The Limits of Human Reason

In the realm of precise science based on experimentation, this is the situation, and even more so in spiritual matters where human intellect cannot independently comprehend the truth about the nature of the world and the supreme power, which is beyond nature and cannot be grasped by the mind. A person's intellect can only process materials that the senses bring to them, primarily sight, hearing, and emotion.

Just as one sensory organ does not invade the domain of another—for example, the eye cannot sense sounds, and conversely, the ear cannot distinguish colors, as this is foreign to one sense or another (exceptions in nature do not prove this rule)—so too, the intellect can only grasp intellectual material, that which is provided by the senses, while matters beyond the intellect are not perceived by it, just as the ear does not perceive the existence of colors. Moreover, if the frequency and magnitude of sounds exceed the ear's capacity to hear them, they are not heard at all.

But this does not negate their actual existence, for they exist regardless of whether they are felt. Thus, human intellect grasps any material only after its senses have impressed it, and only through them can it comprehend and think. Therefore, it cannot understand and know the absolute truth in spiritual matters and only perceives each matter subjectively. The Torah originates from an exalted source not dominated by human senses, and thus the intellect cannot comprehend it. This is reflected in King Solomon's statement, "I said I will be wise, but it was far from me."

As Job says, "Man does not know its value." However, the truth about existence and being was communicated to us through the Torah in terms that the intellect can understand. The Torah has also conveyed the truth about existence, contrary to scientists who are sometimes misled by secondary natural phenomena and assert that this is the essence of nature and a decisive factor in its existence. An example is Darwin's presumption about the "struggle for existence," which held that cruel competition rules the world, and modern society accepted this assumption until Kropotkin, as known, wrote a significant work on "Mutual Aid in the Animal Kingdom," collecting precise scientific data and facts from various animals, proving conclusively that without mutual aid, no living thing could exist for even an hour. This refuted the assumptions they had so decisively championed.

Although a struggle for existence does exist, it is not the foundation upon which the living world is built. Instead, it is built on mutual aid and compassion as fundamental aspects of nature. Kropotkin unveiled just one facet of "His mercy on all His works." The English philosopher David Hume and later philosopher Kant reached the conclusion that "we do not know the essence of the external world at all" through the idea that our concepts are subjective.

We can only perceive the phenomena of the world as our senses transmit them to our intellect. This phenomenon is merely a false image of things, as it can be assumed the senses alter the true appearance of things, and they do not convey to the intellect their image as their essence. Thus, we do not know what lurks behind the phenomenon's veil and what the core essence of the thing is beyond our experience.

It's odd how our intellect and knowledge are limited in everything concerning the material world surrounding us, and that we know only a false image of the world's essence, yet we boldly affirm judgments about matters that are above nature and beyond the intellect. While regarding our world, we can debate whether to accept this notion, but we certainly must accept this regarding the formation of the world and Hashem, where intellect alone is too weak to express an opinion.

Only through prophecy, which reaches far beyond the realm accessible to natural intellect—once it dresses its insights in natural intellectual material—can we derive our understanding of these subtle subjects. In contrast to Kant's assertion that we do not know reality in its essence at all, the Enlightenment thinkers adopted the idea of "I and none besides me," considering that they had reached the peak of ability, and what was not attained by their time, indeed does not exist. They claimed that if a reality existed, the intellect would perceive it. Now we know how flawed this theory is since humanity progressed scientifically after the Enlightenment era more than until then, discovering breakthroughs previously mocked by Enlightenment theorists. Their theory sufficed at the time to lead many people, especially Jews, astray from their minds and faiths.

The idea that Kant's transcendentalism became famous worldwide originates from a Jewish idea the Maharal of Prague expressed about 200 years before Kant. The words of the Maharal were very famous, and it is quite possible they reached Kant's awareness. The difference between the original Maharal's idea and Kant's is this: According to the Maharal, "matter does not have absolute existence" because, as he writes in another sentence, "the material has no existence at all compared to the distinct degree (meaning in relation to the supreme intellect)," according to Kant! We have no way to penetrate and recognize reality as it is.

We only identify the world's phenomena as the senses transmit them to our intellect. This phenomenon is merely a false image of things." He did not manage to acknowledge what surrounds him, but he was adept at negating the ultimate cause that brings everything into being. The creation was indeed made for the existence we know, so in relation to us, reality is indeed real and not false. Conversely, regarding the distinct level, the physical creation has no reality at all.

