Rabbi Zweig addresses the challenging question of how Torah (תורה) law can be original when similar laws appear in Hammurabi's Code centuries earlier, defending Torah's divine precedence.
This shiur tackles a fundamental challenge to Torah (תורה)'s originality by examining the relationship between Torah law and pre-existing ancient legal codes, particularly Hammurabi's Code from 1800 BCE. Rabbi Zweig begins with the laws of a master striking his slave's eye or tooth (Mishpatim 21:26-27), explaining the Midrash that connects this to Cham's sin involving his eye and mouth when seeing Noah undressed. The core philosophical problem emerges: if Hammurabi's Code predates the Torah and contains similar laws (eye for eye, goring ox laws, slave legislation), how can Torah claim divine originality? Rabbi Zweig presents his revolutionary thesis: rather than Torah following human legal developments, the opposite is true. God used Torah as the blueprint for creation itself, as Chazal teach that 'God looked into the Torah and created the world.' This means all of reality, including human intuition about justice and law, flows from Torah's eternal principles, not the reverse. When ancient peoples like Hammurabi developed similar laws, they weren't creating precedents that Torah later adopted; they were sensing universal truths embedded in creation's fabric. The Rabbi extends this principle to explain Maimonides' controversial positions on sacrifices and shatnez, where the Rambam (רמב"ם) suggests these laws relate to ancient pagan practices. Rather than Torah copying paganism, sensitive ancient peoples intuited genuine human needs that Torah ultimately fulfills perfectly. Abraham Avinu exemplified this sensitivity, keeping all 613 mitzvos before they were given by perceiving truth through his closeness to the Creator. This framework resolves the apparent problem: similarities between Torah and ancient codes actually prove Torah's perfection. Ancient peoples, closer to creation and less spiritually corrupted, could sense fragments of eternal truth. Their partial successes in legislation demonstrate Torah's comprehensive wisdom. The shiur concludes by explaining how the Jewish people at Sinai said 'na'aseh v'nishma' (we will do and understand) because they felt capable of intuiting divine will through their elevated spiritual state, similar to how Abraham anticipated God's commandments through pure sensitivity to ultimate reality.
An introduction to the first chapter of Ramchal's Derech HaShem, covering six fundamental principles about God's nature and existence, including the difference between emunah (internalization) and yedi'ah (knowledge).
An introductory class to studying the Ramchal's Derech Hashem, covering the author's life, his major works (Mesilat Yesharim, Derech Hashem, Da'at Tevunot), and the philosophical foundations that will guide the series.
Parshas Mishpatim 21:26-27
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