The Torah Is a Book of Magic

The best magic book I’ve ever read is unironically the Torah.

I feel like I struggle to convey how true this is. Everything is in there. It just requires such an instinct-level connection to its cultural context to understand. You have to be able to LIVE INSIDE OF IT. Jewish ritual life is a prerequisite.

What’s so hard to convey is, “You have to be Jewish” is not what I mean. That’s a fairly low priority compared to the basic spiritual SKILLS you need, and VERY few people I grew up with, for instance, had those. A rationalist materialist is hardly better prepared by being Jewish.

So much of the commentary I was taught was wasted breath. “Here’s what these primitive ancient people meant, according to us, people who actually understand things.” Useless. Worse than useless. The only valuable approach at all is, “That’s YOU.”

“These primitive people used to sacrifice animals to God, but in our more knowledgeable age, we don’t.”

NO.

“YOU used to sacrifice animals to God, and now YOU don’t. WHY NOT? You have to answer that.”

There is a legal answer to this question, as a backstop, but that just puts you in the position to confront an even better question:

Do I trust the human authorities who made that ruling to represent THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE in court?

Anyone with completely normal synagogue/home-level experience with Jewish ritual is equipped with everything they need to know about safe and effective ritual.

I just wish more synagogues did their rituals safely and effectively!

But this is the most successful thing about rabbinic Judaism. It’s amazing. Because the rabbis worked backwards from, “If you don’t do this offering exactly right, you will literally be blown up,” they transmitted all the magic.

Now all you need is form/content discernment.

Not that that’s some minor detail.