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How can Torah (תורה) be unchanging when we have countless rabbinic additions like Chanukah (חנוכה) and safeguards that restrict biblical mitzvos? The shiur distinguishes between Torah as God's unchanging essence versus rabbinic responses to human weakness. All authentic Jewish innovations address changes in human capacity, never alterations to divine law itself.
This shiur provides an in-depth exploration of the ninth principle of faith from Maimonides' thirteen principles: that God will not replace or change His law for all time. Rabbi Zweig begins by presenting the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s formulation that nothing can be added to or subtracted from either the written or oral Torah (תורה), as stated in "You shall not add to it nor subtract from it." He then confronts a fundamental challenge to this principle by examining the numerous apparent changes and additions that have occurred throughout Jewish history. The lecture addresses several perplexing questions: How can we maintain that the Torah is unchangeable when we have rabbinic innovations like Chanukah (חנוכה) candles, Purim (פורים) observances, and countless other rabbinic laws? Why are we permitted to bury the dead in shatnez garments based on the principle that after resurrection people will be "chofshi min hamitzvos" (free from commandments)? How do we reconcile the Rambam's own statement that in messianic times, all sacred books except the Five Books of Moshe and Megillas Esther will become obsolete?
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Thirteen Principles of Faith - Ninth Principle
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Why does the Torah emphasize worldly rewards when Maimonides teaches that the true reward is the World to Come? The shiur distinguishes between two levels: mitzvos naturally sustain creation's proper functioning in this world, while their deeper purpose is achieving deveikut - spiritual closeness with God in the afterlife. This reframes the entire question of performing mitzvos for reward versus performing them selflessly.
