Torah revolution, not evolution

Rabbi Dr David Nossel

Od Olam Congregation, Waverley

Said Rabbi Simlai: “Just as the formation of man was after all the domestic animals, wild animals and birds in the deeds of creation, so too man’s Torah is expressed after the Torah of the domestic animals, wild animals and birds.”

The previous parsha, Shemini, spoke about the laws relating to which animals and birds are kosher to eat. This is what Rabbi Simlai calls “the Torah of the domestic animals, wild animals and birds”. This parsha speaks of the laws relating to the purity and impurity of man – what Rabbi Simlai calls “the Torah of man”.

What is so important about which comes first? And what’s the order of these laws got to do with the order of creation?

A careful read of Rabbi Simlai’s words will reveal something ever so subtle, but ever so strange. And ever so revolutionary. Rabbi Simlai orders the creation as: “the domestic animals, wild animals and birds”.

Who doesn’t know that the birds were not created after the domestic and wild animals, but on the day before them? So why did Rabbi Simlai seemingly forget his basic Bible facts?

The answer to this question provides the opening to discover the revolutionary Torah life-lesson that lies at the heart of Rabbi Simlai.

Rabbi Simlai is not giving us a paleontological lesson. He is not interested in the order in which the animals were created at all. Because if we think that there is a significance to the order, we might make a terrible mistake.

Although the formation of man was obviously the pinnacle of creation, we might think that man still belongs to the overall order of creation. Says Rabbi Silmai: “No he doesn’t! Man is not merely higher on the order of creation. He’s a completely different creation altogether! He does not belong to the same order at all!”

But Rabbi Simlai is not coming to teach us evolutionary or counter-evolutionary thought. He’s coming to change our lives. Therefore he continues: “So too man’s Torah is expressed after the Torah of the domestic animals, wild animals and birds.” 

By “man’s Torah”, Rabbi Simlai means the laws that affect the relationships between people. By “the Torah of the domestic animals, wild animals and birds”, he means the laws that affect what we can and cannot eat.  

Although the Torah laws of man’s relationship with his fellow man is obviously higher than the Torah laws of what we eat, we might think that it still belongs to the same overall order and hierarchy of Torah law. Says Rabbi Simlai: “No he doesn’t! It’s a completely different Torah altogether!”

The “kashrut” of our human relationships is not merely higher on the “evolutionary” scale of Torah law than the “kashrut” of what we eat. It’s a completely different Torah altogether!

That’s Rabbi Simlai’s revolutionary Torah.