Am Naval Veloh Chacham
Targum Onkeles is mefarash "Am Dekabilu Oiraysah veloh Chakimu" How does Naval translate into Kabilu Oiraysah? Even if you would like to suggest that Onkeles is saying that it is a statement of amazement that Yisrael could accept the Torah and still not get Chachma, you would not be answering the fact that he is translating "naval" which can only be taken in a pejorative sense, to "Kabilu Oraysa".
It seems obvious to me that what Onkeles is saying is that only a nation that has the Torah can be so bad. That is the effect of Kabilu Oraysah velo Chakimu. Having Torah and not letting it be Mechakem is the Torah of "Sam Hamaves". The pasuk is answering the question of "HalHashem Tegmilu Zot?" how can a nation act like this towards God? the answer is only a nation that was "Kabilu Oiraysah" and at the same time "Lo Chakimu" can sink to such a low level. The Kabilu Oiraysa is the cause for the terrible behaviour.
I was shown recently that Likkutei Moharan I, 123. R' Nachman discusses this vexatious Targum. Without going into Rav Nachman's take on it specifically, I would like to offer my interpretation. R' Nachman says that for one to truly accept the Torah, man must close his mind. A person must first divest himself from his own sechel and allow the Torah to take over. There is much logic in the Torah that takes time to digest. A person's initial intuition might instinctively reject the Torah's logic. However the Torah is "Da'as Eloki" and one must learn to accept it and study it until he ultimately understands it and can start thinking truthfully. However if one takes the first step and divests himself from his own mind to allow Torah to enter but doesn't take the next step of fully immersing himself in Torah to the extent that Torah takes over and fills the void that he has left, that person will be left with just the void and worse off than when he started. That is the "Am Naval veloh Chacham" referred to in this pasuk. The Torah tells us that we have left ourselves as a nation void of logic and learning because we opened ourselves to accept the true "Sechel" but have not taken the next step of becoming an "Am Chacham" which leaves us with nothing and creates a much worse situation.
It seems obvious to me that what Onkeles is saying is that only a nation that has the Torah can be so bad. That is the effect of Kabilu Oraysah velo Chakimu. Having Torah and not letting it be Mechakem is the Torah of "Sam Hamaves". The pasuk is answering the question of "HalHashem Tegmilu Zot?" how can a nation act like this towards God? the answer is only a nation that was "Kabilu Oiraysah" and at the same time "Lo Chakimu" can sink to such a low level. The Kabilu Oiraysa is the cause for the terrible behaviour.
I was shown recently that Likkutei Moharan I, 123. R' Nachman discusses this vexatious Targum. Without going into Rav Nachman's take on it specifically, I would like to offer my interpretation. R' Nachman says that for one to truly accept the Torah, man must close his mind. A person must first divest himself from his own sechel and allow the Torah to take over. There is much logic in the Torah that takes time to digest. A person's initial intuition might instinctively reject the Torah's logic. However the Torah is "Da'as Eloki" and one must learn to accept it and study it until he ultimately understands it and can start thinking truthfully. However if one takes the first step and divests himself from his own mind to allow Torah to enter but doesn't take the next step of fully immersing himself in Torah to the extent that Torah takes over and fills the void that he has left, that person will be left with just the void and worse off than when he started. That is the "Am Naval veloh Chacham" referred to in this pasuk. The Torah tells us that we have left ourselves as a nation void of logic and learning because we opened ourselves to accept the true "Sechel" but have not taken the next step of becoming an "Am Chacham" which leaves us with nothing and creates a much worse situation.
posted by funnyfundamentalist at 7:57 PM
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