One of my absolute favorite places in the world is the Library of Congress in DC. The architecture, decor and opulence of the building is stunning and I love it.
There is however one part of the Library of Congress which I vehemently must disagree with.
What part? Stay tuned…
Over on DovBear, there has been a running discussion as to the meaning of the 8th Principle of Maimonidies.
According to Maimonidies, in order to be an observant Jew, one must believe in a number of tenets. These 13 tenets are not observable or provable by scientific measure. They require suspension of disbelief or more accurately – belief.
The simple reading of the 8th Tenet seems problematic to many people.
“I believe with complete faith that the entire Torah which is now in our possession is the same as that which was given to Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher), may he rest in peace.”
Many assume this means that Maimonidies believed the 5 Books of Moses were unchanged from Sinai. This is patently false. The Talmud itself recognizes that there are discrepencies that existed in different Torah scrolls over time.
To see the more precise version of this tenet head over to DovBear’s blog: The Rambam’s 8th Principle According to R’ Yaakov Weinberg
The main point of the post is that Maimonidies holds that we must believe that Moses was not an author, he was a scribe. Moses did not add an ounce of creativity to the Torah. He was just writing what he was told.
Is this rational? No. But this is what we are required to believe.
In the Great Hall in the Library of Congress, there are tablets on the slope toward the ceiling. The Library of Congress has sixteen such tablets around the Great Hall ceiling and each has the name of a famous author. The names are DANTE, HOMER, MILTON, BACON, ARISTOTLE, GOETHE, SHAKESPEARE, MOLIERE, MOSES, HERODOTUS, CERVANTES, HUGO, SCOTT, COOPER, LONGFELLOW, TENNYSON, GIBBON, and BANCROFT.
Is the Library of Congress required to believe in the 8th Principle of Maimonidies? No.
They can hold that Moses was an author along with the other 15 literary giants.
To me, it’s just a mistake and a disagreement between the Library of Congress and Maimonidies.
FAVOR: If you have been to the LOC and have a picture of what I am describing – PLEASE email it to me. If you are going to the LOC sometime soon, PLEASE take a photo for me! Thanks.
UPDATE: Reader, Mark has emailed me this photo, thanks:
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