Not in Heaven (לֹא בַשָּׁמַיִם הִיא, ''lo ba-shamayim hi'') is a phrase found in a Biblical verse, , which encompasses the passage's theme, and takes on additional significance in

rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonia ...

. In its literal or plain meaning, the verse means that God's commands are not overwhelming but rather close to human hearts and abilities to obey. As noted in the '' New Oxford Annotated Bible,'' "The covenant demand is not beyond human reach or understanding but has been graciously revealed... 'the word is near you.'"''New Oxford Annotated Bible,'' Deut. 30:14. The full verse states: "It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?' In general, the verse conforms with how "... the deuteronomic tradition believed its

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

to be an immediately accessible wisdom, neither distant nor wondrous."

Jewish interpretations

The phrase "not in Heaven" is understood to justify human authority to interpret the Torah. The Talmud explains " he Torahis not in Heaven" to mean that the meaning of the Torah itself is to be uncovered not by prophets, or even God's

miracles A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

or words, but by humankind's interpretation and decision-making. In the story of

the Oven of Akhnai ''The Oven of Akhnai'' is a Talmudic story found in Bava Metzia 59a-b which is set around the early 2nd century CE. In the Talmud, the story is told after a discussion of being careful not to mistreat a person and the power of prayers which are s ...

, "

Rabbi Yehoshua Joshua ben Hananiah ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ ben Ḥánanyāh''; d. 131 CE), also known as Rabbi Yehoshua, was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Second Temple. He is the seventh-most-frequently mentioned sage i ...

affirmed the independence of human interpretation from divine intervention since this is what God wills. In support he adduces the biblical statement that the Torah is 'not in heaven' ()." In the academic study of Jewish law, the verse "not in Heaven" serves as the Biblical grounding for the jurisprudential structure of

halakhah ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

(Jewish law). The source for Rabbinic authority is really from (According to the law which they shall teach you, and according to the judgment which they shall tell you, you shall do). As one author explains, thanks to the

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

ic reading of the verse, "...God himself acquiesced in His exclusion from the halakhic process. Having revealed His will in Sinai in the ''grundnorm,'' He Himself, according to the Rabbinic explanation, entrusted the interpretation of His will to the Sages."Roth, p.124. Cp. Elon on the absolute authority of the sages, ch.7:4.

Bibliography

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Tora ...

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law ('' ...

, Foundations of the Torah 9:1-4 (E.g., "it is said 'It is not in heaven' -- you thus learn that henceforth no prophet is authorized to innovate anything." Walzer p. 269) *Berkovits, Eliezer. ''Not in Heaven: The Nature and Function of Halakhah.'' (NY, 1983) Cf. "Conversion and the Oral Law" reprinted in ''Essential Essays on Judaism'' (Jerusalem: Shalem Press, 2006). *Boyarin, Daniel. "Old Wine in New Bottles: Intertextuality and Midrash." ''Poetics Today'', 1987 *Gordis, Robert. ''The Dynamics of Judaism: A Study in Jewish Law.'' (Indiana UP:1990) *JP Rosenblatt, JC Sitterson. ''Not in Heaven: Coherence and Complexity in Biblical Narrative'' (Indiana UP:1991) *Walzer, et al. ''The Jewish Political Tradition: Authority'' (Yale 2000)

References

{{Jews and Judaism Jewish law principles Jewish philosophy Biblical phrases

Jewish interpretations

See also

Bibliography

References