Eternal told Moses, "Go down the mountain! The people you brought out from Egypt have defiled themselves. They have already turned from the way I commanded them to live. They have made an idol shaped like a calf, and then have worshiped and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘these are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt."' Ex. 32:

Reaction of Moses

Then Moses came down from the mountain and ordered the Levites to kill those who changed their belief in God to belief in the calf:

‘He told them, "This is what the Eternal, the God of Israel, says: Strap on your swords! Go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other, killing even your brothers, friends, and neighbors." The Levites obeyed Moses, and about three thousands people died that day.' Ex. 32: 29

‘And the Eternal sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshiped the calf Aaron had made.' Ex. 32: 35

Moses then asked the Eternal, we are informed in Exodus, to forgive his people after they have chosen disbelief after believing in God:

‘The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a terrible sin, but will return to the Eternal on the mountain. Perhaps I will be able to obtain forgiveness for you. So Moses returned to the Eternal and said, "Alas these people have committed a terrible sin. They have made gods of gold for themselves. But now, please forgive their sin- and if not, then blot me out of the record you are keeping." The Eternal replied to Moses, "I will blot out whoever has sinned against me."' Ex. 32: 30-33

The second choice of the Israelites: believing in the divinelaw

The Torah informs us of the choice offered to the Israelites to believe in the Commandments. The Alliance of Sinai Mountain with God is presented to the Israelites specifying the terms of the Law:

‘The Israelites arrived in the wilderness of Sinai exactly two months after they left Egypt… Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Eternal called out to him from the mountain and said, "Give these instructions to the descendants of Jacob, the people of Israel: "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I brought you to myself and carried you on eagle's wings. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all nations of the earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be to me a kingdom of priests, my holy nation.' Give this message to the Israelites."' Ex. 19: 1,3-6

The Choice in the Conditional

In this Covenant we observe the offer made to the Israelites in  terms of the conditional "if": "If you will obey me" applying the logic of "If…then". This offer gives the freedom of choice to the Israelites to accept the covenant and to obey its conditions. There is no compulsion in the offer but a reward of being "the holy nation of God" in term of a "message" delivered to Moses and transferred to the Israelites.

The Torah tells us that after the Israelites broke their covenant of Sinai with God, by taking the Golden Calf as gods, Moses asked forgiveness for them, he ordained the killing of three thousand of them and asked them to repent.

The Choice of Repentance

The Israelites chose to repent and to return to believe in God. We are told further that God had renewed his covenant with Israelites offering them a second Alliance. The choice of the Israelites was made to enter into the second Alliance accepting all divine commandments. In Exodus we are informed:

‘Now Moses called a meeting of all the people and told them, "You must obey these instructions from the Eternal"' Ex. 35:1 Moses informed the Israelites of the divine instructions and they accepted to comply by this covenant by their own free will: ‘So all the people left Moses and went to their tents to prepare their gifts. If their hearts were stirred and they desired to do so, they brought to the Eternal their offerings of materials for the Tabernacle and its furnishing and for the holy garments. Both men and women came; all whose hearts were willing.' Ex. 35: 20-22

The third choice:

The choice of the Israelites to obey or disobey the Alliance

We have seen above how the Israelites accepted belief in God; then how they chose to accept the covenant. In their choice they were given the choice between obeying the terms of the Alliance or not to obey these terms. In other words, their choice at this level was to comply by the Law or not to comply by the Law. The Alliance of choice grants the freedom of this choice. The Alliance states the consequences of the Israelites' choice. The motive of the choice is clearly observed in the use of the conditional ‘if' and ‘but', as is affirmed in the following verses.