According to this idea, we can understand some Talmudic statements regarding the eternity of the Torah and the commandments. It is known that one of the foundations of the Jewish faith is that "the Torah is eternal, it will not be replaced, and there will not be another Torah from the Creator." Despite that, we find statements that seem to contradict this principle. For example, Rabbi Yosef's statement "indicates that the commandments will be null in the future," but if we contemplate, we will understand this—The Torah given by divine authority comes from a source that our concepts cannot grasp in its true essence, as Hashem and the Torah are one. As the wisest of men said, "I said I will be wise, but it was far from me." And Job, "Man does not know its value." Even Moses, through whom the Torah was given, did not grasp all fifty gates of understanding. Furthermore, according to the Talmud, the Torah preceded the creation of the world by many generations. The Torah and commandments obligating us are from the recipient's side, the human world: This is the simplicity of the Torah according to human understanding, as transmitted through the Oral Torah.

However, in the future, when the essence of the world will change, the recipient's side will also change. The same Torah will be understood in the future according to the scale of the spiritual world that will exist then. Perhaps this is one reason the Oral Torah was not given in writing—because the Oral Torah is a reflection of the Written Torah for the material world, as long as the world operates by its nature, and even after the Redeemer comes.

But in a later period, said to be beyond the sight of any eye, and even the prophets did not prophesize about this period, the Torah will not be understood according to the laws of the Oral Torah. The Maharal of Prague notes on this Talmudic statement that it was not stated that the Torah will be null in the future, but rather, the commandments will be null in the future. The commandments, which are according to the order of this world, do not belong to the order of the next world, which is the world of resurrection. Because the Torah encompasses all orders of existence, including the order of existence for the time of resurrection—what will be in the future.

Just as in the Torah, there are commandments that were only relevant in their time, such as "the inheritance shall not transfer from one tribe to another," which was said only for the generation entering the land—similarly, all that Hashem said to the forefathers and many such instructions—and it should not be said, Heaven forbid, that the Torah is nullified. But it should be said that this is how the Torah stated that the commandment is for this time and no more, and thus the entire order of reality is written in the Torah for eternal eternity.

Even if we do not know its entire content now, in the future, we will understand the Torah's words in their entirety and know to differentiate which commandments belong to the reality of this world and which belong to the reality of the world of resurrection. Based on what was said above, we can understand the Talmudic statements regarding mitzvot, which seem to contain contradictions. In contrast to the statement, "commandments will be null," we often find in the Talmud the expression "the law for the Messiah" interpreted by Rashi as, "this law needs to be established for the times of the Messiah, when the Temple will be built." In other places, it is said that only certain commandments will change, such as "Mamzers and Nethin should be purified in the future," according to Rabbi Yosei.

And in the midrashim, changes related to slaughter and sacrifices that will occur in the future are mentioned. It seems that each statement refers to a different period. "Commandments will be null in the future" refers to the period of the world to come that "no eye has seen, O God, except Yours," and even the prophets did not prophesy about this period, and this is a period of different reality as the Maharal explained.

On the other hand, "the law for the Messiah" and what is said in the Jerusalem Talmud that the laws are not destined to be nullified, as well as what Maimonides writes, "All the books of the Prophets and the Writings are destined to be nullified in the era of the Messiah, except for the scroll of Esther, and it exists as the five books of the Torah and the laws of the Oral Torah that are never nullified..." perhaps refers to the time of the Messiah when the world will conduct itself according to its custom.

And perhaps this is the intent of the owner of the Maggid in his comment "all the books, etc." in the Midrash, and there is an acquisition here. And if his intention is simply to the time of the Messiah, the truth will show his way. Regarding the statements dealing with individual commandments, it is possible that the intention is toward a certain period within those periods after the Redeemer’s arrival that we do not know much about or these are laws of temporary instruction in the future as the Rashba explains. Concerning the Prophets and Writings, which are destined to be nullified, we already brought above in the name of the Alsheikh, that since the earth will be filled with knowledge and all these books are hinted at in the Torah, they will understand from the Torah itself all that was said in the books of prophecy.