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[   Home   |   Overview   |   Old Testament   |   New Testament   |   Preservation, Circulation, Influence   ]

The Old Testament is revered by Jews

The Hebrew scriptures decisively shaped the living memory and identity of a unique people. They are revered as writings from antiquity, yet treasured even today as an ever living and unceasingly relevant word.

To grasp what the Hebrew Scriptures are about, think of them as revolving around some key concepts, which for simplicity we will summarize with words beginning with the letter "P." They have to do with:

    Providence - The Hebrew Scriptures manifest a constant awareness that the God who created all is involved with His creation and active in human history.

    People - The people who descended from the great patriarchs-Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-are chosen and set apart by God for unique service in, to, and for the world.

    Place - The land of Israel promised to this people by God if they would faithfully follow Him.

    Promise - This people and God were united by a covenant, or agreement, that God would be with them, guide them, bless them, if they would follow His ways.

    Prophecy -Warnings against injustice, idolatry, and social evil, and prophecy predicting future events, including the coming of a Messiah to save and deliver.

A love letter from God

I read the Torah as Jews have read it and loved it for centuries. For example, I can tell you what is the middle word in the Torah. I can tell you what is the middle letter in the Torah. Over the generations Jewish scholars have read the Torah not as a novel to see how it ends, but as a love letter. For instance, 'Why did he use this word instead of that word?' 'Why is there a space here?' 'Why a comma here instead of a period?' That's the way you read a love letter and wonder, 'What did he or she mean by this word?' We Jews have seen the Torah as not just a book of stories or law codes, but as a love letter from God.

--Comment by Rabbi Harold Kushner on VISN TV




At the end of his life, Moses admonished his people:

Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you. They are your life. --Deuteronomy 32:46-47



Copyright Christian History Institute, All Rights Reserved
Material Reproduced with Permission of the Christian History Institute

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