Is "Everything" Really In the Torah?

Many religious Jews are always taught that everything, all knowledge that exists and will exist, can be found in the Torah. However, we have to ask ourselves, "Whose opinion is this and where does this idea come from?"

In Pirkei Avos the following mishna exists (This mishna is listed differently in different pirkei avos. It is found at the end of the fifth chapter, but the mishna can be anywhere from 19-26). "Ben Bag Bag says, Turn to it, and turn to it again, for everything is in it. Pore over it, grow old and gray over it. Do not budge from it. You can have no better guide for living than it.'" (translation is from the book of legends from Judaica classic library)

Ben Bag Bag seems to be the source of this idea that everything can be found in the Torah. However, is he actually saying that all knowledge that exists or will exist can be found in the Torah? Perhaps, the idea of "everything can be found in it" refers to something else, something a little more specific? Maybe the last words of his quotation "You can have no better guide for living than it" can shed some light on what he is really trying to say.

In relation to this Mishna, most people have heard of the following Medrash Rabba (Genesis 1:1). It says, "R. Hoshaia Rabbah began his discourse with the verse 'Then I was by Him as a nursling (amon)' (Prov. 8:30). The word amon may be read umman, meaning "overall design"--I was in the mind of the Holy One, says the Torah, like the overall design in the mind of a craftsman. In the way of the world, when a king of flesh and blood builds a palace, he builds it not according to his own whim, but according to the idea of an architect. Moreover, the architect does not build it out of his own head; he has [a design]--plans and diagrams to know how to lay out the chambers and where to put in wicket doors. Even so the Holy One looked into the Torah as He created the world."

This Medrash seemingly tells us that G-D had the Torah before He created the physical world and that He used the Torah to create the physical world. On a simple level it seems that since G-D used the Torah to create the entire world that everything in the physical world (physics, biology, etc) should be able to be found in the Torah. However, this Medrash might not be as simple as it appears. Perhaps the Medrash is coming to teach us about the goal of creation and not just some simplistic reading that the Torah was an actual blueprint for all of creation.

I think that once we understand this Medrash in the proper way then we will be able to understand what Ben Bag Bag is trying to tell us. The Medrash is pointing out to us that G-D created the physical world with a specific purpose and that purpose can be found in the Torah. Therefore, once we understand the purpose of creation then we can understand the true meaning of the Torah. So what is the purpose of creation?

If we look at some verses in Tanach a proper understanding of this Medrash can be attained. In Mishlei (3:19) it says, "G-D founded the earth on wisdom." Then in Psalms (111:10) it says, "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of G-D." The Eitz Yosef and the Anaf Yosef on the first Medrash in Medrash Tanchuma tell us that the Torah is referred to as "the beginning." This means that the only way for one to acquire wisdom is to fear G-D and the only way to fear G-D is to learn the Torah. Therefore, "G-D looked into the Torah and created the world" means that He saw that the only way man could acquire wisdom in this world was to couple all of his (man's) learning with a fear of G-D. The Gra in the beginning of Mishlei tells us this as well. Only once a person has a fear of G-D can they acquire any type of knowledge. They can learn as much as they want, but until they have a fear of G-D all of their learning, in any subject, is worthless. This is because without a proper foundation nothing is stable. Learing anything without having a fear of G-D is like building a castle on quicksand, it takes a lot of work, but in the end there is nothing.

I think the idea that attaining knowledge is contingent on a fear of G-D needs to be explained. It seems to me that the only way one can truly know something is true is by having a belief in G-D. For example, no archeologist can ever be 100% certain that something happened in the past. They can make logical assumptions based on fractured pieces of evidence that they put together, but they can never really KNOW. However, a belief in G-D allows the believer to know that something is true. I can know that certain things are true because I believe in a G-D that controls the world or that set up nature in a certain way. However, why should someone who does not believe in G-D think that nature will remain constant? What is causing that person to think that nature works indefinitely? Therefore, a person that does not believe in G-D can never truly know something. Without G-D there are no objective truths.

This leads us to the purpose of creation. The purpose of creation, according to this Medrash, would then be for man to acquire wisdom. This goes beautifully with the Rambam and Ralbag's understanding of the immortality of the human soul. What part of a man is considered to live eternally? The Rambam and Ralbag both tell us that it is the acquired intellect of a person that lives eternally and will experience heaven. If this is true, then it must be that the goal of G-D's creation was man and his ability to acquire heaven.

Now we can explain the idea that Ben Bag Bag brings down. What does it mean that everything is found in the Torah? It does not literally mean that all wisdom is found in the Torah, but something much more basic. Everything that will lead you on the proper path to acquiring a fear of G-D is found in the Torah. This can also be seen from the last words that Ben Bag Bag says, "You can have no better GUIDE for living than it." It is impossible to live properly without a fear of G-D. Without a fear of G-D there is no wisdom to be acquired and your life will end up without meaning. However, with a fear of G-D, all wisdom is attainable and furthermore, heaven WILL be acquired.

*********(Later Addition to show I didn't make this up myself)
This is exactly what the Meiri says on this Mishna in Avos. The Meiri says,

"(Ben Bag Bag) is giving a warning that it is not enough to just have a crude reading of the Torah, rather it needs to be read over and over, meaning many times. If one reads it over and over then a person will be able to answer any doubts they had in their heart with it (the Torah). This is the idea of "Everything is in it."

The Meiri is telling us that when Ben Bag Bag says that "Everything is in it" he is telling us that we can answer up any questions that we have with the validity of the Torah. We don't need to look at other religions or science to figure out the truth of the Torah, we just need to really understand the Torah and what it is coming to teach. Since it comes to teach a fear of G-D this means that we will be able to truly believe in G-D and have a fear of G-D once we understand the Torah in all of its glory. Now, once you understand the Torah and you have acquire this fear of G-D, you are ready to acquire true knowledge.

The Medrash and Ben Bag Bag do not mean to say that one can learn to become a doctor through the Torah. However, they are teaching us that in order to acquire real knowledge that will lead a person to the proper path, the path to heaven, then a person needs a fear of G-D.

****UPDATE*******
See Rav Josh Waxman's post that deals with this issue as well:
parshablog: Should one study secular subjects, independently of Torah?