A. The first option of the choice: Obedience

The Israelites were given the free choice to accept the divine commands and obey it with all the consequences of their choice: ‘If you keep my laws and are careful to obey my commands, I will send the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees will produce their fruit…I will give peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep without fear…I will look favorably upon you and multiply your people and fulfill my covenant with you' Levit. 26: 3-4, 6, 9

The new covenant is administered in terms of commands offered to the Israelites. Deuteronomy informs us of the "Call to obey the Lord's Commands":

‘"Today the Eternal your God has commanded you to obey all these laws and regulations. You must commit yourselves to them without reservation. You have declared today that the Eternal is your God. You have promised to obey his laws, commands, and regulations by walking in his ways and doing everything he tells you."' Deuteronomy 26: 16-17

The choice of obedience is given in the following verses:

‘"If you fully obey the Eternal your God by keeping all the commands I am giving you today, the Eternal your God will exalt you above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Eternal your God: You will be blessed in your towns and in the country. You will be blessed with many children and productive fields… The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you…The Eternal will give an abundance of good things."' Deut. 28: 1-4, 7, 11

B. The second option of the choice: Disobedience

The Israelites were given the freedom of choice of rejecting the divine commands and not obeying the Law with the consequences there from:

‘However, if you do not listen to me or obey my commands, and if you break my covenant by rejecting my laws and treating my regulations with contempt, I will punish you. You will suffer from sudden terrors, with wasting diseases, and burning fevers, causing your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away…I will turn against you, and you will be defeated by all your enemies. They will rule over you, and you will run even yield no crops, and your trees will bear no fruit.' when no one is chasing you… And if, in spite of this, you still disobey me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. I will break down your arrogant spirit by making the skies above as unyielding as iron and the earth beneath hard as bronze. All your work will be for nothing'. Levit. 26: 14-20

The Second Option of the Choice

Following the repentance of the Israelites they were given a second option. The second choice of disobedience is offered to the Israelites in terms of freedom of choice and its consequences of disobedience:

‘" But if you refuse to listen to the Eternal your God and do not obey all the commands and laws I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you: You will be cursed in your towns and in the country. You will be cursed with baskets empty of fruit…You will be cursed with few children and barren fields…You will be cursed wherever you go, both in coming and in going…The Eternal will strike you with wasting disease…The Eternal will cause you to be defeated by your enemies…The Eternal will exile you and the king you crowned to a nation unknown to you and your ancestors…If you refuse to listen to the Eternal your God and to obey the commands and laws he has given you, all these curses will pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed."' Deut. 28: 15-17, 19-20, 25, 36, 45

These texts of the Old Testament indicate clearly the conditions of the risk of oscillation of the Israelites between belief and disbelief and between obedience and disobedience in respect of the message of Moses. It denotes the freedom of choice given to the Israelites to believe or to disbelieve in God; it also reveals the free choice and practice given to them in terms of obeying or disobeying the divine message.

Historical Interpretation of the Choice of the Israelites

According to Judaic Tradition

Jewish history indicates the rupture of the Israelites with Moses and belief in God immediately after the Exodus from Egypt. The Israelites were condemned to wander about in the desert for forty years (presumably until the generation of sinners faded away) before they conquered the Promised Land.

They were organized first in a federation then in a kingdom under King David. The zenith of the Kingdom was attained under King Solomon, son of David (about 1000 B.C.) who built the first Temple of Jerusalem. After the death of Solomon, about 933 B.C. the Kingdom was split into two Kingdoms established on the ruins of the old Kingdom, one in the north (Israel) and the second in the south (Judah). They abandoned little by little the teachings of the Torah, practiced idolatry and plunged into corruption. They were delivered incessantly to wars until their final destruction (definitive for the Kingdom of Israel, and temporary for the Kingdom of Judah). The Assyrians destroyed the kingdom of Israel in 721 B.C., by dispersing the Ten Israelite Tribes and deporting the Israelites on exile. The Babylonians destroyed the Kingdom of Judah in 586 B.C. and exiled the Jews for seventy years in Babylon.

This period of the schism of the kingdom to the destruction and eventual restoration of the Kingdom of Judah witnessed, according to the Judaic tradition, the coming of the prophets announcing the imminence of terrible catastrophes, if they persisted in their sinful conduct. The Prophets demanded to put into practice the teachings of the Torah and to establish social justice.

They announced the revival of Israel as well as the first messianic era of justice and peace definitive for the whole humanity. Upon the return of the Jews from exile in Babylon in 536 B.C. they reconstructed the Temple of Jerusalem. They re-conquered their independence against the Greco Syrians and restored the Kingdom of Judah. The Kingdom of Judah succumbed finally facing the Roman Empire.